File photo of potatoes in storage. (Kativ/E+/Getty Images)

Potato wart survey gives clean bill of health

Fields across Canada with a history of getting seed potatoes from P.E.I. tested negative

A national survey on the watch for potato wart has come back clean. On March 13, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) said results from their 2022 potato wart survey had not found any cases of the soil-borne fungus. The agency had tested nearly 1,500 soil samples from fields in British Columbia, the three Prairie […] Read more

McCain Foods’ french fry processing plant near Coaldale, Alta. (University of Lethbridge video screengrab via YouTube)

McCain to double Alberta french fry plant capacity

Lethbridge-area plant to more than double staff count

Alberta’s plans to boost its irrigated acres are being met near the starting line with a major french fry producer’s plans to double the capacity of its plant there. McCain Foods announced Monday it will put up $600 million to build two new production lines for frozen french fries and potato specialty goods at its […] Read more


A grasshopper in a canola field near Starbuck, Man. in the summer of 2019. (MarketsFarm photo by Glen Hallick)

Adama’s lambda-cy products to be available this year

Company to continue selling Silencer, Zivata after recall

The Canadian arm of ag chem firm Adama says it’s relabelled its inventories of lambda-cyhalothrin insecticide products Silencer and Zivata and will have them available for sale to farmers in 2023. The company had said last November it wasn’t yet sure those products would be available this year under an approaching deadline following a 2021 […] Read more

File photo of 10-pound sacks of potatoes loaded on pallets at a Canadian distribution centre. (PierreDesrosiers/iStock/Getty Images)

Canada’s potato crop edges up in 2022

Alberta up into top spot among potato-producing provinces

MarketsFarm — Statistics Canada (StatCan) issued its potato production report Thursday, which noted a 1.5 per cent increase in the country’s crop in 2022. Across Canada, nearly 122.9 million hundredweight (cwt) of potatoes were harvested last year, with an average national yield of 322.3 cwt/acre on 381,351 acres. Alberta rose from third into the top […] Read more


Rats cause many millions of dollars in damage to crops, food losses and buildings in Canada annually.

Successful pest protection and prevention programs

Given the right advice and a willingness to co-operate, Prairie growers can do a lot to mitigate or prevent crop yield losses

Pests of all kinds — weeds, animals, insects or diseases — would like to find a good home on your crop production acres. Prevention is by far the best method of pest control. If you can stop or prevent the pest from gaining a foothold on your acres, you are winning the battle. You do […] Read more

Rebate roundup 2023

Rebate roundup 2023

Make your crop input dollars go further this year with cash-back rebates and reward programs

With the high price of fertilizer and other crop inputs these days, it’s more important than ever to be mindful of cash-back rebates and other grower reward programs as you prepare for the 2023 growing season. With this in mind, here’s our annual roundup (in alphabetical order) of rebates available to farmers in Western Canada […] Read more


File photo of a provincial border marker in Lloydminster. (Michele Gervais/iStock/Getty Images)

Borderline city hosts interprovincial food trade pilot

Trade barrier on pause for two years for food businesses serving Lloydminster

The idea of loosening interprovincial trade in certain foods made by provincially-inspected processors will get a major test in one of Canada’s very few province-crossing municipalities. The Saskatchewan, Alberta and federal governments on Jan. 19 announced the start of a two-year pilot project within the limits of Lloydminster, a city of over 31,000 people straddling […] Read more

File photo of potatoes in storage. (Kativ/E+/Getty Images)

Potato storage research to get boost

A federal-provincial investment goes to improve an existing storage facility at the University of Manitoba

Manitoba’s potato research landscape is getting a funding injection to improve infrastructure. The governments of Canada and Manitoba are investing $98,970 through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership to upgrade the University of Manitoba’s horticulture storage facility so it can conduct potato research. Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau and provincial Agriculture Minister Derek Johnson made the announcement […] Read more


Smooth Volcano carrots are known for strong, upright tops and easy pulling, and they are tolerant of late harvests.

Lots of good reasons to grow carrots

Plus, Happy New Year greetings

Well, howdy folks howdy! It’s a brand new year. 2023 has arrived. I once entered a song I wrote more than 25 years ago into an international song writing competition. It became one of 10 songs chosen that received “honourable mention” from among thousands of entries received. I still sing all verses of that song […] Read more

The Cook the Books competition featured one crepinette-like dish where flank steak was stuffed with mushrooms and chives, rolled up into a tube, seared, roasted, carved and served up sushi-style.

Up to the challenge

First We Eat: Canadian culinary students inspire at Cooks the Books competition

When I arrived in Toronto in early November, I left winter behind. The skies were blue, the temperature a humid 23 C, about 40 degrees warmer than at home. My sister struck up the grill and I spatchcocked a chicken, rubbing it with garlic, fresh-cut thyme, spices and black olive paste. An hour later, we […] Read more