(ImagineGolf/E+/Getty Images)

Ag chem industry watching COVID-19’s spread

MarketsFarm –– China is a major producer of agricultural chemicals — and disruptions to production would have a ripple effect on North American supplies of crop protection inputs, such as herbicides and insecticides. Plant closures and transportation issues due to the spread of COVID-19 coronavirus are being followed closely, but the Canadian industry is reportedly […] Read more

Get your pea and lentil seed tested

Get your pea and lentil seed tested

Preliminary testing results show high levels of ascochyta in Saskatchewan’s pea seed

Early results are in, and the recommendation is to get your pea and lentil seed to a testing lab, ASAP. At the Top Notch grower meeting in Moose Jaw sponsored by SaskCanola, SaskFlax, and the Saskatchewan Pulse Growers, Saskatchewan’s provincial plant pathologist, Barb Ziesman, talked about the preliminary seed test results from Saskatchewan seed tests […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

CN faces grain export backlog of 10,000 carloads, CEO says

Montreal | Reuters — Canadian National Railway (CN) lost capacity equivalent to 10,000 carloads, or one million tonnes of grain exports, in February due to rail blockades by protesters opposed to a pipeline project, CEO Jean-Jacques Ruest said Tuesday. Activists disrupted passenger and freight traffic last month to show solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en people, who […] Read more

Deciding to try a new-to-you crop

Deciding to try a new-to-you crop

Q & A with Nutrien Ag Solutions

Q: Should I add a new crop into my rotation? A: Farming operations are becoming more diverse with increased interest in adding new crop types into rotations. Adding a new crop type may be as simple as adding a different cereal crop or may be as diverse as adding soybeans, coriander, caraway, hemp or quinoa. Adding […] Read more


Chickpeas in India. (Nikhil Patil/iStock/Getty Images)

Pulse weekly outlook: Conditions optimal for India’s winter crops

MarketsFarm — Cold weather in key growing regions of India could indicate high production levels for winter pulse crops. Heavy showers and colder temperatures in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh created “ideal conditions” for winter-sown pulses, according to India’s agriculture commissioner SK Malhotra. Malhotra explained that the output of the winter-grown pulse crops will likely […] Read more

Agco plans to have its IdealDrive joysticks in North American fields in 2021. (Photo courtesy Agco)

Fendt takes (out) the wheel on new combines

Agco says it's first of majors to offer joystick steering

Agco has officially declared itself to be the first major farm equipment player to put joystick steering in a combine. The ag equipment manufacturer unveiled IdealDrive on Thursday during the Commodity Classic in San Antonio, billing the new steering system for its Fendt Ideal combines as “the first joystick steering system on a combine from […] Read more


Wendy’s Canada said its new pea-based Plantiful “ensures flexitarians have a protein alternative that is full of taste.” (CNW Group/Wendy’s Restaurants of Canada photo)

Wendy’s launches Canadian-made plant-based burger

Pea protein patty developed 'in-house,' company says

Burger chain Wendy’s has set out to meet what it says is now an “expectation” in the Canadian quick-service dining sector, with a new pulse crop-based burger. The U.S. chain’s Canadian arm on Thursday announced it has launched a plant-based burger it calls the Plantiful at its 380-plus Canadian stores, using a patty it described […] Read more

An idle CN train is parked next to an empty Via Rail commuter station at Trenton, Ont. on Feb. 25, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Chris Helgren)

CN starts calling back laid-off employees

"Network recovery... will take several weeks"

Montreal | Reuters — Canadian National Railway has started calling back many of the 450 workers it laid off earlier this month in Eastern Canada, when blockades crippled operations on strategic rail lines, according to a company email sent to customers Friday. Earlier this week, police made 10 arrests and cleared a blockade in eastern […] Read more



'Purchasing loyalties is a common political manoeuvre and not really one worth noting, save for the principle behind it and its relevance to what’s going on in Canadian agriculture.' – Toban Dyck

Toban Dyck: Can loyalty be bought?

Loyalty is trumping common sense in today’s trade environment

U.S. President Donald Trump’s new trade deal with China is an attempt to buy loyalty and in Canada, it’s dividing consumers and farmers. Trump recently signed a trade deal with Beijing, exciting farmers and hopefully breathing new life into a sleepy marketplace. The hope that farmers cling to — myself included — is that someone […] Read more