BASF plans to continue investment and even expand its focus on canola R&D.

BASF closes deal with Bayer

ICYMI: Canola research focused on Western Canada will continue

On August 1, BASF finalized its acquisition of several Bayer assets including the Invigor canola line, Ignite herbicide, seed treatment products, Bayer’s digital farming software (xarvio) and seed research and development, including hybrid wheat. The Canadian piece of this global transaction also includes 400 Bayer employees, research facilities at Saskatoon, Pike Lake, Lethbridge and Regina and 12 other research sites. Jonathan […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canola Council of Canada)

Large Canadian canola ending stocks expected

CNS Canada — Canada’s canola ending stocks as of July 31 came in at about a million tonnes above the previous year’s carryout — but were still well within trade expectations. Canola supplies as of July 31 were estimated at 2.391 million tonnes by Statistics Canada on Thursday, with 954,000 tonnes of that in commercial […] Read more


Sask. harvest sees 39 per cent of 2018 crop ‘in the bin’

Saskatchewan Crop Report for the week ending September 3

Despite a cool and damp week in much of the province, producers took advantage of breaks in the weather to make considerable harvest progress this week, according to Saskatchewan Agriculture’s weekly Crop Report. Thirty-nine per cent of the crop is now in the bin, well ahead of the five-year (2013-2017) average of 25 per cent […] Read more

Grain being loaded on a ship at the Hudson Bay port of Churchill in 2015. Former owner OmniTrax shut down the port facility before the 2016 shipping season began. (CNS Canada photo by Jade Markus)

Grain firms warn of competitive fairness on Churchill assistance

CNS Canada — The Western Grain Elevator Association (WGEA) wants assurances that any government incentives used to upgrade the rail line to Churchill, Man., and the port there are not used to support competing businesses. Wade Sobkowich, executive director of the WGEA, said the organization’s membership of major grain-handling companies are concerned their competitors could […] Read more


A drone hovers over crops near Laval, Que. in 2015. (Onfokus/iStock/Getty Images)

Drone data firm invests in precision ag analytics

Southwestern Ontario crop input retailer and grain handler South West Ag Partners has made a deal to sell its precision agriculture analytics business to an expansion-minded drone data provider. Toronto-based Deveron UAS announced Aug. 28 it will trade a 9.9 per cent share of its business plus $320,000 cash for South West Ag’s Veritas Farm […] Read more

Jason Craig and his wife Jenn with their two children, Jayden and Jemma.

Meet your farming neighbours: The Craigs

This is the story of Jason Craig and 
his family farm, near Delburne, Alta.

Every farm has its own story. No two farms (or farmers) are exactly alike. Everyone got started in a different way, and every farm has a different combination of family and hired staff who make the decisions and keep things running. But, in general, even after you consider all of the details, farmers are more […] Read more



Chickpeas. (CalypsoArt/iStock/Getty Images)

Pulse weekly outlook: Chickpeas buck pulse trend

CNS Canada — Saskatchewan farmers are expected to turn in a smaller pulse harvest this fall, although chickpea production is bucking the overall downward trend. Chickpeas are the only Saskatchewan pulse crop to post a production increase, in Statistics Canada’s latest estimate of 2018 production. The estimates show Saskatchewan growers are expected to harvest about […] Read more


Goods portside at Churchill in September 2015. (CNS Canada photo by Jade Markus)

Hudson Bay rail line repairs to start ‘immediately’

Off-and-on talks toward a new ownership group for the Hudson Bay Railway have produced a deal, which it’s hoped will lead to the line’s repair before this winter, federal officials announced Friday. Federal Trade Diversification Minister Jim Carr and Northern Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc announced the Arctic Gateway Group Limited Partnership has bought the Hudson […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

StatsCan’s canola forecast deemed supportive

CNS Canada — A summer of dryness and sizzling heat has apparently taken its toll on canola plants in many areas of Western Canada, according to the latest crop production estimate from Statistics Canada. In a survey compiled in the latter days of July and released Friday, Statistics Canada pegged canola production for 2018-19 at […] Read more