Harvest underway in south Sask., topsoil moisture worsens

Saskatchewan Crop Report for the week ending July 31

Harvest is underway for some producers in the south, according to Saskatchewan Agriculture’s weekly Crop Report. Less than one per cent of the provincial crop has been combined, while slightly more than one per cent is ready to straight-cut. Forty-seven per cent of the fall rye, six per cent of the winter wheat, two per […] Read more

Photo: Muhammad Mahdi Karim.

U.S. bee numbers growing

CNS Canada – Honeybee populations are rising in the United States, turning around a recent trend of declines attributed to a set of factors know as colony collapse disorder. It’s estimated that 84,430 hives were lost to the disorder in the first quarter this year. That’s down 27 per cent from a year earlier. Year-over-year […] Read more


These old wooden elevators at Laura, Sask., had developed some peculiar angles by the late 1980s when I took this photo. The Tessier aquifer is underneath and flows from a relatively shallow depth. In 1946 the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool elevator in Laura drilled a 28-foot test hole that flowed, but no well is recorded.

How water comes out of the ground

Water comes to the surface in many different ways

In my last column I looked at water entering the ground and the factors that control that flow. This time, I’ll look at water coming out of the ground and the clues it leaves about its origin. Contact springs A contact spring occurs when the contact zone between a very sandy soil and a finer […] Read more



(File photo)

Good quality, but small caliber Canadian chickpeas expected

CNS Canada – Hot and dry conditions cut into the yield potential and physical size of Canada’s chickpea crop, but the quality should be excellent while prices remain relatively strong. “It’s anybody’s guess,” said Colin Young, of Midwest Grain Ltd. in Saskatchewan on the overall state of the chickpea crop. He said rainfall was “significantly […] Read more

Tower structure at one of Mosaic’s potash mines near Esterhazy, Sask.  (Greg Berg photo)

Mosaic shares tumble on disappointing fertilizer guidance

Reuters – U.S. fertilizer producer Mosaic Co on Tuesday forecast slower phosphate sales and weaker prices for the current quarter, causing shares to plunge as much as 9 percent. The Minnesota-based company predicted third-quarter phosphate sales of 2.2 million to 2.5 million tonnes, down from 2.6 million in the second quarter. Mosaic forecast third-quarter diammonium […] Read more


Haying continues across Sask., yields seen less than normal

Saskatchewan Crop Report for the week ending July 24, 2017

Haying continues in the province and livestock producers now have 74 per cent of the hay crop baled or put into silage. An additional 14 per cent is cut and ready for baling, according to Saskatchewan Agriculture’s weekly Crop Report. Hay quality is currently rated as nine per cent excellent, 61 per cent good, 25 […] Read more

Early harvest beginning in Saskatchewan

CNS Canada – Crops are ripening quickly across the province with the majority ranging from poor to good condition, according to a report from the Saskatchewan government. Hot and dry weather has stressed many plants with some storm damage also being recorded during the week ended July 27. The south and central areas are extremely […] Read more



Photo: iStock

U.S. senators seek ban on pesticide chlorpyrifos

New York / Reuters – A group of Democratic senators hopes to ban a pesticide the U.S. government has greenlighted for use, according to a bill unveiled on Tuesday in a challenge to Republican President Donald Trump’s push to loosen environmental regulations. The bill, introduced by Senator Tom Udall of New Mexico, would outlaw chlorpyrifos, […] Read more