File photo of a sunflower crop in Manitoba. (MysticEnergy/Getty Images)

Sunflowers doing well despite drought

MarketsFarm — Though many producers bemoan current drier-than-normal springtime conditions across the Prairies, sunflower crops are primed for a good year. “As long as there’s enough moisture to germinate, they immediately grow a really deep root system,” said Ben Friesen of Scoular Canada. While Statistics Canada estimated the 2019 sunflower acreage to remain pretty much […] Read more

Seeding in Sask. nearly wrapped up, low moisture levels seen in hayland, pastures

Saskatchewan Crop Report for the week ending May 27

Seeding of the 2019 crop is nearing completion, with the majority of the crop being planted this month. Ninety-two per cent of the crop is now seeded, up from 73 per cent last week and well ahead of the five-year average (2014-2018) of 83 per cent for this time of year. The southwest region is […] Read more


Seeding progress advances to 73 per cent complete

Saskatchewan Crop Report for the week ending May 20

Seeding progress is quickly advancing across the province, thanks to very few disruptions in the weather and relatively good seeding conditions. Seventy-three per cent of the crop is now seeded, up from 38 per cent last week and well ahead of the five-year average (2014-2018) of 59 per cent for this time of year. Crops […] Read more

Clark Brenzil speaks to farmers at Saskatchewan Agriculture’s Crop Diagnostic School in 2017.

Herbicide carryover may be high risk

If it was dry after last year’s application, there may be soil-residual herbicides

Crop selection for the 2019 growing season could prove challenging for growers in some parts of the Prairies, as a lack of rainfall means soil-residual herbicides could impact crop establishment. Moisture after application is critical for herbicide breakdown. In areas where rainfall was patchy at best, growers need to be conservative when selecting crops to […] Read more


(GZKele/iStock/Getty Images)

Sunny days seen ahead for sunflower crops

MarketsFarm — Though sunflowers were at the mercy of Western Canada’s unseasonable weather in 2018, the 2019 growing season may be more predictable. In November 2018, some Manitoba sunflower crops were late to come off the field. A cold and rainy fall delayed the Prairie harvest, lowered average yields and impacted the overall size of […] Read more

Cracked soybeans enter a SunOpta soymilk processing plant at Modesto, California. (Video screengrab from SunOpta.com via YouTube)

SunOpta sheds U.S. Midwest organic corn, soy business

Organic food firm SunOpta Inc. has stepped out of the U.S. organic corn and soybean business in a $66.5 million deal with Minnesota-based organic startup Pipeline Foods. Mississauga-based SunOpta announced Monday it closed a deal with Pipeline last Friday for the Canadian firm’s organic and “specialty” soy and corn operations, which include five plants in […] Read more


Soybean and flax intercrop example.

Reducing inputs through intercropping

In Part 2 of a 2-part series, a panel of farmers discuss the benefits of intercropping

Many producers who adopt intercrops and cover crops are looking to increase soil and plant health and reduce the need for inputs such as synthetic fertilizers. That effect often becomes clearer the longer they manage the system. The three producers on a panel at an Intercropping Workshop in Brandon, Man., last November shared how they […] Read more

Is it possible to do a better job with less land?

Intercropping lets farmers do more with less

Intercropping helps farmers increase profits on fewer acres. Part 1 of a 2-part series

It’s interesting how many farmers adopting regenerative agricultural practices, like intercropping and cover crops, are either downsizing their operations, thinking about downsizing or have taken the pressure off in terms of looking for more high-priced land to expand (either to buy or rent). The three producers on a panel at an Intercropping Workshop in Brandon, […] Read more


Tractor spraying soybean field

Avoiding herbicide mis-use

Herbicides have made it easier to feed the world, but beware of residuals and improper use

Herbicides are an integral and essential aspect of modern productive farming. Without our effective and efficient herbicides our dollar costs for food production would be double or triple what we now pay. Can your even visualize hand weeding agricultural and horticultural crops? As a youth I earned pocket money hand hoeing turnips and beets and […] Read more

When you look at a partially lodged field why does the cereal crop lodge in the low spots but not on the higher, better drained spots?

Why did my cereal crop lodge?

Practical Research: Was it disease? Too much nitrogen? Or was it a copper deficiency in your soil?

This year, 2018, was the year of the lodged crop on the Canadian Prairies. Back in early September, the weather turned cold and much of the Prairies were covered repeatedly with heavy wet snow. In the northern half of the Prairies up to 80 per cent of the crops were yet to be harvested. Fortunately, […] Read more