Many growers equate efficiency with applying their nitrogen "up front" instead of opting for split applications.

Nitrogen use in corn re-examined

Research from the U.S. Midwest sparks controversy, but the solution may be easier

Glacier FarmMedia — When it comes to nitrogen use in corn, it’s always been a question of how much to apply. University of Illinois research on the source of N — that is, how much a corn plant gets from fertilizer and how much from soil — has initiated a considerable amount of debate since […] Read more

Researchers at the University of Saskatchewan’s Livestock and Forage Centre of Excellence want to know if bull neck collars that are supposed to alert producers when they detect cows in heat actually work.

Automating heat detection

Researchers test whether monitoring technology will predict reproductive cycles

Glacier FarmMedia — Labour challenges on cattle farms could be alleviated by sensors now being tested to help detect females in heat. Dr. Dinesh Dadarwal, a veterinarian and assistant professor in large animal science at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine, says the Livestock and Forage Centre of Excellence tests technology so producers can make […] Read more


Traders are seen focusing on a handful of key countries including Brazil, India, the U.S. and China to gauge the global urea market.

Get urea booked sooner rather than later, trader says

Farmers will want to lock in supplies before seasonal demand kicks in

Glacier FarmMedia – The global urea market is in a period of mixed signals. Buyers in Australia and Southeast Asia made purchases in early January, putting upward pressure on prices. Plus, stocks in North America are relatively low, which is also supportive. On the other side of the coin, China may delay exports until the […] Read more

green spring wheat in a demonstration plot

Field-scale trials with wheat present seeding and yield mystery

Trials see little yield difference by boosting seed count -- but don't plant less

Glacier FarmMedia — Call it an agronomic mystery. It’s been proven time and time again that, barring unforeseen challenges, the more seeds planted, the more crop harvested. But those aren’t the results the Alberta Grains Plot2Farm program has seen in its field-scale trials on spring wheat. Four years of field trials have consistently shown that […] Read more


Protein content was average for most classes of Canadian wheat in 2023, except for durum, which came in above-average for protein.

Wheat quality excellent in 2023 despite the year

Crops grade No. 2 or better with average to above-average protein

“Challenging growing conditions” on the Prairies in 2023 somehow produced a Canadian wheat crop within the five-year average for tonnage, average to above-average protein content and “excellent” quality. That about sums up the New Wheat Crop Report from Cereals Canada, released Nov. 21, describing what growers already knew: how below-average temperatures initially delayed seeding in […] Read more