Getting a free grain quality analysis at harvest not only puts farmers in a better bargaining position when they market their crops, but it also helps Canada sell grain, canola and pulse crops around the world. The ongoing Harvest Sample Program offered by the Canadian Grain Commission (CGC) gives a farmer more solid footing when […] Read more
Send your grain harvest samples in for free analysis
The CGC’s Harvest Sample Program gives farmers a valuable marketing tool
PHOTOS: Harvest Sample Program workshop
As farmers attending the workshop sponsored by Alberta Barley, Alberta Wheat Commission and the Alberta Canola Producers Commission heard again, determining quality of any particular sample is a subjective process. While some quality sorting technology is available and is in the process of being refined, determining the quality and grade of wheat, barley and canola […] Read more
Soil testing more relevant than ever
If you don’t know what nutrients are in the soil it’s hard to meet your crop’s needs
To optimize crop yields, Ieuan Evans, a well-known western Canadian plant pathologist, urges farmers to get back to the basics — do a soil test and follow the recommendations. Evans, speaking to farmers at the Ag In Motion farm show near Saskatoon in July says farmers have been advised since the beginning of modern agriculture […] Read more
Amazing agri-prize offered for 100-bushel canola crop
If you think you can do a great job of growing canola and are interested in a prize worth close a million dollars you’ll want to sign up for the recently announced Agri-prize Contest challenging Western Canadian and northern U.S. farmers to break the record on canola production. The Agri-prize Contest announced at Western Canada’s […] Read more
DuPont Pioneer opens corn research centre near Lethbridge
It’s official…corn is coming. With the snip of an inordinately large pair of scissors Wednesday, at a new research centre near Lethbridge, AB, DuPont Pioneer Canada officially re-confirmed its commitment to the development of new and improved — earlier and higher yielding — field corn varieties for Western Canada. The company which has been involved in seed […] Read more
Euthanasia — when the time comes, do it right
Well here is knowledge I don’t plan to use any time soon, but in dealing with the realities of farming and animal agriculture in general I received a lesson last week in the proper way to euthanize an animal. I’ve had to dispatch a few animals myself over the years, and have been around when […] Read more
ESN helps keep single shoot drill out in the field longer
Fertilizer technology allows farmers to make one pass, putting all the nitrogen in the seed row at once, and also realizing higher protein values
Dale Wyatt hasn’t become a wholesale convert to ESN fertilizer on his southern Alberta farm, but so far it has allowed him to continue a one-pass direct seeding operation with cereals with his existing single shoot drill, and the controlled release fertilizer has definitely bumped up the protein level in spring wheat. Wyatt, who along […] Read more
Mother Nature, as usual, holds all the cards for farmers
Farmers are optimistic about the growing season, as long as the weather doesn’t tip too far either way
While the spring seeding outlook was generally good as of late April, farmers in different parts of the Prairies described being close to feast-or-famine conditions as they planned to get the 2015 crop in the ground. Producers from mid-Saskatchewan and east were hopeful about getting the crop in as long as it didn’t rain, while […] Read more
Meeting the real Heather Smith Thomas
Grainews editor sits down with one of agriculture's prolific story writers
There is a real, live, actual ranching person in central Idaho called Heather Smith Thomas. I’ve met her. Thomas’ columns and features stories have been appearing in Grainews, Canadian Cattlemen and numerous U.S. publications for more than 30 years. But it wasn’t until a Friday morning in late March that she and a Grainews editor […] Read more
When is BIG, big enough?
God, I am getting old. I was just reading about the possible takeover of Syngenta by Monsanto…both companies have investment firms investigating the options of the merger that would create one large ag chemical and seed company with combined sales of $40 billion annually. Gee, that sounds like a pretty big operation. I’ve always admitted […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
