Diagnose your own problem

Diagnose your own problem

The Canola Council’s online diagnostic tool is 
there to help farmers identify problems themselves

Maybe it’s after work hours, or the long weekend. Or maybe you need to make a quick decision. It’s probably not going to replace your favourite local agrologist anytime soon, but the Canola Council of Canada’s website can be very useful when you need a little help. All you need to do is gather as […] Read more



man in field with net for catching grasshoppers

Taking the count

The first part of deciding whether or not you need 
to spray your field is getting an accurate pest count

Most recommendations about pesticides include an economic threshold — if you have more than the specified number of pests per square metre, spraying could be an effective option for you. So before you can make your decision, you’re going to need to take a census. At Saskatchewan Agriculture’s Crop Diagnostic School at Indian Head in […] Read more






Estimating costs of production

If you haven't calculated your costs of production on the farm, government numbers can help get you started

Market analysts don’t always agree on price forecasts, but at every farm marketing presentation at least one analyst gives out the same piece of advice: know your cost of production. Calculating production costs is time consuming and frustrating. As soon as you’re done, the prices change. Here are four reasons to do it anyway: If […] Read more

Harvest widows

The editor's column

In the December issue of Grainews we ran a story by freelance writer Marianne Stamm about “harvest widows” — women coping with the strain of having their husbands out of the house for long hours, day after day during the harvest season. When Marianne submitted this story, I was excited. Everything in the article rang […] Read more