A very new crop year This issue of Grainews went to press just days after Bill C-18, the bill removing the Canadian Wheat Board’s monopoly powers, received royal assent and became law. As I write, the dust is still settling on the court case brought by the now-former eight CWB directors trying to stop the […] Read more
Editor’s column
Wheat &Chaff – for Nov. 7, 2011
ADDING MOISTURE TO GRAIN It s quite common for me to get requests for articles that are two or three years old. With the help of our digital archives (available to all subscribers at www.grainews.ca; click on Digital edition in the top right-hand corner), it s relatively easy to find your favourite articles on your […] Read more
Wheat &Chaff – for Oct. 17, 2011
NEW CANOLA VARIETIES This second October issue of Grainewsis dubbed the new canola varieties issue. Starting on page eight, you ll find 20 new varieties to wade through as you begin crop planning for next year. It always amazes me, but yes, farmers are already buying canola seed for next year. It seems a bit […] Read more
20 New Canola Lines For 2012
A total of 20 new canola varieties are offered for the 2012 growing season. In this year s line up is a variety resistant to clubroot and two lines tolerant to sclerotinia, as well top yielders and specialty canolas. All information listed here is provided by the company listed as the distributor. BAYER CROPSCIENCE InVigor […] Read more
Wheat &Chaff – for Oct. 3, 2011
FEEDING A HUNGRY WORLD I ve just returned from a week in Ontario at the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists congress ( www.ifaj.org). More than 260 writers, broadcasters and the like from over 30 countries descended on southern Ontario to learn about new world agriculture. While a large portion of this congress is about farm […] Read more
Wheat &Chaff – for Sep. 12, 2011
MAKE THE MOST OF WHAT YOU HAVE You likely farm the same land, give or take, that your parents, your grandparents or maybe even your great-grandparents did. The classification and type of land that you farm was determined long ago by where your ancestors decided to settle, and not because it’s necessarily your first choice […] Read more
Wheat &Chaff – for Jul. 25, 2011
CROPS — NOSE HIGH TO NOT THERE Summer is my chance to get out and actually spend time with the farmers I write for. After we have the discussion about there not being enough jokes in the magazine, we typically head to the field to see how the year is shaping up. Recently, I spent […] Read more
Winter Wheat For Wet Acres
While many Prairie farmers are happy with how the crop looks, huge swaths of Manitoba and Saskatchewan are facing unprecedented flooding. For some, this is year two or even three of excessive water. Planting crops in the fall can help in these situations in a few ways. Crops seeded in August are up, growing and […] Read more
Grow A Cover Crop, Keep The Cash Flow – for Jul. 25, 2011
Sometimes a failed cropping experiment isn’t failure at all. When Bob Blackshaw set out to evaluate growing a cover crop without sacrificing cash flow, he certainly didn’t expect to happen upon an effective new way to establish alfalfa or to pinpoint a new silage mix. But that’s exactly what happened. “If you look back at […] Read more
Cattle Prices Positive For 2011
Feeder and fed cattle prices are poised to move higher based on lower beef production and steady consumer demand. The cattle markets are starting to incorporate a risk premium due to the uncertainty in production. Despite lower calf crops over the past couple years, North American beef production actually exceeded year ago levels during the […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
