Producers made strong bids for available land, increasing values by 12.2 per cent in Manitoba, 11.4 per cent in Alberta and 9.4 per cent in Saskatchewan, says the 2025 Farmland Values report from Farm Credit Canada.

In its report, FCC said agricultural land values were “resilient” last year and defied expectations of a downturn.

“The market remained supported by farmland’s long-term investment appeal, tight supply and strong competition from expansion-focused producers,” says the FCC report, released March 24.

“The Prairie provinces drove much of the year’s average increase (across Canada).”

Overall, the value of cultivated land jumped 9.3 per cent from coast to coast, but provinces outside of the Prairies saw weaker gains or losses in value:

• British Columbia, a 1.7 per cent decline.
• Ontario, 2.2 per cent increase.
• Quebec, 4.8 per cent gain.

FCC attributed the modest rise in Ontario to farmers becoming picky. They were willing to pay high prices for top-quality land but avoided marginal properties.

A similar situation has developed in Saskatchewan. Expanding producers are driving demand for the best land in the most productive regions.

In 2025, price increases in northeastern, northwestern and east-central Saskatchewan were around 12 per cent. Those regions produce the highest yields for key crops like canola and wheat.

In west-central Saskatchewan, where yields are lower, farmland values increased 4.8 per cent in 2025.

The average price of cropland in northeastern Saskatchewan is getting close to $5,000 per acre. That’s a massive jump from 2019, when average values in the northeast were $2,000 per acre.

Farmland realtors on the Prairies have also noticed this trend of robust demand for fertile land.

“Good land in a good area is still going up,” said Tim Hammond of Hammond Realty in Biggar, Sask.

In southern Alberta, dryland prices surged upward by a 16.4 per cent in 2025. Irrigated land, which is now at $20,000 per acre in the province, played a role in the value gains in southern Alberta.

As irrigation districts have expanded, dryland acres close to irrigated land have become more valuable, FCC said.

A major theme in the FCC report was the shortage of land for sale in multiple provinces and regions.

This could be part of an ongoing trend, for the last 15 years, where retiring farmers rent their land instead of selling.

Whatever the reason for the shortfall of properties on the market, it’s clear that supply is “tight”, said J.P. Gervais, FCC executive vice-president of ag operations.

“This is something that has been certainly documented last year, and if I’m not mistaken, the year before,” he said.

“One of the overall drivers of farmland values, how tight the supply, does matter when (it) comes to the valuations that we’re currently seeing…. Generally speaking, very tight availability of farmland (for sale).”

Pastureland also higher

The FCC report had data on pastureland values, which saw a 5.2 per cent increase across Canada thanks to stronger prices for beef cattle over the last few years.

Gains were much higher in Alberta’s Peace region and northern B.C., where values climbed 17 to 18 per cent.

Across the Prairies, Saskatchewan saw the largest increase in pastureland prices of 7.6 per cent.

The post Farmland climbs higher in spite of headwinds: Farm Credit Canada report appeared first on Grainews.

Realtors in Saskatchewan have noticed a shift in the market, where some properties are going up in price and others are not.

Buyers are still willing to pay a premium for productive land, but demand is much softer for mediocre cropland.

Tim Hammond, founder of Hammond Realty in Biggar, Sask., described the current situation as a “split market.”

WHY IT MATTERS: After 15 to 20 years of rising values, Canada’s land market may have entered a new phase.

“Good land in a good area, is still going up,” he said.

“Average land in an average area, it’s struggling. It is going sideways and in some cases it’s going down…. I haven’t seen a mix like this since I started in 2002.”

Hammond made his comments March 10 during a webinar hosted by Dan Aberhart, who runs Aberhart Ag Solutions in Brandon, Man.

Aberhart invited Hammond and Trent Klarenbach, a market analyst who turns Klarenbach Research in Saskatoon, to discuss farmland values on the Prairies.

A snapshot of prices will be revealed next week, when FCC releases its annual report on farmland values March 24.

In 2024, values increased 9.3 per cent year over year across Canada, including a 13.1 per cent jump in Saskatchewan.

It’s possible that FCC will report another increase in 2025, but realtors like Hammond say something has changed.

Two or three years ago, when he put cropland up for tender, Hammond would receive 10 offers.

The top three or four bids would be very close on price.

“What we’re seeing now, instead of getting 10 offers, we’re getting two or three,” he said.

“And the spread between the top bid and second highest bid is five, 10, 15 percent.… I’ve always said, land is only worth as much as the second highest bid.”

Other experts have made similar comments about demand and buyer interest.

It remains strong in certain geographic pockets, but less so in other areas.

“Farmland is still very much a regional market,” Justin Shepherd, senior economist with Farm Credit Canada, said last August.

“There could be areas that see (more) farmland value growth … but there could be other areas where there is (less) competition for that farmland, where you could see things slow down.”

Similar market for U.S. farmland?

A comparable situation has developed in the United States, where buyers are driving up the price of productive cropland while demand is weak for less fertile land.

Sellers of land, outside of the best areas, might need to lower their expectations, said a January report from Farmers National Co., a firm that manages farmland across the Midwest and Northern Plains.

It’s not necessarily a buyers market, but buyers are getting picky, said Colton Lacina, Farmers National Co. senior vice-president of real estate operations.

“(They) are carefully assessing soil quality, the percentage of tillable acres, water access and how a parcel fits into their current operations. Those details matter more than ever.”

A plateau in values would be a significant change for Canadian producers, landowners and the psychology of investors because the market has increased for nearly 20 years.

An FCC report on historical farmland values indicates that the average price increase was 10.7 per cent annually from 2007-23 across Canada.

The post Split market seen for Prairie farmland ahead of FCC 2025 values report appeared first on Grainews.

The Canadian Wheat Research Coalition, which represents farmer-led organizations in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, has concluded that Canada’s wheat breeding system is “no longer working.”

In a report published Feb. 26, the CWRC said farmers and other players need to join forces and build something better.

“Securing the future of wheat in Canada requires a reimagining of our wheat breeding innovation system,” says the report.

“The CWRC has a lead role to play in securing the future for wheat in Canada and is currently exploring options to transform the wheat breeding innovation system.”

WHY IT MATTERS: Wheat (spring wheat and durum) is the largest acreage crop in Western Canada and farmers rely heavily on varieties developed by Agricutlure Canada scientists.

Jocelyn Velestuk, who chairs the CWRC and farms near Broadview, Sask., said it’s unclear what transforming the system will look like, but it will be a collaborative process.

“We will be including stakeholders,” she said.

The CWRC, a coalition of Alberta Grains, SaskWheat and the Manitoba Crop Alliance, began working on the wheat breeding report last fall.

It evaluated the current system, which is dominated by breeding programs at Agriculture Canada.

Every year, about 80 per cent of all wheat fields in Canada have an AAFC variety.

Much of the coalition’s work and consultations with 29 stakeholders was done before late January, when Agriculture Canada announced cuts and closures of research centres across the country.

In its report, the CWRC described the five steps in the wheat breeding process:

• foundational science
• germplasm enhancement
• variety development
• pre-market evaluation and testing
• commercialization

The weakness in Canada’s system are steps three and four, Velestuk said.

“The places we found the biggest gaps were in variety development and pre-market evaluation and testing.”

That’s partly explained by federal budget cuts in 2012 when Agriculture Canada closed a research centre in Winnipeg and testing sites in Manitoba and Regina.

“(A) loss of 60,000 plots and reduced (the) number of early generation breeding lines under evaluation,” the report says.

Breeder says change is needed

Richard Cuthbert, a former wheat breeder with Agriculture Canada in Swift Current, Sask., says the public system to develop wheat varieties has lost “capacity.”

The number of small plots for testing potential varieties across a wide a wide range of geographic, climate and soil types in Western Canada has shrunk over the last 15 years.

A breeder needs sufficient data from dozens of sites and hundreds of thousands of small plots to make informed choices and bring game changing varieties to market.

“It’s a fact that we need more capacity and capacity is costly,” said Cuthbert, who resigned from Agriculture Canada in January.

“That’s been lost along the way… (and) taken for granted that small plot (research) will just happen. Disease nurseries (will) just happen. Quality testing (will) just happen.”

What’s next?

The CWRC plans to play a lead role in what happens with wheat breeding in Canada. There are funding agreements in place with Agriculture Canada and universities on the Prairies to continue breeding and varietal development research until 2028.

The immediate next steps are conversations between the Wheat Research Coalition and Agriculture Canada, Velestuk said.

Growers, breeders, seed companies and others will be part of the discussions to design a new funding model and approach to breeding and varietal development.

How that will turn ou, is hard to say, but the final line in the CWRC report delivers a clear message.

“The future of wheat breeding in Canada is in the hands of farmers.”

The post Wheat breeding system no longer works, Canadian Wheat Research Coalition report says appeared first on Grainews.

Stephen Heckbert, Pork Council executive director, said it’s positive that Canada and China are now talking, which could mean reduced tariffs on Canadian pork in the future.

“At least we’ve started a dialogue with China. Super happy for canola producers and pulse producers that they’ve got some good news,” Heckbert said Friday morning.

“Nothing really for pork in this tranche of the announcement, but we weren’t expecting anything. Our expectations that we would be part of the dialogue, and I think we were, but no movement for us right now.”

On Jan. 16 in Beijing, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that Canada and China had reached a strategic partnership on energy, agri-food and trade.

As part of the deal, Chinese tariffs on canola seeds would be reduced to 15 per cent and China would eliminate its duties on other products.

“Canada expects that Canadian canola meal, lobsters, peas and crabs will not be subjected to relevant anti-discrimination tariffs from March 1, 2026, to the end of this year,” says a Government of Canada backgrounder.

China will maintain its 25 per cent tariff on Canadian pork that was imposed in March 2025.

The tariff has reduced pork exports to China, but Canada’s pork industry is still shipping products to Chinese customers:

• From January to October of 2025, Canada sold $314 million in pork to China, using Statistics Canada data.

• That’s down 19 per cent from the same time period in 2024, when exports were $389 million.

Canada exports snouts, feet, ears, organ meats and many parts of the pig to China, so it’s an important market that provides additional value for Canadian pork processors.

Darcy Fitzgerald, Alberta Pork executive director, is hopeful that Canada’s pork industry will continue to have opportunities in China.

“Things will come around on the Chinese side. It just takes time,” he said.

“What happened today is very positive. … It’s not negative because we weren’t the first ones through the door.”

Canada continues to ship pork to China and many other markets around the globe. Total exports in the first 10 months of 2025 were $4.9 billion, up from $4.6 billion in 2024.

“The 25 per cent (Chinese) tariff is painful for us. … It’s something we’ve learned to manage through,” Heckbert said.

“It’s not really a market we can replace, in some respects.”

Despite the specific challenges for pork producers, the strategic partnership between Canada and China is helpful, Heckbert said.

“Cautiously optimistic for the future. It’s good news for our producers that at least there is a new dialogue with China.”

The post ‘At least we’ve started a dialogue’: Pork Council reacts to Carney’s Beijing agreement appeared first on Grainews.

Aaron Hager, a University of Illinois weed scientist, reported last month that Illinois had several locations where waterhemp had developed resistance to glufosinate, a commonly used herbicide in North America.

Other states in the region have the same problem.

Why it matters: When and wherever they arrive on the Prairies, weeds with Group 10 herbicide resistance will further limit growers’ control options, especially against weeds already resistant to multiple other herbicide groups.

“Four states in the U.S. (including Illinois) are all going to come out (soon) with glufosinate-resistant waterhemp,” said Joe Ikley, a weed scientist at North Dakota State University.

Ikley made the comment Jan. 7 at St. Jean Farm Days, a farmer conference at St. Jean Baptiste in southern Manitoba’s Red River Valley.

The news from the U.S. Midwest is concerning because farmers are running out of options to control waterhemp, a member of the pigweed family. It has already developed resistance to seven different modes of action.

For farmers on the northern Great Plains, it’s a matter of time before waterhemp with resistance to glufosinate is confirmed, Ikley said.

“If it can evolve resistant to a herbicide in Illinois, there’s no reason it can’t do it in North Dakota or the Canadian Prairies.”

Waterhemp was first discovered in Manitoba in 2017, and it’s now present in a wide geography within the province.

It hasn’t been confirmed in Saskatchewan, but weed experts are asking farmers and agronomists to maintain a close watch for the troublesome weed.

While waterhemp is an extremely difficult weed, a bigger risk to western Canadian farmers would be glufosinate-resistant kochia.

Repeated doses

On the market in Canada since 1993, glufosinate ammonium today is the only member of Group 10, nitrogen metabolism inhibitors.

It’s sold on the Prairies mainly by BASF under the brand name Liberty, though several generic versions have come to market since the chemical’s patent expired.

In North Dakota, farmers apply glufosinate to 10 million acres of land every year, Ikley said.

So, kochia plants are receiving repeated doses of glufosinate, and resistance is on the horizon.

More North Dakota farmers are reporting escapes, where the herbicide fails to kill a kochia plant. If glufosinate is applied to 100 kochia plants in field and 95 die, the remaining five plants are “escapes.”

“We see escapes almost every year,” Ikley said.

“Can we prove those ones to be resistant, yet? It’s just a matter of time … until we get a population that is indeed resistant.”

It’s impossible to predict when glufosinate-resistant kochia will arrive in North Dakota or the Prairies.

But Ikley is particularly worried about canola growers, who rely on glufosinate to keep weeds in check.

InVigor hybrids dominate the canola acres in Western Canada, which are genetically modified to have tolerance to glufosinate.

“The issue, when I look at kochia and canola right now, is that the options are glyphosate or glufosinate,” Ikley said.

“And we (already) have widespread glyphosate resistance (in kochia).”

At St. Jean Farm Days, an agronomist delivered a blunt assessment of the risk.

If glufosinate-resistant kochia appears on the Prairies, farmers are “hooped.”

The post Glufosinate-resistant waterhemp appears in U.S. Midwest appeared first on Grainews.

Health Canada, in an email, said PMRA employees are coping with a large number of safety evaluations, thus delaying its decision on glufosinate.

“The target timeframes for post-market reviews typically vary between two to four years … depending on the complexity of the re-evaluation, availability of data, stakeholder engagement and other factors,” Health Canada said.

“However, like many other regulators (in other countries), PMRA is facing a backlog of post-market reviews.”

Agency experts began looking at the health and environmental safety of glufosinate-ammonium in 2018. It expects to complete the evaluation in 2027.

Liberty, which has glufosinate-ammonium as its active ingredient, is a popular herbicide on Canadian farms. It’s used to control weeds on fields seeded with BASF InVigor canola, hybrids that have tolerance to glufosinate. It’s also sprayed on weeds in other crops in Canada, the United States, South America and dozens of other countries.

The herbicide is not used in Europe, where the registration of glufosinate expired in 2018 and was not renewed. The European Union classified the herbicide as presumed toxic for human reproductivity.

BASF rejects that assessment, with its website saying it was based on lab studies where rats were exposed to “doses impossible under realistic and responsible conditions of use.”

“Glufosinate-ammonium has been used safely for 30 years… and to date, there are no known cases of harm to humans when applied according to labelled instructions.”

The PMRA launched its special review of glufosinate after France “prohibited all uses due to health reasons,” Health Canada said.

Meanwhile, the PMRA started a re-evaluation of glufosinate in 2019. Re-evaluations of pesticides happen every 15 years, which is required under the Pest Control Products Act.

The PMRA merged those efforts into one evaluation.

“There is a substantial amount of information to analyze as part of these reviews,” Health Canada said.

“Products containing glufosinate ammonium can continue to be used according to the current label directions during these evaluations.”

However, the PMRA will not permit new uses of glufosinate until the evaluation is complete.

As part of a plan to speed up reviews and decisions, the PMRA wants to focus its attention on pesticides that require more oversight.

“PMRA will continue to explore opportunities to streamline its processes and optimize resource allocation,” Health Canada said. “Thereby supporting industry competitiveness and reinforcing the PMRA’s ability to deliver on its core mandate over the long term.”

The post Ten years to study a pesticide? appeared first on Grainews.

“I do think that we are seeing more durum being grown,” Kirk said. “I anticipate we will see some increased interest in durum with these newer, better varieties that are being released.”

Manitoba isn’t exactly known for its durum production. According to Statistics Canada, Manitoba producers brought in 24,100 acres (9,800 hectares) worth last year, producing about 35,588 tonnes.

That’s a fraction of the rest of the Prairies. In 2024, Saskatchewan alone harvested 5.11 million acres (2.07 million hectares), good for 4.48 million tonnes, while Alberta produced 1.29 million tonnes off of 1.17 million acres (475,400 hectares).

Wetter conditions in the eastern Prairies, and the disease risk and associated quality concerns that come with them, are a big reason for that divide. Mycotoxin-causing infections such as fusarium and ergot are of particular concern, and Manitoba producers tend to reach for less susceptible spring wheat varieties.

AAC Frontier enters the game

New genetics highlighted at the Ag in Motion farm show at Langham, Sask., look to close that susceptibility gap.

AAC Frontier is being pitched as Canada’s first ergot-resistant durum variety. It also brings intermediate resistance to fusarium head blight, as well as resistance for stem and stripe rust.

It was developed at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Swift Current station, under the guidance of lead breeder Yuefeng Ruan, and was officially registered last year. Commercial rights for the variety currently fall under SeCan.

“When talking to durum producers, they would say that (after) fusarium, ergot would be the No. 2 downgrading factor in durum wheat,” said Todd Hyra, SeCan’s business manager for Western Canada.

The variety is currently in the seed multiplication stage of full commercialization. Seed growers in southern Saskatchewan and Alberta have it growing, Hyra says, and it’s currently on track for commercial release in 2027.

Trade assistance

Even with a better disease package, Kirk doesn’t expect that durum will suddenly explode to areas around the province.

More likely, she said, durum production will stay concentrated in the drier, southwest portion of Manitoba.

READ MORE: Let’s close the circuit on what leads to ergot

Looking past Manitoba’s interest, the advent of better disease resistance may help Canadian durum growers on the world stage.

Moroccan grain processors, who buy Canadian durum wheat for couscous, prioritize the colour of imported grain.

Rachid Chamcham of the Federation Nationale De La Minoterie (National Millers Federation) in Morocco made that point during the 2025 Durum Summit in Swift Current this winter.

“Moroccan millers look for semolina that boasts a vibrant, golden yellow colour — a hallmark of high-quality durum wheat,” Chamcham said.

“This is why they (millers) prefer Canadian amber durum wheat, particularly CWAD No. 1.”

That makes the dark, fungal sclerotia that are a hallmark of ergot an increasingly problematic issue.

Moroccan buyers examine semolina, the flour produced from durum wheat, for dark “specks.”

“Speck counting is often a mandatory quality control parameter, which ensures that the semolina meets customer specifications,” the Canadian Grain Commission said in a 2022 report on ergot in Canadian crops.

“The physical presence of the dark-coloured sclerotia … can negatively influence consumers’ acceptance of semolina and finished products.”

Ergot contamination on the rise

Ergot typically isn’t a significant threat to durum production in most years, but the grain commission report indicates that ergot occurrence has been rising since approximately 2010.

Between 1995 and 2009, ergot incidence (percentage of plants with symptoms) averaged 2.9 per cent in durum. The average incidence jumped to 13.1 per cent from 2010 to 2020.

Additionally, durum wheat has a strict grading tolerance for ergot at just 0.02 per cent of net weight, creating a genuine concern that producers may face downgrading at elevator facilities.

The post Ergot resistance may open new doors for durum on Prairies appeared first on Grainews.

On Sept. 23, the Argentine company that owns the technology signed a deal with the Colorado Wheat Research Foundation (CWRF) to commercialize the drought tolerant wheat in the U.S.

“The agreement combines Bioceres’ proprietary HB4 technology with CWRF’s leadership in U.S. wheat innovation to create a next generation wheat production system,” says a press release announcing the agreement.

“Bioceres will grant CWRF exclusive, sublicensable rights to the HB4 trait in the U.S. territory.”

Bioceres Crop Solutions was created in Argentina in 2019 to commercialize its HB4 trait for wheat and soybeans.

The transgenic wheat has a drought-tolerant gene that comes from sunflowers and is also tolerant of glufosinate.

Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay have approved the cultivation of HB4 wheat, says ISAAA.org. Other countries, including Australia and New Zealand, have authorized its use in food and feed products.

In August of 2024, the U.S. Department of Agriculture approved the cultivation of HB4 wheat.

However, American farmers won’t be planting a GM wheat for a while, probably not until 2029, 2030 or later.

“Cultivation approval is different from commercialization,” says a post from Peter Laudeman, director of trade policy with the U.S. Wheat Associates.

Bioceres has to partner with U.S. breeding companies, do field trials and performance verification in U.S. wheat varieties, Laudeman said.

“And perhaps most importantly, export market approvals. This process is likely to take three to five years or more.”

That piece of the puzzle, export market approvals, is a major concern for a country such as Canada. In recent years, Canada has been the third largest exporter of wheat in the world, after Russia and the European Union.

As a result, Canada needs to move carefully on GM wheat.

“Market access is a critical factor for any of those new technologies and especially in Canada. We do have such a high export volume for wheat production that it’s something we’re carefully watching,” Krista Zuzak, director of crop protection and production at Cereals Canada, said last August.

As part of the deal between Bioceres and the Colorado Wheat Research Foundation, the HB4 trait will be made available to public and private wheat breeding programs in the U.S. through an open licensing model.

“This is an important milestone for the wheat industry and sets the stage for long-term innovation in this important crop,” said Brad Erker, executive director of the Colorado Wheat Research Foundation.

“We are proud to support open and inclusive access to HB4 technology and to lead U.S. stakeholder engagement to ensure its responsible rollout.”

The post GM wheat gets closer to reality in U.S. appeared first on Grainews.

“I was happy to see it,” said Wolf, co-owner of Agrimetrix, a Saskatoon company that does research and training for agricultural sprays.

Why it matters: Dicamba-resistant soybeans include some of the most popular varieties currently grown in Manitoba.

In a proposed decision released Sept. 17, Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency banned the spraying of dicamba on dicamba tolerant (DT) soybeans after the crop starts growing.

Prohibiting “over the top” use of dicamba on DT soybeans should reduce the risk of off-target damage in the future.

“Yes. I would say that is true,” Wolf said.

“They’ve recognized volatility as the bigger cause of drift than droplet drift.”

This is not a final decision because crop science companies, farmers and others have 45 days to comment on the proposal.

Bayer will likely comment, since it sells corn and soybean seeds under the Roundup Ready Xtend brand, which are tolerant to both dicamba and glyphosate.

It allows farmers to spray the crop and control weeds during the growing season.

Bayer Crop Science Canada is assessing the PMRA’s proposed special review decision and the potential impact on the agriculture industry.

“Bayer stands behind the safety of our products, including dicamba, which is an important herbicide for Canadian farmers,” the company said in an email.

“Dicamba complements glyphosate as a critical crop protection tool by controlling certain glyphosate resistant weeds and providing consistent broadleaf residual weed control. Dicamba is a significant tool for growers and was applied to 9.3 million acres of Canadian crop land in 2024 (Source: Ag Data).”

The PMRA has been conducting a special review into the risks of spray drift from dicamba. Its decision will have the following impacts on soybean and corn growers in Canada, the PMRA said:

• Removal of over-the-top applications to DT soybeans after the crop starts growing (post-emergence). Currently, dicamba products can be applied once before planting or emergence, and up to two more times post-emergence.
• Cancellation of its use for DT soybean seed production.

New label requirements include:

• Avoid application when temperatures exceed 25 C, as warmer temperatures can cause dicamba to volatilize and move off-site.
• Lower the maximum plant height for application on DT field corn crop from 76 cm to 50 centimetres.
• Update the size of spray buffer zones for crop and non-crop areas, ranging from one to 115 metres for field sprayers and from 45 to 800 metres for aerial application.

Health Canada looked at and evaluated the risk of spray drift and from dicamba volatilization, where the herbicide evaporates from the soil or plant tissue following application.

Department scientists concluded that “dicamba has the potential to volatilize and move off-site throughout the entire growing season.”

Health Canada looked at reports where dicamba was applied to DT crops and caused damage to nearby agricultural fields or plants. From 2015-25, there were 101 reported cases of damage to non-target plants.

Wolf said the number of drift incidents was likely much higher than 101.

“(Official) notifications are usually the items of last resort,” he said.

“Most reports (of damage) don’t make it to any kind of authority. They’re ignored (by the farmer) … or they’re settled between neighbours.”

Since about 2017, Wolf has questioned the idea of spraying dicamba on top of DT soybeans. He doubts it can be done safely because the risk of evaporation and dicamba moving to another field is too high.

The best option is not to spray it.

“I think when you put the pieces together, any thinking person would say, ‘well, that’s probably the best thing to do,’ ” he said late this summer.

If farmers use the right product and follow the label directions, the risk of drift can be minimized, said Terry Buss, production agronomist with Manitoba Pulse & Soybean Growers.

“Old-fashioned dicamba can drift pretty readily, (but) … the products that are made specifically for soybeans, which are the only ones that are supposed to be used, are less prone to drift.”

One example is Bayer’s XtendiMax with Vapor Grip technology. Bayer says it’s a “low volatility formulation” of dicamba, specifically designed for Roundup Ready Xtend soybeans.

Bayer Crop Science Canada said dicamba has been used in Canada for 45 years and remains an important tool for Canadian farmers.

“Its usage has increased by about three times over the past 10 years because it is an effective tool of key driver weeds, particularly on kochia in the west and Canada fleabane in the east.”

Bayer, soybean growers and other interested parties have until Nov. 1 to comment on Health Canada’s proposed decision on dicamba. — With files from Jeff Melchior

The post Proposed dicamba restrictions please expert appeared first on Grainews.

In a decision released Wednesday morning, Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency removed the registration to spray dicamba on dicamba tolerant soybeans after the crop starts growing.

Bayer sells corn and soybean seed under the Roundup Ready XTend brand, which is tolerant to both dicamba and glyphosate, allowing Canadian farmers to spray the crop and control weeds during the growing season.

Bayer assessing PMRA proposal

In an email to the Western Producer, Bayer Crop Science Canada said it is still assessing the PMRA’s proposed special review decision and the potential impact on the agriculture industry.

“Bayer stands behind the safety of our products, including dicamba, which is an important herbicide for Canadian farmers,” Bayer said.

“Dicamba complements glyphosate as a critical crop protection tool by controlling certain glyphosate resistant weeds and providing consistent broadleaf residual weed control. Dicamba is a significant tool for growers and was applied to 9.3 million acres of Canadian crop land in 2024 (Source: Ag Data).”

The PMRA has been conducting a special review on the risks of spray drift and volatilization of dicamba. Using Health Canada language, it was looking at the “potential risk to non-target terrestrial plants from the use of commercial dicamba products.”

Impacts on soy, corn

In its proposed special review decision, posted online Sept. 17, Health Canada said its decision will have the following impacts on soybean and corn growers in Canada:

•  Removal of over-the-top applications to dicamba tolerant (DT) soybeans after the crop starts growing (post-emergence). Currently, dicamba products can be applied once before planting or emergence and up to two more times post-emergence.
• Cancellation of its use for DT soybean seed production

New label requirements include:

• Avoid application when temperatures exceed 25 C because warmer temperatures can cause dicamba to volatilize and move off-site.
• Lower the maximum plant height for application on DT field corn crop from 76 centimetres to 50 cm. This will help reduce the chance of pesticide drift to nearby plants and align with the current application height limit for non-DT field corn.
• Update the size of spray buffer zones for crop and non-crop areas, ranging from one to 115 metres for field sprayers and from 45 to 800 metres for aerial application.

Risk of spray drift and volatilization

Health Canada evaluated the risk of spray drift and dicamba volatilization, where the herbicide evaporates from the soil or plant tissue following application.

Agency scientists concluded that “dicamba has the potential to volatilize and move off-site throughout the entire growing season.”

Further, Health Canada studied incidents where dicamba applied to DT crops caused damage to nearby agricultural fields or plants.

From 2015-25, there were 101 reported cases of damage to non-target plants, “89 per cent of which involved just five commercial products with registered uses in DT crops,” Health Canada said.

Some pesticide application experts believe that the risk of volatilization from dicamba is too high and cannot be properly managed. Others say that newer dicamba products are less volatile.

Under the proposed Health Canada decision, soybean growers could still apply dicamba to DT soybeans before seeding or before the crop emerges from the ground.

However, there are no permitted uses in dicamba tolerant soybean seed production.

All uses of dicamba on crops that are not-tolerant of the herbicide, such as cereal crops and lowbush blueberries, are still permitted if the proposed label amendments are implemented.

Health Canada will accept written comments on this proposed decision until Nov. 1.

The post Health Canada proposes new restrictions for dicamba on soybeans appeared first on Grainews.