Ergot can be found on a number of “grass” species and not just rye. The fungal disease can develop on timothy grass as well as most cereal grains.

Watch closely for ergot-infected feeds

Several grasses and some grain crops can be susceptible


Last spring, auction mart chat turned a problem with ergot in grasses. The conversation pointed towards lame cattle resulting from feeding timothy straw. My curiosity piqued because a high percentage of cattle producers have been feeding everything from timothy straw to pea straw, to canola straw and bakery waste for the last few years, so […] Read more

New cereal varieties hitting the market for 2020

New cereal varieties hitting the market for 2020

Canterra, FP Genetics, Proven Seed and SeCan are bringing new options to the market

If you’re looking for CPSR, CWRS, durum or even barley, these four companies are bringing a handful of new varieties to the market for 2020. Wheat and durum breeders have been working hard to come up with better fusarium resistance. Canterra has developed a new two-row malt barley variety, and Proven Seed has two new […] Read more



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Feed weekly outlook: Prairie market stable heading into New Year

MarketsFarm — Western Canadian feed grain markets are showing some stability heading into the New Year, as buyers have generally booked coverage over the holiday season. “Everybody is just waiting to see what will happen,” said Mike Fleischhauer of Eagle Commodities in Lethbridge. While large amounts of tough grain were moving, he said there was […] Read more


August 16, 2019. Not a bad-looking crop but all stages from nearly ripe to grass green.

Les Henry: Diary of my 2019 wheat crop

This growing season was challenging, but the end result was better than expected

The 2019 crop year will go on record as one of the more challenging in a long time. In the past decade we have had a very good run of good crops — often with harvest weather that allowed long stretches where dry grain could be binned. At the same time, we have enjoyed crop […] Read more