Sudden shifts from springlike temperatures to bone-chilling cold this winter called for a check on your stored grain, Anne Kirk says.

Avoid grain spoilage when temperatures get wild

Consider your bins when the weather swings from extreme cold to unseasonably warm

Glacier FarmMedia — With unusually high temperatures interrupted by two deep freezes, it’s been a challenging winter for grain storage on the Prairies, requiring diligence to protect stored crop. Anne Kirk, cereal crop specialist with Manitoba Agriculture, advises aeration and vigilant monitoring of bin moisture and temperature. The latter is particularly important when outside temperatures […] Read more

standing stubble from a fall harvested crop

Drought preparedness through soil and crop management

After each dry year, adapt your drought plan based on your experiences and what you learned

As spring approaches, the agricultural community is becoming increasingly concerned about potential forecasts of drought across the southern Prairies. And rightly so; the print and electronic media have posted numerous drought-related articles. Wide areas of southern Alberta and southwestern Saskatchewan and their dryland farms, irrigated farms and ranching areas could be affected. But what helpful […] Read more


Some winterkill in winter wheat doesn’t necessarily mean the surviving crop is unsaleable

Conditions ripe for winter cereal wreck

Snow cover decline, temperature flux, pooling, freezing all potential problems

Glacier FarmMedia — Minimal snow cover, frigid temperatures in mid-January and above-average temperatures after that may have set the stage for winterkill in winter crops. The risk is high enough to cause concern among crop specialists. “The eastern Prairies are in a little bit better shape than (Saskatchewan and Alberta) but there’s huge swaths that […] Read more

Photo: Thinkstock

Pulse Weekly: More dry beans for Manitoba

Planted dry bean acres in Manitoba are expected to increase for 2024/25. While Statistics Canada projected the Keystone Province to see 201,000 acres, a specialist with Manitoba Agriculture said those acres are likely to be a little bit below the StatCan estimate.


canola stems showing blackleg infection

Machine learning may help get a leg up on blackleg

AI-backed research results may help growers better manage the risk of blackleg in canola crops

Results of a recent study by researchers in Manitoba and Alberta could help growers fight blackleg disease in canola more effectively. The study was done by a team of researchers at the University of Manitoba led by Dilantha Fernando, a professor in the school’s plant science department. They were joined by Michael Harding, a plant […] Read more

A plot-scale unit seeds wheat into one of the research plots. Wheat varieties were chosen based on regionally popular varieties for each test site.

It pays to adjust seeding rate based on moisture

Keep wheat plant count in line with moisture expectations — and limit the amount of tillering

Research done across Saskatchewan recommends that the best way to optimize wheat yields is to adjust your wheat seeding rate to reflect moisture conditions, says a report from the Western Applied Research Corporation (WARC). The research concluded if you’re heading into what looks like a drier growing season, a mid- to lower wheat seeding rate […] Read more


A tomato harvest from planter boxes in Winnipeg.

Tomatoes and onions in gardens everywhere

Part 7 of a series: On all farms, tomatoes should go into ground not previously used for tomatoes

Tomatoes Tomatoes originated in South America from wild plants with grape-sized fruit. They were developed by the Indigenous peoples of the Americas. They were first brought to Europe in the 1540s, to Italy in particular by the 1550s. North Americans were slow to pick up on tomatoes, regarding them as poisonous until almost the year […] Read more

Wild foxtail barley on the edge of a canola field.

Garden seeds lead to problem weeds

The names in the garden catalogues may sound pretty, but the plants are far from that in pastures or fields

Glacier FarmMedia — Manitoba rancher Herman Bouw was casually perusing a gardening seed catalogue when a particular ornamental grass item caught his eye. The plant was listed as “squirrel tail grass,” but Bouw thought it looked awfully similar to a species with a more cursed name on the Prairies. A comparison of scientific names confirmed […] Read more


aster leafhopper

Leafhoppers remain a cause for concern

Aster yellows can quickly wipe out canola and other crops

Aster leafhoppers may be small but they pose a huge risk to canola and other crops on the Prairies. The aster leafhopper (Macrosteles quadrilineatus) typically measures 3.5 to six millimetres in length. It is straw-coloured and is sometimes referred to as the four-lined leafhopper because of the four dark lines on its forehead. While aster […] Read more

A study shows that in terms of response to moisture-related stress, the crop type is more important than the specific variety.

Curb risk from moisture stress for less

A Manitoba agronomist offers up some tips for farmers on a budget

With swings between wet and dry extremes in recent years, Prairie farmers have seen more water stress problems in their fields. Not only do they make crops less productive, but they can also crank up the stress levels for farmers. “Historically, our two main risks in crop production long term have been excess moisture and […] Read more