This field of canola treated with the biological product Utrisha N was part of the Corteva Agriscience trials in 2021. During an extremely dry growing season across most of Western Canada last year, Corteva trials showed there was on average a 1.3-bushel-per-acre yield advantage for canola growers who applied Utrisha N, delivering a positive yield response 69 per cent of the time. It’s not a huge yield increase, but with canola in the $20-plus-per-bushel range, it more than covered the cost of the product. What can the product do under improved growing conditions?

Can biological crop inputs for cereals and oilseeds work?

Foliar-applied nitrogen-fixing biologicals for grains and oilseeds are a great concept. Here, four Prairie farmers share their experiences

There aren’t too many western Canadian farmers who would consider growing a pulse crop without first applying rhizobium bacteria to the seed to help the plant roots fix nitrogen in the soil. The benefits of that technology are well proven and accepted. But what about a foliar application of bacteria to the leaves and stems […] Read more

Signage outside McCain’s Farms of The Future site at Florenceville-Bristol, about 110 km northwest of Fredericton. (Photos courtesy McCain)

Learning from McCain’s regenerative farming practices

Potato processing giant aims to 'de-risk' practices for growers

In 2021 McCain said it was going to launch three regenerative potato farming operations by 2025 and would label them “Farms of the Future.” The first, just outside of Florenceville-Bristol, N.B., now offers data to reflect on the effectiveness of the practices at the potato farm after its first fully operational season. “If we don’t […] Read more


Photo: Thinkstock

U.S. grains: Corn, soybeans, wheat plunge as economic worries rise

Chicago | Reuters – U.S. corn, wheat and soybean futures plummeted on Thursday, as investor fears of an economic downturn and improved sentiment over U.S. crops shifted attention from war disruption to Black Sea exports. Wheat futures Wv1 sank to their lowest level since March 1, soybeans Sv1 hit their lowest since May 11 and corn Cv1 hit its lowest since […] Read more






ICE November 2022 new-crop canola (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (yellow, green and black lines). (Barchart)

ICE weekly outlook: Falling canola futures snowballing lower

MarketsFarm — ICE Futures canola contracts fell hard during the week ended Wednesday, with little indication of how much more room to the downside there could be. “Once the snowball starts rolling, it just rolls,” analyst Mike Jubinville of MarketsFarm said, adding there were no dynamic changes to the generally supportive canola fundamentals — but […] Read more



Photo: Thinkstock

CBOT weekly outlook: Fears over soy scarcity now gone

MarketsFarm – Soyoil prices at the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) have been tumbling of late largely due to the markets no longer being afraid of already tight global supplies becoming scarcer, according to Sean Lusk of Walsh Commercial Hedging Services in Chicago, Ill. Lush explained that the South American soybean crop wasn’t as bountiful […] Read more

Kellogg’s Canadian operations include its Mini-Wheats plant at Belleville, Ont. and its Canadian office in Mississauga. Other cereals and snack brands imported by Kellogg Canada are produced elsewhere in North America, the company says. (Kellogg Co. photo)

Kellogg to spin off into three food companies

Plant-based foods, North American cereals to be hived off

The company that makes Mini-Wheats cereal, Pringles potato crisps and MorningStar veggie burgers now plans to see those each of those three product lines go their separate ways by the end of next year. Michigan-based Kellogg Co. said Tuesday its board has approved a plan to break into three yet-to-be-named independent publicly-traded companies by way […] Read more