Crops
Meteorologist Drew Lerner said he expects colder than normal temperatures across the Canadian Prairies and much of the United States Midwest in January, while a good portion of South America is to be hotter than normal.
Crops
Canadian Prairies, U.S. Midwest to get colder in January as South America becomes hotter, drier
Some warmer temps for Prairies during week of Jan. 6
New cereals on deck for 2025
Canterra Seeds, FP Genetics, Proven Seed and SeCan will bring new options to market this year
Prairie farmers have a dozen more cereal crops to choose from for the coming growing season. New wheat, barley, oat and triticale varieties offering yield improvements, strong disease defence and more are being rolled out in Western Canada. Please note the following list includes only brand-new variety releases for 2025. READ MORE: New tools could […] Read more
Payoffs and pressures for cereals in a changing Prairie climate
Warmer, wetter, longer growing seasons carry risks as well as rewards
Cereal crops in Western Canada will be influenced by climate change in the coming years — but the impact will depend on both the crop and the primary area of Western Canada where it’s grown. Barley and oats are grown primarily in the cooler regions of the Prairies and will benefit from a longer growing […] Read more
New tools could speed up development of cereal varieties
Selection is a business of evaluation, identification — and yes, rejection
When it comes to developing new varieties of cereal crops, the focus of those efforts can be as much about what doesn’t work as what does, says one breeding expert. Francois Eudes is the director of research, development and technology for the science and technology branch at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) at Lethbridge. As […] Read more
Critical factors in growing malting barley
While malting grade offers premiums, farmers must meet stringent quality standards to avoid being left with feed
As malting barley yields approach those of top feed varieties, farmers are increasingly choosing to grow malting barley in hopes of securing a premium price — even if their end goal is feed. The problem is, those premiums don’t come easily. Shawn Pasieczka, a food safety grain specialist with Richardson, is the arbiter of what […] Read more
Editor’s Rant: The price tag on progress
Points to ponder as a seed company announces a hybrid wheat breakthrough
All things considered, the announcement is more of a surprise than it should have been. Corteva Agriscience in mid-November said it’s made a “revolutionary breakthrough” with which it expects to produce hybrid hard red winter wheat for the North American market “as early as 2027” and add other hybrid wheats to the product line over […] Read more
Hot Argentine summer is starting to damage crops, exchanges say
A hot, dry austral summer is beginning to cause damage to Argentina's 2024/25 soybean and corn crops, the country's two main grains exchanges said on Friday, after abundant spring rains had until recently provided excellent growing conditions.
New Dutch Agriculture opener knife prevents seed burn
Wider fertilizer-to-seed spread reduces toxicity risk in dry conditions
With drier growing conditions over many areas of the Prairies in the last couple of seasons, some growers applying high rates of fertilizer have been experiencing incidents of toxicity with seed. That problem has led some to look for different opener knives for their air drills that provide more seed-to-fertilizer separation. “We had customers come […] Read more
China approves more GM crops to boost yields, ensure food security
China has approved five gene-edited crop varieties and 12 types of genetically modified (GM) soybean, corn and cotton, expanding approvals to boost high-yield crops, reduce import reliance, and ensure food security.
Chile’s ‘seed guardians’ grow and protect forgotten food varieties
An emerging group of farmers and growers in Chile, known as seed guardians, aim to protect the traditional crops of their ancestors, keeping them safe from industrial agriculture and genetic modification.