soybean field

New crops, new learning curve

Include corn and soybeans the right way, and reap the rewards

There are more corn and soybean varieties designed for Prairie growing conditions than ever before. That’s good news for growers looking to diversify, but it’s important to make sure they’re incorporated in the right way to maximize benefits and yields. Corn and soybeans are easily included in most crop rotations, providing the opportunity to expand […] Read more

These changes in height and lodging rates were found on irrigated land at Lethbridge in 2015.

Researchers put PGRs to the test

Alberta researchers find that PGRs impact different wheat varieties in different ways

The perception that all hard red wheat varieties respond equally to plant growth regulators doesn’t hold up in the field, according to an Alberta Agriculture and Forestry researcher. “We’ve looked at several different hard reds that have a height reduction, but they don’t have the improvement in standability that we need,” Dr. Sheri Strydhorst told […] Read more


oats

Specialty oats take extra patience

Growing gluten-free oats can pay a premium, but it takes extra time and planning

There are more and more gluten-free products on store shelves these days, which is good news for Zenneth Faye’s two daughters. Their intolerance to gluten was a factor in their father’s decision to look at growing gluten-free oats three years ago on his farm near Foam Lake, Saskatchewan. Faye also had a piece of land […] Read more

This is a blend of hybrid grazing brassica, tillage radish, crimson clover, fababean and RootMax annual ryegrass ready for seeding.

Planning ahead for cover crops

Be ready early to get your cover crop in quickly and extend your growing season

Cover crops can benefit your farming operation if you have time to plan ahead. There are several possible cover crops including tillage radish, crimson clover, annual ryegrass, hybrid brassica, hairy vetch, fababean, pea, barley, oats, buckwheat and more. We sell cover crop seed to our customers for different reasons. Some intend to use the cover […] Read more


Left: CDC  Meadow  was  the  most  widely  grown  yellow  pea  variety  in  both  Saskatchewan  and  Manitoba  in  2015.  Right:  The  most  widely  grown  small  green  lentil  variety  grown in 2015 was CDC Imvincible, an imidazolinone (Clearfield)  tolerant variety.

New pulse crop varieties for 2016

These new pulse varieties are hitting the market for the first time this spring

Still looking for a way to get into pulses this spring? Here is a roundup of new pulse varieties. This list is adapted from reports by Donna Fleury and Bruce Baker, prepared for the Saskatchewan Pulse Growers Association, with information also from the Manitoba Pulse & Soybean Growers 2015 Variety Evaluation Trials. Yellow Peas The […] Read more

How farmers can up their game

10 ways to run your farm more like a professional business

Farming is often described as both a lifestyle and a living. And and although not every farm is a small business, even a small farm is a business. That concept of running a business like a business, though, can often get lost in the day to day management of a farm operation, especially if there […] Read more


Writing those monthly paycheques

Writing those monthly paycheques

Are we farmers paying ourselves as much as we’re paying our hired help?

The paycheques have been signed for another month and it brings to mind the joke about the tax man and the farm owner/operator having a conversation about wages: “I need a list of your employees and how much you pay them,” demanded the agent. “Well,” replied the farmer, “there’s my farm hand. I pay him […] Read more

Check out the page on the Alberta Agriculture and Forestry website.

Fertilizer prices, now and into spring

Timing fertilizer purchases is a guessing game. Here’s one expert’s take on the issue

The time to buy fertilizer is now, if you don’t have enough stored up on the farm. December and January, if you look at numbers from the last ten years, is the best time to buy fertilizers if you have the resources and space, says Todd Bergen-Henengouwen, project assistant at Alberta Agriculture and Forestry, because […] Read more


Alberta consultant, Merle Good, right, speaks with Nova Scotia farmers Wayne and Nicole Oulton in Edmonton about getting the most out of tax strategies and new approaches to farm business arrangements.

Defining roles can save the farm

Deciding and confirming “who’s in charge here” can take frustration out of the family farm

Improved communications and actually defining roles and responsibilities on a family farm can not only make the day go better, but can actually save a farm business, says a long-time Alberta consultant. Confusion over who is in charge can lead to some very stressful situations, says Merle Good, a well know consulting agricultural tax specialist […] Read more

A race against evolving blackleg

A race against evolving blackleg

The blackleg pathogen is evolving to challenge blackleg resistant canola varieties

Blackleg is not going away. In fact, AAFC researcher Dr. Garry Peng told Saskatchewan farmers at a November meeting, “we are seeing a creeping up of the disease over the last five, six years, in all provinces.” Researchers first began to recognize blackleg in canola in the mid-70s. Blackleg incidence reached a peak in the […] Read more