Red flour beetle.

Identify pests with a new web tool

The Canadian Grain Commission is offering a new online tool 
to help farmers identify pests in stored grain

A new web tool has recently been developed to help identify pests. Brent Elliot, program/infestation control and sanitation officer, industry services, Canadian Grain Commission, helped develop this new web tool for identifying insects in stored grain. “There are actually two tools — two identification keys,” said Elliot. One identification key is for stored product beetles […] Read more

Sclerotia, the overwintering bodies of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum germinate and produce mushroom-like structures called apothecia.

Sclerotinia in Manitoba

Sclerotinia doesn’t just hit canola. Find out how to avoid this problem on your farm


Sclerotinia is a fungal stem rot disease caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. It occurs throughout the Prairies, but its severity from year to year is variable as its development depends on the right environmental conditions occurring at its germination and infection phases. Not just canola Sclerotinia gets most of its attention as a disease in canola, […] Read more


New fungicides for 2014

Companies released several new fungicides in 2013, and have been seeking new uses for existing products. Bayer CropScience launched two new products in 2013. One fungicide, Serenade CPB, leans on microbes to control disease. Lipopeptides, which are molecules produced by bacteria, punch thousands of holes in the fungal cell membranes. This destroys the fungus. The […] Read more

SuperU fertilizer will be more widely available in Canada through production at the Koch Fertilizer Canada, ULC facility at Brandon, Man. Canadian distribution will be handled by Koch Fertilizer Canada.

Nitrogen efficiency enhancers

With local production of SuperU about to come on line, Prairie farmers have a longer list of nitrogen enhancing products to evaluate

SuperU, a nitrogen efficiency enhancer, will soon be more readily available in Western Canada. In September, Koch Industries announced that it will begin producing its SuperU at its nitrogen plant in Brandon, Man. Make that one more nitrogen efficiency enhancing product to add to the already confusing list. Nitrogen efficiency enhancers are used to minimize […] Read more


Photo by Kristen Podolsky, Manitoba Pulse Growers Association

Benefits of fungicides on soybeans

When white mould became an issue for Manitoba soybean growers in 2013, there were many debates about the benefits of fungicde

This past season was the first time in a number of years, probably since 2010, that white mould in soybeans has been an issue for growers in Manitoba. It raised all sorts of questions about the disease itself, management practises to mitigate infection and what fungicides are available to suppress or control the disease. Dennis […] Read more

USDA crop estimation process

Production forecasts and estimates are a vital part of the business of marketing crops. The value of traded grains can move substantially from one day to the next on the basis of weather: drought, floods, frost, colder than normal, wetter than normal or other factors. Crop estimate reports can also cause large price swings. Last […] Read more


Protein lower than last year

Test results from the Canadian Grain Comm-ission’s 2013 Harvest Samples Program are showing a lower average protein content for western Canadian red spring wheat than last year. “This year the quality is the same but the protein is down a little,” says Twylla McKendry, program manager and head of crops section, analytical services for the […] Read more

Marketing with lower crop prices

Falling crop prices may be a marketing challenge. Here are things 
to consider as you take your crop to the market this fall

Last year was a bonus year for most western Canadian crop producers. Because of the drought in the U.S., crop prices during the last crop year were much higher than they would have otherwise been. In 2012 western Canadian crop quality was generally good, and demand was strong relative to available supplies. In contrast, this […] Read more


RoundUp Ready 2 coming soon

Monsanto has received regulatory approval to introduce its Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybeans, which has been stacked with dicamba. The technology itself hasn’t changed, so the product’s growing season will remain the same — for now. “It’s the germplasm that goes with the technology,” says Monsanto Canada’s corn and soybean lead, Mike Nailor. “We expect […] Read more

Zone till great for wet clay soils

Zone tillage is the practice of cultivating a band of soil about 21 cm (eight inches) wide, while leaving the areas between these tilled zones as no-till. Zone tillage has been around since the early 1990s. Over the last five to 10 years, this tillage system has gained in popularity. Dr. Craig Drury, research scientist […] Read more