In parts of the field, wheat plants were pale, shorter and had smaller heads than the healthy-looking wheat. Maturity was delayed. Tissue tests would show the truth.

Crop advisor casebook: What’s holding back this stunted wheat?

A Crop Advisor's Solution from the March 10, 2020 issue of Grainews

Randy, a grain farmer near Winnipeg, Man., was surveying one of his wheat fields back in June when he noticed that something was off with the crop. There was a large area running right up the middle of the field that had stunted, pale-looking wheat and he was anxious to find out why. Randy called […] Read more

Sustainable agriculture is both a philosophy and a system of farming.

Redefining agricultural production

Organic, regenerative, sustainable. What do all of these new terms mean?

Agricultural production used to be basically divided into two camps; conventional and organic. The two production styles have clear delineations and are pretty much exclusive of each other. Today the lines between these systems are being blurred as farmers are beginning to embrace sustainable and regenerative agricultural practices. All of these different terms can be […] Read more


Ernest sprayed his flax field with a Group 1 herbicide to eliminate green foxtail in his crop, 
but the treatment didn’t appear to be having 
any affect.

Crop advisor casebook: Herbicide not doing its job in this farmer’s flax field

A Crop Advisor's Solution from the March 3, 2020 issue of Grainews

Back in June, I got a call from Earnest, who grows 2,500 acres of soybeans, canola, oats and flax on his farm near Starbuck, Man. He told me he’d recently sprayed his flax field with a Group 1 herbicide to eliminate green foxtail in his crop, but the treatment didn’t appear to be having any […] Read more

Producer panel at the Regenerative Agriculture Forum organized by the Manitoba Forage and Grasslands Association in Brandon in November. 
L to R: Arron Nerbas, Brooks White, Scott Wolfe. 


Tips and tricks for regenerative agriculture

Producers and agronomists take questions on regenerative ag at a Manitoba Forum

Interested in regenerative agriculture, and how you might implement it on your farm? The Regenerative Agriculture Forum organized by the Manitoba Forage and Grasslands Association in Brandon in November, brought together producers and experts to talk about these subjects. A panel discussion included three farmers, Brooks White, Matt Vansteelandt and Arron Nerbas. White and his […] Read more


This is the type of information generated by the Fieldprint platform about an individual farmer’s field.

Telling the buyers what they want to know

The Field to Market Fieldprint Calculator puts a number on our ag sustainability

With consumers becoming more interested in sustainable agriculture and the food industry looking for sustainable inputs, Canadian organizations came together to make sure our crop industry is ready to respond, with firm answers. “In particular, this group was interested in advancing outcomes-based metrics, where we could measure things like greenhouse gas emissions, soil carbon, land […] Read more

Ruth and Steven Mansell’s farm, Emerald Downs, is near the ocean in Western Australia. They have four daughters.

Meet your farming neighbours: Ruth and Stephen Mansell

Ruth and Stephen Mansell's grain farm is 30 km from the southern coast of Western Australia

Every farm has its own story. No two farms (or farmers) are exactly alike. Everyone got started in a different way, and every farm has a different combination of family and hired staff who make the decisions and keep things running. But, in general, even after you consider all the details, farmers are more alike […] Read more


There are exceptions, but most insecticides are neurotoxins designed to target an insects’ nervous systems.

Resistance, Group 4 and neonicotinoids

Saskatchewan pest management specialist updates growers at CropSphere

Saskatchewan’s provincial pest management specialist updated growers on the current state of government regulation of neonicotinoids at CropSphere in Saskatoon in January. He began with a review of insecticide modes of action. Just as herbicides are classified into groups according to how they control weeds, insecticides are classified into groups based on how they control insects. […] Read more

I could see numerous patches of discoloured canola plants, 
but there was no discernable pattern.

Crop advisor casebook: Mystery of the discoloured canola

A Crop Advisor's Solution from the February 18, 2020 issue of Grainews

Back in mid-June, I got a call from Dave, a grain farmer near Elie, Man., who was concerned about the condition of the plants in one of his canola fields. Dave, who also grows wheat, soybeans and flax on his 3,200-acre farm, said some of the canola plants started exhibiting discoloured leaves shortly after emergence. […] Read more


Hedging the Canadian dollar

Hedging the Canadian dollar

Hedging currency is another risk management tool for the farm

David Derwin, commodity portfolio manager with PI Financial, has been working with some of his farm clients for many years on currency hedging strategies as a risk management tool. Recently, he has helped bring these strategies into a package called the Currency Ag Strategic Hedging (CASH) program. This program helps protect farmers from a rising […] Read more

Truflex varieties allow producers to use a higher maximum rate of Roundup herbicide over a wider window of crop safety. The higher maximum rate also broadens the weed control spectrum.

TruFlex is game-changing tech for canola

Improved traits in hybrid varieties give growers more options

Flexibility is the name of the game when it comes to some of the new features in canola varieties this year. Some varieties have been developed to handle higher rates of glyphosate with a wider window of application, while others have dual herbicide tolerance, and will give farmers a choice to use one or two […] Read more