News & Production Tips

When implementing new technology, it’s essential to look for potential new hazards that could arise and address them as soon as possible.

Selecting the right technology for your farm

By Canadian Agricultural Safety Association February 5, 2020

Technology has created new and exciting ways to manage and improve farming operations. From GPS to drones, from bin monitors to smartphones and apps, tech is everywhere. Along with the tremendous advantages that technology has afforded farmers, there is potential for inefficiencies, frustrations, and, at worst, hazards. Selecting the right tech, using it to its […] Read more

Columns, News

What to consider when bringing a new spouse to your farm

By Leeann Minogue January 20, 2020

When someone on a family farm brings home a new spouse it’s cause for celebration, a step toward passing the farm to the next generation. Of course, there are lots of legal and business decisions to make, but then everything is fine, right? No. There are several ways things can go wrong, from arguments about […] Read more

Columns, News

Those pesky pigeons

Turn your on-farm nuisance into a new hobby for the New Year

By Ieuan Evans January 20, 2020

Are there any farmsteads on the Canadian Prairies that do not have a flock of circling pigeons looking for spoiled grain? Believe it or not, pigeons were the first birds to be domesticated many thousands of years ago. Worldwide, countless millions of pigeons are kept for racing, ornamentation, fun and food. There are some 310 […] Read more

Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers and program sponsors, from left  Carl Marquis(COYF Past President), Komie Hossini (Bayer), winners Justin and Laura Rogers (N.B.), Bruce Rutherford (CIBC), winners Mylène Bourque & Simon Michaud (Que.), Jenny Ose (John Deere), Isabelle Bériau (AAFC), Sébastien Léveillé (Sollio Agriculture).

Features, News

Eastern farms capture Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers awards

P.E.I and Que. Farmers selected from nominees as national winners

By Lee Hart January 15, 2020

The national awards for Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers (COYF) stayed east in 2019 as Justin and Laura Rogers of Brae, P.E.I., and Simon Michaud and Mylène Bourque of Kamouraska, Que. were chosen in December as overall winners from seven regional OYF finalists from the across the country. At competitions hosted by the Atlantic Canada OYF […] Read more

Features, News

Is your farm doing cash, accrual, or no budgeting?

Farm Management: Budget planning hasn’t kept pace with today’s farm value, size, or complexity

By Craig Macfie January 15, 2020

Our firm, Stark & Marsh, uses benchmarking as a tool to compare farm financial performance. The average southwest Saskatchewan incorporated farm we benchmark is 4,000 acres. Between inputs, machinery and land, costs can meet and exceed $300/acre. Costs of $300/acre multiplied by 4,000 acres equals an annual expense budget of $1.2 million dollars. This number […] Read more

Firefighters use a silo kit and other items on hand to build a cofferdam around the 14-year-old grain entrapment victim.

News, Wheat & Chaff

Training, equipment and teamwork save youth from grain entrapment

By Canadian Agricultural Safety Association January 14, 2020

Grain entrapment is a growing concern on farms and in grain-handling facilities. Grain entrapment happens quickly and is often fatal. That’s where the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association’s (CASA) BeGrainSafe program comes in. BeGrainSafe works to save lives through awareness and training. On November 4, 2019, grain rescue training and knowledge, the proper equipment and teamwork […] Read more

Cereals, Crops, News

Low falling numbers mean lower wheat prices

Grain buyers’ falling numbers tests are finding evidence of pre-harvest sprouting

By Angela Lovell January 13, 2020

A wet fall across the Prairies provided the ideal conditions for pre-harvest sprouting in cereal crops. As a result, falling numbers tests have come to the fore as a quality assessment tool for buyers, with some grain companies performing a falling test on all wheat samples before purchasing. While, for the most part, harvest conditions were the […] Read more

Features, News, Pulses

The state of pulse processing on the Prairies

The condition of the industry in the past and the possibilities for the future

By Vicki Dutton December 18, 2019

“I Just Dropped In To See What Condition My Condition Was In,” was a Mike Newbury song from 1968, a great song that captured the psychedelic era of the late 60s. The song refers to the LSD drug experience of that era, and while the comparison to drugs doesn’t fit, there is a parallel to […] Read more

News, Wheat & Chaff

Clearing snow safely and effectively this winter

By Canadian Agricultural Safety Association December 18, 2019

With winter comes snow and with snow comes snow clearing. No matter how (front-end loader, blade, snow blower or even a snow shovel or scoop) or where you clear snow (walkways, driveways, lanes, barnyards, shops, around bins and fuelling areas) there are some basic safety tips to keep in mind to keep everyone safe. Generally, […] Read more

This photo shows just three of the several different species of wireworm thriving on the Prairies.

Crops, News

Wily wireworm remains a mystery

Lack of effective control allows pest to flourish

By Lee Hart December 13, 2019

Dallas Leduc says he hasn’t noticed any particular yield losses he can blame on wireworm damage in crops on his southern Saskatchewan, grain, oilseed and pulse crop operation, but then for many years they’ve also made a point of using recommended seed treatments as well. “The pest is out there and we may have the […] Read more

Daily Network News

ICE weekly: War news driving canola markets

War is increasing food prices, insecurity say IMF, World Bank and UN food agency

B.C. agrochemical startup gets $1.2M in federal funding

News