(Video screengrab from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada via YouTube)

Plant protein supercluster makes cut for federal funding

At the table with artificial intelligence, big data, advanced manufacturing and ocean-based energy, Prairie pulse, oilseed and cereal crops are in for a share of federal support to spur innovation in Canada. Innovation, Science and Economic Development Minister Navdeep Bains on Thursday announced Protein Industries Canada (PIC) as one of five “superclusters” which will receive […] Read more

Chad contacted me about malformed pods on the upper portion of his glyphosate-tolerant canola plants.

Crop advisor casebook: What caused the malformed pods in Chad’s canola crop?

A Crop Advisor's Solution from the February 13, 2018 issue of Grainews

Chad, who owns a mixed grain and cattle farm near Togo, Sask., noticed something was not quite right with his canola crop. It was early August 2016 when Chad contacted me about malformed pods on the upper portion of his glyphosate-tolerant canola plants. “The pods don’t look right,” he said. “They’re all twisted up and […] Read more



Safe rates for seed-placed fertilizer

Safe rates for seed-placed fertilizer

Q: How do I determine the safe rate of seed-placed fertilizer for canola, wheat and barley? A: If you’ve bought a new drill, changed openers or changed your fertilizer blends, these changes may have implications on seed safety. Many new drills have moved to wider row spacing and narrower openers. Take the time to investigate […] Read more


New non-GMO canola variety for the market

Manipulation and natural plant enzymes create sulfonylurea-resistant variety

For western Canadian farmers waiting for a herbicide tolerant canola variety with a different mode of chemistry action to help reduce the risk of herbicide tolerance, SU Canola is here. Commercially available on a limited basis, Cibus (pronounced See-bus) is launching its first herbicide-tolerant, non-GMO canola variety, resistant to sulfonylurea herbicide, to Prairie farmers for […] Read more

There were no hives for 30 miles, but still piles of bees around the Phacelia stand.

My 2017 crop year in review

It was dry, but still a good year at Kevin Elmy’s Friendly Acres Seed Farm in eastern Saskatchewan

For the producers that wanted a drier year, we definitely got that in 2017. Between 2009 and 2016, we received just under 200 inches (500 mm) of rain, so a year with “normal” rain would have been well received. 2017 delivered 2-1/2 inches (63 mm), and two-thirds of that came in the beginning of June. […] Read more


Country Guide in 2014 profiled Milligan Biofuels, whose Foam Lake, Sask. facility is shown here with the company’s first executive manager, local farmer Zenneth Faye. (Photo for Country Guide by Carol’s Photography)

Canola biodiesel processor in receivership

An eastern Saskatchewan biodiesel processor using growers’ heated, green, spring-harvested, tough and otherwise off-spec canola for feedstock is in receivership. Saskatchewan Court of Queen’s Bench on Thursday appointed Calgary-based insolvency trustee Hardie and Kelly as the receiver for Milligan Biofuels, which operates at Foam Lake, about 90 km northwest of Yorkton. Alberta’s Crown lending agency […] Read more

Canola seed, oil and meal. (Photo courtesy Canola Council of Canada)

COPA ends weekly canola, soybean crush reports

CNS Canada — The Canadian Oilseed Processors Association (COPA) announced Friday it will stop publishing its weekly report on member crushings. The report detailed how much canola and soybeans were crushed in Canada. The report was issued weekly and followed by different industry professionals across the country. Ken Ball of PI Financial in Winnipeg was […] Read more


Lygus bug: Profile of a crop pest

Lygus bug: Profile of a crop pest

The lygus bug is an interesting pest. Native to Canada, adult insects overwinter under plant debris and migrate into crops, including canola, alfalfa, soybeans and sunflowers. Arriving in spring and summer, they lay their eggs on crop stems. Lygus is a complex that refers to four species: L. elisus (pale legume bug), L. lineolaris (tarnished […] Read more

Lygus bugs: know when to spray them

Lygus bugs: know when to spray them

Researchers are revisiting economic threshold recommendations on spraying these bugs

[UPDATED: Jan. 31, 2018] Economic thresholds are developed and publicized so farmers will know when it makes sense to spray for a particular pest. For example, the economic threshold might be that if you have two bugs in your sweep net, the yield you gain will make it worth your costs and time to spray […] Read more