(Photo courtesy Canola Council of Canada)

Canada presses China on science in canola trade spat

Ottawa | Reuters — Canada is urging the Chinese government to stick to scientific facts in decisions on trade as Beijing plans to toughen its standard on Canadian canola shipments, federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay said Thursday. China’s quarantine authority, AQSIQ, notified the Canadian Food Inspection Agency last month that it would allow no more […] Read more

The Canola Performance Trials

The Canola Performance Trials

Who pays for them? Why? Learn more about how to make the trials work for you

Do you depend on your provincial seed guides to help you make a choice about what varieties of canola you’re going to plant any given year? If so, you may be wondering, given that those great resources are available, why the Canola Performance Trials (CPT) are also important for making decisions for your particular acreage. […] Read more



saskatchewan farmer Florian Hagmann credits several factors including good seed, decent moisture, and effective rates of liquid fertilizer products from Kugler Co. for helping him produce a field of a record-yielding 116 bushel canola crop in 2015. Albert Cochet of Birch hills (pictured) who actually combined the field for Hagmann stands next to one of the fertilizer signs.

Big fertility package produced a big canola yield

Liquid fertilizer blends seemed to make a difference for this Saskatchewan farmer

Florian Hagmann threw everything he had into producing a quarter section of canola that topped 116 bushels per acre and averaged 111.3 bushels per acre last year. The Saskatchewan farmer, who farms near Birch Hills, northeast of Saskatoon says the input costs pushed his comfort zone, but the real point was to “push the limits” […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

Blackleg, big stocks seen behind China-Canada canola conflict

Reuters — A “scientific disagreement” between Canada and China over the risk of transmitting the blackleg fungus is behind China’s move to raise its standard for Canadian canola imports, an industry official involved in discussions said. But some traders say the real reason for a higher standard that may slow Chinese imports is the country’s […] 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


Cutaway of Plant and Roots in Dirt

Studying soil responses to sulphur

U of S researchers look at responses to sulphur fertilizer in different soil zones

Will farmers see a yield bump from sulphur, given that most soils aren’t severely depleted? How tolerant are crops to sulphur fertilizer in the seed-row? How long does it take for plants to use sulphur? Those were a few of the questions Dr. Jeff Schoenau, University of Saskatchewan soil scientist, set out to answer at […] Read more

Five risky situations for stored canola

Five risky situations for stored canola

Agronomist Greg Sekulic explains how you can get your canola safely through the winter

Last winter, western Canadian canola growers reported rising temperatures in canola bins. The reasons for the heating were many, and most could have been avoided had the bins been regularly checked. To further reduce the risk of spoilage, keep in mind these tips, provided by the Canola Council of Canada’s agronomy specialist, Greg Sekulic. 1. Temperature risk […] Read more


The recent downward trend in commodity prices also favours soybeans, say agri benchmark, a global network of agricultural experts.

Canola gets competition from soybeans

Canadian soybean acreage is likely to continue increasing

Canola faces fierce competition from other oilseeds like soy or sunflowers, according to research completed by agri benchmark. The global non-profit network of agricultural experts completed three in-depth case studies of the on-farm competitiveness of rapeseed/canola versus other oilseed crops in Canada, Hungary and Ukraine. Results were presented during the International Rapeseed Conference in Saskatoon […] Read more

Summer Landscape with a field of yellow flowers. Sunset

2015 weather affects 2016 agronomy

Agronomy tips... from the field

Now that 2015 is pretty much under our belts, I think we can say, in general, that weather conditions got off to a fairly good start and then turned unusually dry for the balance of the season. And when the rains eventually did come, they came at the wrong time — creating challenging conditions at […] Read more