U of M professor Paul Bullock checks data from a portable weather station during development of the FHB risk assessment tool.

Online fusarium management tool due out this spring

Preliminary tests of the online tool showed a good level of accuracy

A follow-up to a story we first brought you last July about a new online tool being developed by soil scientists at the University of Manitoba to make fusarium head blight (FHB) risk management in cereal crops easier for Prairie farmers. Paul Bullock, a senior scholar with the U of M’s department of soil science, […] Read more

Bacterial leaf streak has an impact on late-stage crops but can appear in the three- to five-leaf stage.

Irrigators warned to watch for bacterial outbreaks in cereals

Bacterial leaf streak is already an issue for Alberta and the U.S. Plains

Saskatchewan irrigators can consider themselves warned: look out for bacterial leaf streak. Gursahib Singh, research director of the Irrigation Crop Diversification Corp. (ICDC), presented to 200 members of the irrigation industry at the Irrigation Saskatchewan conference on Dec. 5 in Saskatoon. Bacterial leaf streak is so far not a problem in Saskatchewan, but has been […] Read more


These barley plants show signs of the damage potassium deficiency can cause.

Are your fields potassium deficient?

Cases of potassium-deficient soils are on the rise. It could mean a hit to your bottom line

Most farmers know the importance of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus in the soil and the vital role their presence plays in crop development. But what about potassium? Potassium (K) is critically important in helping provide water balance within a plant. The only way a plant can move sugar and nutrients is by moving […] Read more

File photo of a thistle plant in a wheat crop. (Dave Bedard photo)

Vietnam to call off thistle seed ban in grain imports

Move will restore regular grain trade, Cereals Canada says

Vietnam is expected to resume nearer-to-normal grain trade with exporting nations such as Canada, after it loosens a significant restriction on weed seed content. Cereals Canada, a national cereals industry group, on Friday reported that Vietnam’s agriculture ministry has released a revised quarantine pest list due to take effect Sept. 29. The new list, Cereals […] Read more


A look at one of the plot locations used during the field testing of the University of Manitoba’s fusarium head blight risk assessment tool.

FHB risk assessment tool created for Western Canada

With real-time data, the new tool shows the risk of FHB in small grain cereal crops on a specified date

A new online tool developed by a team of scientists and researchers in Manitoba could soon make fusarium head blight (FHB) risk management in cereal crops easier for Prairie farmers. For the past five years, staff in the department of soil science at the University of Manitoba (U of M) have been working on a […] Read more

Fungicide being applied at the flag leaf stage of wheat in July 2019. The field trial at Bon Accord, Alta., was part of an Alberta Agriculture project looking into optimal fungicide timings for two CWRS cultivars.

Fungicide timing for wheat leaf disease and FHB

A single fungicide application at the anthesis stage may produce the best results

Prairie grain producers always keep close tabs on the weather during the growing season to see if conditions turn favourable for disease development in their crops. If that happens, there may not be a simple answer to the question of whether to spray or not. And much of that has to do with timing. “The […] Read more


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Saskatchewan’s harvest 90 per cent complete

MarketsFarm — Excellent weather over the week ended Monday saw Saskatchewan farmers make good harvest progress, with 90 per cent of the province’s crops off the field, according to the latest provincial report. Harvest progress was up from 81 per cent the previous week — and from the five-year average of 82 per cent. While […] Read more

Larry Penner plans on including winter cereal crops in his rotation for several reasons – it spreads out the workload, benefits wildlife, improves weed control and, at the end of the day, the crops are also profitable.

Benefits of winter crops outweigh the challenges

Depending on seeding conditions, the best approach may be to ‘seed shallow and pray for rain’

As the calendar rolls around to August and September each year, south-central Alberta farmer Larry Penner finds himself in two time zones — seeding time and harvest time. For a good part of his farming career, Penner has been a believer of including a winter cereal crop in rotation. He says the timing can be […] Read more


(Lightguard/iStock/Getty Images)

Saskatchewan crops advancing quickly

MarketsFarm — Hot and humid conditions saw crops in Saskatchewan advance quickly during the week ended Monday, according to the latest provincial crop report — although the humidity has slowed haying. When humidity is high, cutting hay becomes more challenging and hay that is cut does not dry down as quickly, which can result in […] Read more

Kellogg’s Canadian operations include its Mini-Wheats plant at Belleville, Ont. and its Canadian office in Mississauga. Other cereals and snack brands imported by Kellogg Canada are produced elsewhere in North America, the company says. (Kellogg Co. photo)

Kellogg to spin off into three food companies

Plant-based foods, North American cereals to be hived off

The company that makes Mini-Wheats cereal, Pringles potato crisps and MorningStar veggie burgers now plans to see those each of those three product lines go their separate ways by the end of next year. Michigan-based Kellogg Co. said Tuesday its board has approved a plan to break into three yet-to-be-named independent publicly-traded companies by way […] Read more