wildfire smoke over cattle grazing outside calgary 2023

What we know about how wildfire smoke affects Prairie crops

Impacts depend on smoke quantity, plant progress, surrounding weather conditions

With nearly 100 active wildfires across the three Prairie provinces at this writing, farmers don’t have to go far to see and feel the effects of smoke in the atmosphere — but what this year’s crops will experience is a more complicated matter. If you’ve got time for some reading right now, here we’ve gathered […] Read more




Photo: SusanneSchulz/iStock/Getty Images

Cereals withstood storms better: CCHA

Approximately 1,000 crop damage claims made from storms between June 23 and July 1

“Numerous early season storms have resulted in a number of claims for the industry,” CCHA Chairman Scott McQueen of Palliser Insurance said in a statement. “Cereals have generally fared better as many were hit in the grassy stages of development and minimal damage to the plant was caused with environmental conditions being favourable so that crops that were hit by hail are able to recover.”


photo of a gopher on a mound of earth

The ground squirrel survey says…

Saskatchewan has surveyed farmers to get a new read on Richardson’s ground squirrel populations and on-farm damage

Richardson’s ground squirrel damage has frustrated Saskatchewan farmers for years. Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Agriculture recently conducted a survey of farmers to better understand where Richardson’s ground squirrels are present, the methods producers use to deal with them, and which approaches are most effective. The online survey was conducted this past December and January. A total […] Read more

File photo of a Canadian Holstein dairy cow outdoors. (Diane Kuhl/iStock/Getty Images)

Quebec ag ministry, UPA organize to round up rogue dairy herd

Spooked cattle on run since July

Quebec’s provincial ag ministry and the Mauricie regional arm of the Union des producteurs agricoles (UPA) are asking for the public’s patience as they organize a new effort to capture a herd of dairy cattle on the loose since the summer. Quebec media quoting dairy farmer Pierre Lapointe, the animals’ owner, have said the cattle […] Read more


People cook food beside their damaged house following rains and floods during Pakistan’s monsoon season at Jafarabad, about 400 km north of Hyderabad, on Aug. 28, 2022. (Photo: Reuters/Amer Hussain)

Produce prices spike in flood-hit Pakistan as food crisis looms

Flooding wrecks crops, hampers logistics

Lahore | Reuters — Vegetable and fruit prices have soared in markets across Pakistan as devastating rains ruin crops and disrupt supplies, an early sign of how the worst floods in decades are creating food shortages at a time of financial crisis. Pakistan’s 220 million people are already facing rampant inflation, with consumer prices up […] Read more

BASF announced Oct. 19 it has received registration for Broflanilide, its newest active ingredient, from Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency.

Difficult to get a count on wireworms

New BASF seed treatment should pack a terminal punch

New BASF seed treatment should pack a terminal punch

If there was such a thing as carefree wireworm days they definitely have become numbered as registration of a new, effective seed treatment developed by BASF has received final registration. Why it matters: The presence of wireworms when sampling, even at low levels, is a potential cause for concern, experts say. BASF announced Oct. 19 […] Read more