(Lightguard/iStock/Getty Images)

Seeding already behind in Saskatchewan

MarketsFarm — Saskatchewan Agriculture on Thursday issued its first weekly crop report of 2022, showing only one per cent of all crops in the ground. The report cited cool temperatures and spring snowstorms holding back many farmers getting into their fields. The overall five-year average at this time of year is five per cent complete. […] Read more

Nutrien’s Patience Lake potash facility, about 15 km east of Saskatoon. (Nutrien.com)

Nutrien may further raise potash output as sanctions curb other supplies

Chicago | Reuters — Canada’s Nutrien, the world’s largest fertilizer company, is weighing further increases to potash production as sanctions continue to limit shipments from Russia and Belarus, interim CEO Ken Seitz said on Tuesday. Prices of crop nutrients such as potash have skyrocketed as sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine have disrupted […] Read more


Spring runoff on April 27, 2022 at the Pembina Escarpment near Miami, Man., about 40 km northwest of Winkler. (Manitoba Co-operator/Allan Dawson video screengrab)

Flood warnings raised in Manitoba, southeastern Saskatchewan

Flows could reach 2009 levels in Manitoba

MarketsFarm — Spring flooding in Manitoba’s Red River Valley could approach levels last seen in 2009, the highest water level since 1997’s “Flood of the Century,” according to the latest update from the provincial Hydrologic Forecast Centre. The centre is monitoring a precipitation system forecast for the April 29-May 1 weekend that is expected to […] Read more

(Scott Bauer photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

High-path avian flu arrives in Manitoba poultry

More farms also hit in Saskatchewan, Alberta, Ontario, bringing total to 40 across Canada

Federal and provincial animal health officials have confirmed the arrival of highly pathogenic avian influenza on a commercial poultry operation in Manitoba, making it the seventh province so affected. The provincial ag ministry said Sunday that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency had confirmed high-path H5N1 avian flu in a commercial flock in the RM of […] Read more


AAFC’s Drought Monitor map for the period ending March 31, 2022. (Agriculture.canada.ca)

Drought severity easing across much of Prairies, AAFC reports

MarketsFarm — Drought conditions persisted across much of the Prairies during the month of March, although the extent and severity of the dryness was reduced in many areas, according to the latest Drought Monitor report from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC). “While there have been substantial improvements to drought conditions across Western Canada since last […] Read more



Insulators for electric fencing will be a black-and-white PST-exempt expense for ranchers in Saskatchewan starting April 1, 2022. (Gallagher.com)

Saskatchewan clarifying certain on-farm PST exemptions

More items to be specified as exempt in tax regulations

Saskatchewan farmers’ and ranchers’ concerns about some inconsistencies in how and when provincial sales tax is applied to purchases of on-farm equipment will be dealt with in a revised list effective late next week. The province said Wednesday in a budget release that a “number of clarifications” will be made to its Provincial Sales Tax […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

Saskatchewan budget aims to spur ag investment

Potash, crude oil resource revenues help cut deficit

Sweetening existing tax credits on big-ticket investments, and setting up a new Crown corporation to support Indigenous investors, are among the items expected to help encourage new value-added ag projects in Saskatchewan’s latest budget. Provincial Finance Minister Donna Harpauer on Wednesday released her 2022-23 budget with $17.6 billion in expenditures on $17.2 billion in revenues, […] Read more


(Thinkstock photo)

Prairie cash wheat: Bids rise in choppy activity

U.S. wheat futures up on week overall

MarketsFarm — Spring wheat bids across Western Canada moved higher during the week ended Thursday, although the uncertain situation in Ukraine saw some wide price swings in U.S. wheat futures. Average Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS, 13.5 per cent protein) wheat prices were up by $11.30-$16.30 per tonne, according to price quotes from a cross-section […] Read more

A group of wild boars running in Europe, where the pigs have caused challenges with disease spread. (iStock/Getty Images)

Saskatchewan to license, limit wild boar farming

Moratorium placed on any new farms

Saskatchewan is tightening its rules on wild boar farming, including a moratorium on any new farms, in a renewed bid to keep the province’s feral pig population in check. The provincial ag ministry announced the moratorium Wednesday and said it’s “developing regulations for licensing existing commercial wild boar farms.” Regulations for wild boar and feral […] Read more