AAFC’s Breanne Tidemann says kochia (seen here) appears to be spreading to areas of Alberta where it wasn’t seen previously.

Into the weeds: 2024 in preview

Prairie specialists consider which weeds are most likely to succeed as the season proceeds

The past few seasons have been a challenging time for farmers on the Canadian Prairies. Extreme heat, lack of precipitation and steep increases in production costs have caused some sleepless nights for many producers. As if those weren’t enough to contend with, another potential threat to crops will soon rear its ugly head: weeds. Grainews […] Read more


Planting perennial forages in ditches is recommended to help keep kochia from getting a toehold.

Weed alerts on the southern front

A North Dakota weed expert cautions Prairie farmers about kochia, waterhemp and Palmer amaranth and their evolving herbicide tolerances

Of all the things shared by Prairie farmers on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border, an abiding love of their land, fretting over the weather and a no-nonsense, ‘get ‘er done’ attitude are among those that come to mind. Unfortunately, this also includes weed problems. Weeds know no borders, of course, so when weed trouble […] Read more

Trying multiple varieties will better help Prairie growers understand what does -- and doesn't -- work on their fields, Horst Bohner says

Planting just one soybean variety is a ‘mistake’

Growers should try at least three, an Ontario soy expert says

Horst Bohner is convinced — completely so — that farmers should plant more than one variety of soybeans. If they don’t, they are making a “mistake,” he says. “As a basic starting point, I think every grower should seed at least three varieties. Every year. As a minimum. Hopefully more than that,” says Bohner, the […] Read more


With the increasing incidence of herbicide resistance, producers must adjust their strategies to manage kochia and other resistant weeds.

Your provincial weed outlook for 2023

Make sure these weeds are on your radar this year

For as long as agriculture has existed in Western Canada, farmers have been waging a battle to control yield-robbing weeds in their fields. It will be a similar story in 2023. The difference this time around is that battle could be shaped largely by the location where it is being fought. While Manitoba received significant […] Read more

Weeds exactly like the one shown above were found in Lucas’ corn field after he sprayed 
with Roundup.

Crop advisor casebook: Why is this Manitoba field full of pigweed?

A Crop Advisor's Solution from the September 21, 2021 issue of Grainews

Lucas farms near Starbuck, Man., growing corn, soybeans, wheat, oats and canola. I received a call from Lucas at the end of June last year. He suspected he had some herbicide efficacy problems, as he noticed some redroot pigweed was not dying after he sprayed a field of corn with Roundup. “It’s been three weeks […] Read more


In this photo from Mike Cowbrough’s October 2019 Pest Patrol column in Country Guide, light-green waterhemp plants approach the top of a soybean canopy after two ineffective applications of glyphosate. (Supplied photo)

Group 27 herbicide resistance arrives in Canada

Mesotrione-resistant waterhemp confirmed in Quebec

A persistent and fiercely competitive weed that has developed resistance to several herbicide groups since its arrival in Canada is now the first in the country to fight off a Group 27 product. Quebec’s Reseau d’avertissement phytosanitaire (RAP) last Friday reported a patch of waterhemp with resistance to mesotrione herbicide in the Haut-Richelieu municipality, in […] Read more

Waterhemp.

Watch for expansion of waterhemp, Palmer amaranth and kochia in 2020

Serious weed threats continue to advance and grow, farmers urged to test for resistance

For growers in Manitoba, waterhemp is a serious threat in 2020, reports Tammy Jones, a Manitoba Agriculture weed specialist. This weed was present last year in both eastern and central Manitoba, and Jones’ “biggest fear” is that more will be found in the province this year. And, as reported by Canola Council of Canada (CCC), […] Read more


A waterhemp infestation can reduce soybean yields by 40 to 95 per cent.

War on weeds, take no prisoners

Hart Attacks: It will take money and commitment to just to hold enemy line

A recent issue of the Manitoba’s provincial farm newspaper, the Manitoba Co-operator, carried some depressing news. The province might be losing the war on herbicide resistant weeds; reports from the U.S. say despite some kind of trade deal with China, U.S. farmers figure they will need more than a $25 billion bailout in 2020 — […] Read more

Because it’s a new weed, probably the first thing growers will notice is stray weeds sitting above the crop canopy.

Managing herbicide-resistant waterhemp in Manitoba

The weed’s movement into Manitoba calls for more vigilant field scouting

Waterhemp was found for the first time in Manitoba in 2016, southeast of Winnipeg in the area around the RM of Taché. The discovery led to the establishment of a waterhemp surveillance program led by Manitoba Agriculture in 2017. More waterhemp was found at a second site closer to the U.S. border. In both circumstances, […] Read more