soybean research

Editor’s Rant: Seeds, saved

Against a changing climate, this is how we adapt

Before we all get much farther into this book, it needs to be said: Folks, we’re not trying to bright-side climate change here. It’s far beyond dispute that Earth’s climate is changing — in part due to natural factors over time such as changes in the sun’s radiation and the occasional volcano, but mainly due […] Read more

canola development illustration

Pipeline offers promise

Some of the country’s leading canola seed companies discuss what comes next — and what’s driving those decisions

A wise man once said the times change and if you don’t change with them you get left behind. While he likely wasn’t talking about canola, the industry’s ability to change with the times has been a key factor in its continued success in this country. It’s been estimated Canada’s canola value chain generates around […] Read more


wheat july 2024

Editor’s Rant: Bumper sticklers

Crop forecasting is a thankless job, but necessary

They were good calls at the time. Just a few weeks ago a clutch of farm writers from across Canada converged on Glacier FarmMedia’s Ag in Motion show west of Saskatoon. Some of those writers, myself included, drove past quite a lot of handsome crops en route. In some stretches, the usually blue watery mirages […] Read more

Photo: KevinDyer/iStock/Getty Images

Pulse Weekly: Lentils starting to feel harvest pressure

Lentil combining in southeast and southwest Saskatchewan were 10 per cent complete as of Aug. 5, according to that province’s crop report. Harvesting of the pulse was six per cent done in the west-central region, while most of Saskatchewan’s lentil crop was still standing. Over in Alberta, the combining of pulses was expected to get underway this week.



Cabbage seedpod weevil.

The march of the cabbage seedpod weevil

Cooler, wetter spring could favour the pests this year

The cool, damp spring the Prairies are experiencing could lead to a bad year for cabbage seedpod weevils, which is bad news for canola growers. “They seem to like it a little bit cooler, rather than very hot, and can suffer with great heat and very dry conditions,” Saskatchewan Agriculture entomologist James Tansey says. “That […] Read more






The young Packard’s grasshopper is green with black scattered dots that resemble pepper. The adult version seen here is grey to dark yellow with two light-coloured stripes behind the eyes and grey forewings.

Grasshoppers: Brace for impact

The past year was bad for grasshoppers on the Prairies and 2024 could be worse, experts warn

It’s still the middle of winter, but it’s never too early to think about grasshoppers. That was one message delivered at last month’s Canola Week annual meetings in Calgary, which brought together canola industry leaders from across North America. Meghan Vankosky, a field crop entomologist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada based in Saskatoon, spoke during […] Read more