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


Canada’s calf crop doesn’t move through expansion and contraction as it does in the U.S., but over the next year, we may see the Canadian herd mirror U.S. expansion.

Is it time for beef cow herd expansion?

Prices for calves have been strong, but it usually takes a year of high calf prices before expansion starts

Feeder cattle have been trading near historical highs over the past six months. I’ve received many emails and inquiries from cattle producers asking if there is still an opportunity to expand their herds. Producers also ask if they should buy now or wait until spring. Medium-quality bred cows have been trading in the range of […] Read more

A chickpea and flax intercrop mix on Colin Rosengren’s farm at Midale, Sask.

Cover crops: enough already

The benefits are often 'blown up' while the challenges are understated

Cover crops is a topic with a lot of ink spilled in many farm publications in recent years. Some scribblers seem to imply that a farmer is a laggard and an environmental hazard if she/he is not using cover crops on a regular basis. Cover crops actually include a wide variety of cropping sequences, and […] Read more



Long-range outlook points to warmer winter

Long-range outlook points to warmer winter

Odds less likely for Prairies next three months

MarketsFarm — Warmer than normal temperatures are expected across nearly all of Canada this winter, with average precipitation for most of the agricultural areas of the Prairies. The latest long-range seasonal forecast from Environment Canada, released Tuesday, calls for a 40 per cent chance of above-normal temperatures from November through January across most of Alberta, […] Read more


Canada could become a major grower and exporter of poppy seed or, perhaps, we could explore its oilseed and feed or food potential for the Prairies.

Poppy crops for Western Canada

Could this be an opportunity for Prairie farmers?

My interest in this topic was piqued by the fact that I purchased a pound of poppy seed at an Edmonton grocery outlet and it cost me more than $10. I checked the internet and the literature on poppy seed growing and was surprised to find that Australia, Turkey, the Czech Republic and even Britain […] Read more

Smoke billows upwards from the Donnie Creek wildfire south of Fort Nelson, B.C. n June 11, 2023. (Photo: B.C. Wildfire Service handout via Reuters)

Western Canada covered in smoke as wildfires loosen grip on Quebec

Over 200 of 449 wildfires now out of control

Ottawa | Reuters — Smoke shrouded Western Canada on Monday as wildfires flared again in the main oil-producing province of Alberta, while firefighters in Quebec doused some of the worst early-season blazes, allowing thousands of evacuees to return home. Canada is enduring its most destructive start to wildfire season, with about 4.8 million hectares — […] Read more


Forecast probability of above- or below-normal temperatures for the period from May 29 to June 26, 2023. Map issued May 25, 2023. (Map: Environment Canada)

A hot, dry Prairie June ahead

El Nino pattern could arrive

MarketsFarm — June is expected to see a continuation of the hot and dry weather most of the Canadian Prairies has experienced in May, according to Scott Kehler, chief scientist for Weatherlogics. “It looks like late spring/early summer is pretty hot across almost all of Western Canada. The Prairies are all above normal [temperature-wise],” Kehler […] Read more