(Gloria Solano-Aguilar photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

West’s hog farmers urged to insist trailers cleaned in Canada

Hog industry officials in Western Canada want hog producers to insist that livestock trailers coming to their farms be washed at certified Canadian cleaning facilities — even if the trailers were just cleaned on the U.S. side of the border. The recommendation comes as a federally-approved trailer-wash pilot project, credited with helping to keep porcine epidemic diarrhea […] Read more


Departure from average precipitation for the period from Nov. 1, 2015 to Feb. 15, 2016. (Map courtesy AAFC)

Drought watch kept on Alberta, early spring expected

CNS Canada — Above-average temperatures and limited precipitation could mean parts of the Prairies will struggle with soil moisture heading into the spring, according to one specialist. “The soil moisture that we have in the ground right now is similar to what we went into the winter with,” said Trevor Hadwen, agroclimate specialist with Agriculture […] Read more

Averaged sea surface temperatures and sea surface temperature anomalies worldwide for the week centred on Feb. 3. (CPC.ncep.noaa.gov)

Timing of La Nina to play key role in Prairie moisture

CNS Canada –– As the El Nino weather phenomena slowly loosens its grip across Western Canada, many weather watchers say its impact has been somewhat underwhelming. However, one meteorologist said its lingering presence, coupled with the pending arrival of the La Nina weather event, may still play a large role in determining how much moisture […] Read more


Farmers check out pea plots during the Western Applied Research Corporation’s annual field day at Scott, Sask. Weed control is a perennial problem for pea producers.

Managing Group-2 resistant weeds in pulse crops across Western Canada

Cleavers, mustard, kochia and sow thistle are among the weeds getting harder 
to control, but there are methods, starting with good agronomy

Group 2 resistance is something that is really a big problem across Western Canada,” says Dr. Chris Willenborg, a researcher at the University of Saskatchewan’s plant sciences department. Willenborg has worked on several research projects that inform weed resistance in pulses. The bad news is that resistance is spreading. And the more farmers rely solely […] Read more

This plot of DuPont Pioneer’s new variety P7005AM was on display at the Ag In Motion outdoor farmshow, near Saskatoon last summer.

New corn varieties ready for 2016

Get ready to research. Twenty new grain and silage corn varieties are hitting the market

Seed companies have reported a total of 13 new corn varieties on the market for the first time in 2016. These are only the new varieties available for the next crop year — this list doesn’t include other varieties that have been released in recent years. Dow Seeds 4085 grain corn 4085 has Herculex Xtra […] Read more


In provinces such as Manitoba and Ontario, fusarium head blight is now a given.

17 crop disease prevention strategies

Fungicides are key, but there are many other parts to an effective long-term strategy

As you can tell by the fact that this article includes 17, yes 17, strategies for crop diseases prevention, there are no quick fixes. Crop disease prevention is going to be an ongoing struggle. 1. Use multiple strategies: Understand that multiple strategies are the way to go. There isn’t one big hammer, rather lots of little hammers with […] Read more

Andrew Morrison, a mixed farmer in Victoria, Australia.

VIDEO: Farming down under on the other side of the world: Pt. 2

Lisa Guenther's two-part interview with a mixed-farmer from Australia

What does farming look like on the other side of the globe? In some ways, it looks the same as any farm in Western Canada, but in other ways it’s quite different. In this second interview, Andrew Morrison, a farmer in Victoria, Australia, talks frankly about how he’s managing herbicide resistance and why he adopted […] Read more


Andrew Morrison, a mixed farmer in Victoria, Australia.

VIDEO: Farming down under on the other side of the world: Pt. 1

Lisa Guenther's two-part interview with a mixed-farmer from Australia

What does farming look like on the other side of the globe? In some ways, it looks the same as any farm in Western Canada, but in other ways it’s quite different. In this first interview, Andrew Morrison gives us an overview of his mixed farm, located in the Australian state of Victoria. He talks about […] Read more

(Country Guide file photo)

Prairie wheat bids dip slightly

CNS Canada — Cash wheat bids across Western Canada generally dropped lower during the week ended Friday. Average Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) wheat prices were up by C$1-$3 per tonne across the three Prairie provinces, according to price quotes from a cross-section of delivery points. Bids ranged from about $221 per tonne in southern […] Read more