(Doug Wilson photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Oat prices keep firm as harvest rolls in

Reading Time: < 1 minute CNS Canada — Oat prices firmed this week in Saskatchewan as reports streamed in indicating yields were slightly better than anticipated. Harvest in Saskatchewan is over three-quarters complete, although recent rains have delayed that progress somewhat. The province is the dominant growing area for Canadian oats. Bids rose five cents to a range of $2.33 […] Read more

The Breton Classical Plots were established in 1930, just east of the town of Breton and 100 km southwest of Edmonton.

Some old ways aren’t better, but…

Long-term rotation study underlines that summerfallow harms soil health, but the old mixed farming model looks pretty good

Reading Time: 4 minutes You might think that a long-term crop test might mean five years. A decade would be remarkable. But what could plots tell you about soil health if they’ve been going on for 87 years? They would tell you that Prairie farmers were right to stop keeping fields in fallow as part of a rotation and […] Read more


The cover crop plot with the most complex blend of different species, including planting dates, method and rates.

PHOTOS: Farm Show demo digs deep on value of soil health

Roots, worm casts and different cover blends show amazing effects

Reading Time: < 1 minute Soil health has been a buzz phrase that’s gone from a whisper three to five years ago to a chorus that’s spreading across the agrifood industry. That goes to show the swinging of the pendulum away from plowing and aggressive tillage — and it seems to be gaining more advocates with each passing day. This […] Read more

Gull Lake Grain Corp.’s elevator is now the property of U.S. startup Pipeline Foods. (GullLakeSK.ca)

U.S. organic grain firm buys Saskatchewan elevators

Reading Time: 2 minutes A Minneapolis-based startup focused on non-GMO and organic grains has bought itself elevator space to source those crops out of southern Saskatchewan. Pipeline Foods on Wednesday announced it has bought small elevators at Wapella, about 130 km south of Yorkton, and at Gull Lake, about 50 km southwest of Swift Current, for an undisclosed sum. […] Read more


The Canada 150 emblem in a durum field. (Agr.gc.ca)

StatsCan’s model-based estimates confirm larger crops

Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — Canadian canola and wheat production likely ended up larger than earlier estimates, according to computer model-based data released Tuesday by Statistics Canada. The model-based estimates are calculated by incorporating satellite data, agro-climate data, and Statistics Canada’s field crop reporting data. The numbers compare with the survey of farmers released Aug. 31. Total […] Read more






(Doug Wilson photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Oats buyers filled for now, watching weather

Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — The hot, dry weather concerns supporting spring wheat prices across North America are also lending some strength to oats, but large old-crop supplies and a lack of significant end-user demand is limiting price movement for now. “We’ve been bought up for old crop for months,” said Scott Shiels of Grain Millers Inc. […] Read more

A screengrab from a promotional video for Bayer’s Proline fungicide. (Bayer CropScience Canada via YouTube)

Finer nozzle screens linked to Proline plug-ups

Reading Time: 2 minutes Bayer CropScience is recommending users of its Proline foliar fungicide double-check the nozzles they’re using before spraying, to avoid the “plugging issues” affecting some customers’ sprayers. The company on Wednesday reported a “small” number of cases in which farmers’ sprayers were plugging up during applications of Proline, a broad-spectrum prothioconazole (Group 3) suspension Bayer bills […] Read more