Canadian Agriculture and Agrifood Minister, Lawrence McCauley (right) and CCC vice president, crop production and innovation, Curtis Rempel at the funding announcement at the Bruce D. Campbell Farm and Food Discovery Centre at Glenlea, Man.
 Photo: Don Norman

Canola sector gets research boost

Reading Time: < 1 minute The federal government is putting up $9 million to drive the sustainable growth of Canada’s canola sector. The funding comes from the AgriScience Program—Clusters Component, an initiative under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership and was announced today (Nov. 14) in Winnipeg by Lawrence MacAulay, the federal agriculture minister. “This new Canola Cluster will build on […] Read more


Waterhemp peeks out among soybeans.

Waterhemp on the rise

Manitoba’s list of affected municipalities keeps growing

Reading Time: 3 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – Manitoba’s ag sector is trying to hold the line against big yield-killing threats like waterhemp and Palmer amaranth. Unfortunately, the number of municipalities where waterhemp has been found just grew by two. “Waterhemp and Palmer amaranth are Tier 1 weeds regulated under the Noxious Weeds Act. They must be destroyed when they’re found,” said Manitoba Agriculture weed extension specialist […] Read more

Federal, provincial and territorial ministers of agriculture at their annual conference in Fredericton, New Brunswick in July 2023.
 Photo: AAFC

Federal and provincial ag ministers meet in Fredericton

Reading Time: 3 minutes Environmental issues remain a hot topic for provincial agriculture ministers. That and sustainable agriculture dominated discussions during the recent federal, provincial and territorial (FPT) agriculture ministers meeting in Fredericton, N.B. The annual conference was held from July 19-21. The focus on sustainable agriculture tracks, as this is the first time the ministers have met since […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canola Council of Canada)

Preview: Railways, grain shippers at loggerheads over interswitching

Pilot to test expanded radius deemed unnecessary by both sides

Reading Time: 1 minute Recent legislation has raised the stakes in a decade-long battle between the railways and Canadian grain shippers over the interswitching radius. Interswitching refers to a regulation to ensure shippers located where only a single railway operates can access points that are not served by that railway. The issue is especially concerning for Canadian grain shippers […] Read more

Development of more frost-resistant corn could provide resilience and stability for growers.

Researchers study corn for frost tolerance

New research could help breed frost-resistant corn

Reading Time: 3 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – New research at the University of Saskatchewan aims to help breeders bolster corn’s resistance to environmental stressors. Corn, along with other warm-season crops, has been creeping its way into new regions of Canada previously thought unsuitable for the crop. That, according to researchers at the university, is the silver lining of climate […] Read more


bacon

Inflation, interest rates, input costs catch up to meat sector

Canada's meat industry hits hard times

Reading Time: 4 minutes There’s been a torrent of bad news in the meat sector in the last two months. Tyson Foods reported its first quarterly loss since 2009; HyLife’s processing plant in Windom, Minn., declared bankruptcy; Smithfield Foods is closing 40 sow farms in Missouri; Olymel announced the permanent closure of its Vallée-Jonction hog plant in Quebec; and […] Read more

Picketers with the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) on strike at Gatineau, Que. on April 20, 2023. (Photo: Reuters/Blair Gable)

PSAC federal worker strike could hit at grain transport

Prolonged strike could cause grain shipment delays, lead to demurrage costs

Reading Time: 4 minutes The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) strike is drawing fire from Canadian agricultural commodity groups — mostly concerned with how grain transportation could be disrupted. The Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association issued a strongly worded press release on Tuesday after striking picketers targeted Vancouver’s Cascadia grain terminal, co-owned by Viterra and Richardson International. “A […] Read more


(Shotbydave/iStock/Getty Images)

Buy or rent? Land rent-to-price ratio can help farmers decide

FCC sees current ratios on farmland as (roughly) stable

Reading Time: 4 minutes Higher interest rates don’t seem to be affecting the ratio between land values and land rental costs — at least, not yet. Farm Credit Canada’s latest analysis of farmland rental prices says they’re roughly maintaining their traditional linkage, says J.P Gervais, the organization’s chief economist. “We were curious to see whether that would bring up […] Read more

(Leonid Eremeychuk/iStock/Getty Images)

‘Keep it Clean’ program aims for more than just good advice

Program seen as 'one stop shop' for ensuring marketability of grains

Reading Time: 3 minutes As farmers plan for the upcoming season, they need to do their part to make certain their grain will be ready for market, come harvest time. “Market access issues in general are becoming a bigger issue globally,” said Ian Epp, an agronomy specialist and lead on market access and pesticides with the Canola Council of […] Read more