The Stratus AirSprayer is essentially a powered paraglider — one that can carry heavier loads and stay aloft much longer than conventional drones. Photo: Supplied

Paraglider powers a new kind of sprayer

Reading Time: 4 minutes The Stratus AirSprayer is different than the quadcopters and fixed-wing UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) typically associated with ag drones. Essentially, it’s a powered paraglider — one that can carry heavier loads and stay aloft much longer than conventional drones.

Trial results showing Zetigo PRM with the Adavelt active applied to lentils (left) compared with an untreated check (middle) and lentils treated with another fungicide product (right).

New tool for anthracnose control in lentils

Zetigo PRM targets disease with a novel mode of action and helps farmers manage fungicide resistance

Reading Time: 4 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – Anthracnose can be a serious problem in lentils in Western Canada. As Mike Brown, agronomy manager for Saskatchewan Pulse Growers, points out, the disease can result in heavy yield losses due to premature leaf drop and plant death. “Anthracnose is a polycyclic disease, which means it can go through multiple life cycles […] Read more


McCain Foods’ Farm of the Future in Florenceville, N.B., is the centrepiece of the company’s regenerative agriculture efforts in Canada.

Breaking down barriers to sustainability in potato production

McCain Foods teams up with Farm Credit Canada and McDonald’s Canada to provide financial incentives for farmers who adopt regenerative agricultural practices

Reading Time: 4 minutes McCain Foods pledged two years ago to implement regenerative agricultural practices across 100 per cent of its potato acreage worldwide by 2030. To help reach that goal, the company is now offering up financial solutions to make sustainable farming more affordable for Canadian potato producers. McCain Foods announced in November it was teaming up with […] Read more

A potato crop being sprayed with a late blight fungicide in Ontario.

Where did potato production land in 2022?

Despite farmer challenges such as high input costs and adverse weather conditions in many areas, Canada saw an overall increase in total production and yield numbers from 2021

Reading Time: 6 minutes For many potato farmers in Canada, 2022 was a challenging year. There were some major weather difficulties to contend with — cold, wet springs delayed planting for producers in New Brunswick, Quebec, Manitoba and B.C. and in some cases contributed to later harvests as well. Harvest was also held up in P.E.I. after the tail […] Read more


With the dramatic rise in crush capacity slated for the Prairies, the onus will be on farmers to ensure there is adequate supply to keep up with rising demand for canola seed.

Priority No. 1 for canola growers: ‘produce more’

To take advantage of the biofuel boom and all of its benefits, farmers must increase canola productivity on each acre. Which agronomic tools can you lean into for the heavy lifting?

Reading Time: 10 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – The biofuel market in North America is rapidly expanding, thanks in part to government regulations promoting clean fuels to drive down greenhouse gas emissions. This, in turn, is driving up demand for biofuel feedstocks like canola oil, which is why Chris Vervaet says grain companies are spending some $2 billion over the […] Read more

A good method for supplying corn with nitrogen in-season is to apply anhydrous ammonia as a banded side dressing between the rows.

Fertility tips for corn

How to get the most out of your fertilizer dollars

Reading Time: 6 minutes Corn is a crop that needs a lot of nitrogen to grow properly and produce the best yields. With today’s high prices for fertilizer and high crop prices, it’s more important than ever to strike the right balance that optimizes yields and profits while keeping fertility costs under control. “There’s a lot of money at […] Read more


Big Canada thistle plants can spell trouble in the combine, especially when there are large patches of them.

Fall herbicide application timing in canola

To control perennial weeds in canola, there are benefits to both pre- and post-harvest control options — the deciding factor could be tied to your goals

Reading Time: 5 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – When deciding between a pre-harvest or post-harvest spray application to control tough perennial weeds, there are always some key considerations for farmers. The extent of the weed problem and harvest timing are important ones, of course, but other factors such as herbicide cost and killing frost also play into the decision. To […] Read more

Alberta’s crop insurance program includes organic producers for 2019.

Prairie crop insurance rundown 2019

Despite some problems last year, good yields in previous years have allowed lower premiums or more coverage

Reading Time: 6 minutes There’s good news on crop insurance for Prairie farmers this year — most premiums are down for 2019. Details were announced by Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba officials earlier this year. Here’s the rundown: Alberta On March 11, Alberta Agriculture and Fores­try Minister Oneil Carlier and Steve Blakely, CEO of Alberta’s Agriculture Financial Services Corporation (AFSC), […] Read more


"I think hemp is well-suited to the organic market in the fact that it is a very fast, aggressive-growing plant that can outcompete weeds. But at the same time, it is a high nutrient user, which can make it a challenge to grow it in a tight rotation.” – Jeff Kostuik, 
Hemp Production Services

Hemp area may stall in 2018

Area saw a big jump last year, but growers are facing more competition from China and Eastern Europe

Reading Time: 6 minutes Canadian commercial hemp production saw a big jump in 2017. Health Canada, the federal agency which oversees licensing, reports almost 140,000 acres were planted with industrial hemp, an 80 per cent increase from 75,000 acres in 2016. Kim Shukla, executive director of the Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance, says the increase reflects the growth since hemp […] Read more

Keeping out the invaders

Keeping out the invaders

Biosecurity: Provincial organizations encouraged to promote a national on-farm biosecurity standard

Reading Time: 2 minutes This growing season, potato producers in Canada will be on the lookout for dickeya, an emerging blackleg pathogen in the U.S. that caused significant crop losses in the country’s northeastern region in 2015. Preventing new diseases like dickeya and keeping old adversaries like late blight in check are important reasons why growers subscribe to farm […] Read more