Bob Bartley checks on his canola stand establishment in early June 2019.

Getting to higher canola emergence

With consistent depth, placement into warm, moist soils, and good competition against weeds, your canola fields can turn a higher percentage of seeds into mature, high-yielding plants

Reading Time: 7 minutes Bob and Shelley Bartley raised some eyebrows when Shelley shared photos of their seeding tool on Twitter. The farmers from Roland, Man., seed with a 35-year-old John Deere hoe box drill attached to a new John Deere cart. “I bought that John Deere 9450 hoe drill for $17,000 way back when,” Bob Bartley says. “We […] Read more

To reach this point, there are a variety of things you can do to make sure your canola seed rises to the occasion come harvest.

At a glance: 10 tips to improve survival of your canola seed

Reading Time: 2 minutes Only about 50 to 60 per cent of canola seeds survive to become productive plants, on average. With the following tips, canola farmers can increase seed survival and get more from their seed investment. 1. Seed shallow. Half an inch to one inch below the packer furrow is the recommended seed depth for canola. This […] Read more


Migrant workers clean fields in California’s Salinas Valley on March 30, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Shannon Stapleton)

Canadian, U.S. farms face crop losses on foreign worker delays

Reading Time: 2 minutes Winnipeg/Chicago | Reuters — Mandatory coronavirus quarantines of seasonal foreign workers in Canada could hurt that country’s fruit and vegetable output this year, and travel problems related to the pandemic could also leave U.S. farmers with fewer workers than usual. Foreign labour is critical to farm production in both countries, where domestic workers shun the […] Read more

A canola field blooms in Manitoba’s Interlake on July 11, 2019.  (Greg Berg photo)

Canola production paths diverge for Canada, Australia

Issues seen in Canadian crop quality, logistics

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Canola production is on different paths in Canada and Australia, according to the respective attachés from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). For the world’s top two canola exporters, the attachés forecast production in Canada to remain steady and project strong gains for Australia. USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) published the reports Monday, […] Read more


Farmer Anil Salunkhe feeds strawberries to a cow during a 21-day nationwide lockdown to slow the spread of COVID-19 in the Satara district in India’s Maharashtra state on April 1, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Rajendra Jadhav)

How COVID-19 is upending global food supply chains

Cows fed strawberries in India, watermelons rot in U.S., okra not reaching Canada

Reading Time: 5 minutes Satara/Singapore/London | Reuters — In the fertile Satara district in western India, farmers are putting their cattle on an unorthodox diet: Some feed iceberg lettuce to buffalo. Others feed strawberries to cows. It’s not a treat. They can either feed their crops to animals or let them spoil. And other farmers are doing just that […] Read more

(Todd Rosenberg photo via KraftFoodsGroup.com)

Kraft Heinz cuts output at three plants, adds mac and cheese shifts

Reading Time: < 1 minute Sao Paulo | Reuters — Kraft Heinz said Friday it has moved to significantly reduce production at three plants providing restaurant supplies amid the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak, but its CEO noted the company has added shifts at others to meet demand for packaged foods such as macaroni and cheese. Speaking in a video presentation hosted […] Read more


(Gassen/iStock/Getty Images)

China yet to resume all canola imports from Canada, officials say

No correction measures yet shown, Chinese foreign ministry says

Reading Time: < 1 minute Beijing | Reuters — China has yet to resume all canola imports from Canada, the foreign ministry said on Friday, after suspensions were imposed on some suppliers last year. Canola imports from some Canadian exporters were suspended by China because of quality reports and it has not received any correction measures, so imports have not […] Read more

Cannabis plants at a licensed indoor production facility in Winnipeg. (Dave Bedard photo)

Ontario drops weed from essentials list

Officials call for further intervention

Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters — Ontario’s government on Friday removed cannabis from a list of essential businesses allowed to operate during the lockdown, as part of its efforts to further restrict contact amid a deepening coronavirus crisis. The move comes after health officials projected 80,000 COVID-19 coronavirus cases and about 1,600 deaths by month end under current policies, […] Read more


(File photo by Dave Bedard)

Funds covering shorts in canola

Traders also move to net long in Chicago soybeans

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Fund traders covered short positions in canola and moved to a net long position in Chicago soybeans during the week ended Wednesday, according to the latest commitment of traders (CoT) report from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The net managed money short position in ICE Futures canola came in Wednesday at […] Read more

CBOT May 2020 wheat with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Wheat firms after four-day slide

Corn hits 3-1/2-year low

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures rose on Friday, bouncing after a four-day slide, as traders weighed the threat of a deep economic downturn due to the coronavirus epidemic against supply tensions in some exporting countries. Corn extended a six-day drop, with May futures hitting the lowest for a most-active contract since September 2016, […] Read more