Dr. Dan Undersander, middle, is the 2023 winner of the Canadian Forage and Grassland Association Leadership Award. He is joined by Cedric MacLeod, executive director of CFGA, left and Eric Boot, right, chair, international exporters of CFGA.
 Photo: Catherine Brown

Forage association presents 2023 Leadership Award

Reading Time: 2 minutes The Canadian Forage and Grassland Association (CFGA) presented its Leadership Award at its 14th Annual Conference on Nov. 29, in Harrison Hot Springs, British Columbia, to Dr. Dan Undersander of Wisconsin – the first non-Canadian to win this award. As well as being the keynote speaker at the conference, Undersander has worked as a forage […] Read more

The McDougall Creek wildfire burns outside West Kelowna, B.C. on Aug. 18, 2023. (Photo: Reuters/Chris Helgren)

AgriRecovery feed, freight, breeding herd aid set for Alberta, Saskatchewan, B.C.

Feds, provinces announce combined $365 million in aid programs

Reading Time: 2 minutes The federal and Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia governments are jointly putting up $365 million to support ranchers and farmers up against this summer’s drought and wildfire damage. The feds on Friday announced their 60 per cent, or $219 million, share of AgriRecovery program funding for the three westernmost provinces. “I’ve had the opportunity to […] Read more


Close-up file photo of an alfalfa plant in a Canadian field. (Jennifer Seeman/iStock/Getty Images)

DLF buys Corteva’s alfalfa seed business

Business to be 'fully transitioned' after 2024 season

Reading Time: 2 minutes International forage and turf seed firm DLF is stretching its reach in the alfalfa market with a deal for Corteva Agriscience’s assets in that business. The Danish firm announced Wednesday it had acquired Corteva’s global alfalfa germplasm and breeding program for an undisclosed sum, including its current commercial alfalfa varieties and their trademarks such as […] Read more

Close-up from the federal government’s initial assessment map for the livestock tax deferral provision for the 2023 tax year as of Aug. 10. (AAFC map)

Livestock tax deferral list begins in West for 2023

AgriRecovery work 'progressing,' feds say

Reading Time: 3 minutes The level of drought in parts of Western Canada so far this year has given the federal government a head start in drafting its list of jurisdictions where producers can get in on the livestock tax deferral provision. Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay on Monday announced an initial list of designated regions for the provision for […] Read more


“What we’re trying to do here with these types of studies is to do some valuation of the grasslands.” – Marcos Cordeiro, University of Manitoba.

Using forage crops to fight flooding

Modelling study puts long-term numbers on forage’s flood prevention role

Reading Time: 4 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – Planting more forage would be valuable for flood control, and new research has numbers to back that up. “We knew this from the start,” said Marcos Cordeiro, study lead and assistant professor of animal science at the University of Manitoba. Previous research, such as a study based in Saskatchewan in 2003, had already […] Read more

CME October 2023 feeder cattle with 20-, and 100-day moving averages and May 2023 feeder cattle (black line). (Barchart)

Klassen: Weather forecasts underpin feeder market

High forage costs pose problem for cow-calf expansion

Reading Time: 2 minutes For the week ending Saturday, western Canadian feeder cattle markets were relatively unchanged from seven days earlier. The finishing feedlot operator appears to be dominating the feeder market across all weight categories. Ontario interest was creeping all the way into Alberta, especially for Limousin-type genetics. There were limited numbers on offer in Manitoba and Saskatchewan […] Read more


(JPNM/iStock/Getty Images)

Saskatchewan to top up some claims for wildlife-damaged forage

Affected producers in southwestern, west-central areas eligible

Reading Time: 2 minutes Producers in southwestern and west-central Saskatchewan who lost stacked forage to wildlife feeding last winter may see a bump up in their compensation. The Saskatchewan and federal governments on Wednesday announced a “supplemental freight adjustment” to their wildlife damage compensation program, administered by Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corp. (SCIC). SCIC, the province said, has “reassessed and […] Read more

Smoke rises from a wildfire near Wildwood, Alta., about 100 km west of Edmonton, on May 5, 2023. (Photo: Alberta Wildfire/Handout via Reuters)

Alberta ‘crossing fingers’ for rain amid wildfires

CN mainline traffic west of Edmonton suspended

Reading Time: 3 minutes Reuters — Firefighters were counting on rain and cooler weather forecast for Monday to help them quell a dramatic start to Alberta’s wildfire season. The province declared a state of emergency on Saturday in response to wildfires in northern and central regions that have displaced nearly 30,000 people and prompted energy producers to shut in […] Read more


An adult lygus bug. (Photo courtesy Canola Council of Canada)

Matador, Voliam insecticides back in ‘limited’ release

Revised labels prohibit feeding, foraging of treated crops

Reading Time: 4 minutes Syngenta Canada no longer plans to keep its lambda-cyhalothrin insecticide products off the market in Western Canada this year — but it’s planning to have a smaller supply. The crop chem and seed company announced Friday it will have a “limited amount” of its lambda-cy-based products Matador 120EC and Voliam Xpress available in the West […] Read more

File photo of a sunrise over an Alberta barley crop. (MNphotography/iStock/Getty Images)

Alberta issues final crop report for year

Harvest over 98 per cent done by region and crop type

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm –– For the second year in a row the Alberta harvest wrapped up well ahead of the five-year average. With a gain of three points for the week ended Tuesday, Alberta Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Economic Development (AFRED) pegged the combining of major crops at 99.2 per cent complete. That’s 22 and a half […] Read more