A proposal that would require producer car loading facilities and feed mills to be licensed by the Canadian Grain Commission has been put on the backburner for the time being. CGC spokesperson Remi Gosselin told The Western Producer that the proposal to license loading sites and feed mills has been set aside while CGC commissioners […] Read more
Flax
New grain transportation bill prompts cheers among farmers
Widespread grain industry support for new federal transport legislation introduced last week comes with questions about how new long-haul interswitching provisions will work and what happens when extended interswitching expires this summer. Farmers and grain companies applauded Bill C-49, the Transportation Modernization Act, for containing much of what they had asked for to improve rail […] Read more
Stop and smell the dirt
University of Alberta researchers develop a soil heatlh test by evaluating the composition of the soil
Most farmers and gardeners recognize healthy soil. It has a certain look and smell and likely feels softer than poorly conditioned soil. That sense of quality is mostly based on experience and scientists have struggled to measure the traits of healthy soil — until now. Researchers at the University of Alberta have developed a test […] Read more
Field edge analysis platform delivers the news fast
Sentera’s new software allows growers to send their drones out to gather photos, determine trouble spots and take action quickly
Farmers who access early warning data on poor emergence have the opportunity to spray out or rip up those tardy acres for replanting or go in with remedial nutrition to rescue them. The key is to know as soon as possible after emergence if you need to take such action. One week too late can […] Read more
Map shows Alberta got most of recent rain
A storm May 24 brought rain and strong winds to the western Prairies. This map from Agriculture Canada shows the accumulation from May 18 to May 24 (hi-res PDF). The majority of the rain fell May 24. The largest accumulations of more than 30 millimetres fell in areas around Red Deer, Drayton Valley and Edmonton, […] Read more
Intercropping has merit, but challenges still exist
Trials have shown reduced disease with a chickpea-flax intercrop, but some are skeptical about a mustard-pulse or canola-pulse mixture
In the midst of diseased lentil fields last year, some growers might have noticed healthier crop stands where wild mustard was present. “There are a lot of anecdotes where they said the only place where they had any kind of lentils worth harvesting is where they had some wild mustard weeds. The lentils were climbing […] Read more
Less lentils, more flax: farmer survey
Flax acres are forecast to rise 19 percent, while a 25 percent drop in lentil acres surprised many analysts
Canadian pulse crop seeding intentions for 2017 are down more than analysts expected but in line with what the trade was thinking. According to Statistics Canada’s March survey of 11,600 farmers, growers plan to seed 4.39 million acres of lentils, down 25 percent from last year, and 3.99 million acres of peas, a six percent […] Read moreICE Canada canola futures rise on weather woes, tight supplies
WINNIPEG, Manitoba, April 20 (Reuters) – ICE Canada canola futures rose on Thursday, hitting a one-month high for the fourth straight day, on concerns about snowy weather in parts of the Canadian Prairies. Northern Alberta, where a significant area of last year’s crop remains unharvested, received heavy snow in the past week. Farmers are reluctant […] Read more
Flax varieties to be deregistered
The flax varieties CDC Arras, Flanders and Somme will be deregistered next Aug. 1. They will then be eligible only for the lowest grade. The Canadian Grain Commission announced the deregistration yesterday.
Hunt continues for genetically modified flax
Efforts are continuing to rid Canada’s pedigreed seed system of CDC Normandy and CDC Mons, two minor flax varieties that have been identified as possible sources of GM contamination. The two varieties were identified as suspect late last year after tests conducted for the Crop Development Centre in Saskatoon revealed traces of genetically modified material […] Read more
