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Explore the latest Farm Forum articles

Catch up on this quarter’s must-read stories, featuring key insights, expert opinions, and practical advice from the Farm Forum. Click on any article to dive deeper into the full content.

July 11, 2025

Volatile markets demand attention and quick action to seize opportunities

There has been a lot of volatility in canola markets from late 2024 into 2025 and that has made crop marketing quite a challenge for farmers. Wheat markets are steadier, but high global wheat stocks make for a different kind of challenge when it comes to profitability. Bruce Burnett, Glacier FarmMedia’s director of markets, walks us through potential opportunities and pitfalls when it comes to grain marketing this season.

June 24, 2025

Knowledge is power when it comes to weed management

If you’ve noticed certain weed species growing where you’ve never seen them before, you’re not dreaming. Changing weather patterns mean many troublesome weeds have expanded their range, changed their growth patterns and, in some cases, become hardier and more difficult to control. Weed scientists say that farmers need to adapt to new weed behaviour and growing resistance issues. They talk about updating your weed knowledge, paying special attention to what’s…

June 24, 2025

New awareness campaign aims to strengthen confidence and pride in Canada’s food system

It might surprise, or even shock, you to learn that less than half of Canadians have a positive view of Canada’s food system – that is how food in this country is grown, produced and sold. The reasons are varied, but key is that most Canadian consumers have a narrow understanding of just what our food system is beyond crops in a field and groceries in a store. The Canadian…

June 24, 2025

Subsurface irrigation helps build a sustainable future for this Saskatchewan farm

If you think big, big things can happen. When Brady and Lindsay Funk decided to buy 900 acres of land near Lucky Lake, Sask., they bought knowing they’d have to invest in a new irrigation system to ensure profitability and sustainability. What they didn’t anticipate was that they’d wind up installing Canada’s largest subsurface irrigation system – a huge, high tech, expensive project. Their story shows how taking big risks…

June 24, 2025

Transforming weather forecasting through AI

What if you could get accurate, highly localized weather forecasts as much as a week ahead of seeding or harvest – or any time you have field work to do? Around the world, scientists are harnessing the power of AI to build weather forecasting models that are faster, more accurate and even capable of real-time adjustments. AI weather technology is moving fast and getting better with each new iteration. AI…

June 24, 2025

The ins and outs of using cereal fungicides in dry conditions

What’s the role for cereal fungicides when it’s hot and dry? Is there one? There can be, according to this AAFC scientist. Cereal diseases tend to be less of a worry when conditions are dry, but what’s happening under the canopy might surprise you. Understanding what to look for and where can help you make a more informed fungicide spray decision. Also helpful is the 17 years’ worth of Bayer…

June 24, 2025

Maintaining farm profitability in tough times

How can you protect your margins in these fraught times? Tariffs are starting to bite, the cost of production isn’t coming down, but commodity prices are – what’s a farmer to do? Three financial experts, who are also farmers, say that when times are tight, it’s absolutely critical that producers to have a firm grasp on their true cost of production so that decisions are based in reality rather than…

April 8, 2025

Facing down uncertainty

Trade tariffs, threatened and real, are influencing commodity markets and farmers’ peace-of-mind. How will they affect you? This markets expert advises keeping a cool head and focus on growing the best crop you can.

April 8, 2025

KOCHIA: Fight smarter, not harder

Got kochia? Of course you do. As kochia expands its range and develops resistance to multiple herbicides, farmers are looking for solutions that actually work. Experts say all tools should be on the table from strategic herbicide use to rotations to mechanical control and even row spacing. The good news is that, with a good plan, you can keep kochia in check and protect crop yields.

April 8, 2025

DISEASE OUTLOOK 2025: Must-have updates, best advice and what’s coming next

Is that blackleg or verticillium stripe on your canola? Is your corn at risk for tar spot? What’s happening with cereal rusts? How about white mould inoculum in soybean fields? Three disease experts let you know what to look out for in 2025, and what to do about what you find.

April 8, 2025

An Unconventional Path to Success

Marcus and Paige Dueck don’t run your average dairy farm. They have coloured outside the lines by choosing Brown Swiss cows, growing hay for the high-end horse market, embracing not-so-typical technology and an interesting hiring tactic. They show how taking an unconventional approach to business can pay off.

April 8, 2025

New tech advances mean continued growth for canola

Have we reached peak canola yield? These experts say no, and that we will get past 50 bushels per acre in time. While canola trait technologies continue to improve in-field performance, farmers also need to adapt production techniques.

February 8, 2025

Strategies to help optimize your fertilizer investment

Are you thinking about cutting back on fertilizer to save money? Dan Owen says it doesn’t have to be either/or. New technology, such as enhanced efficiency fertilizers, different application timings and minding the 4Rs can help farmers design the fertilizer plan they need at a cost they can afford.

February 8, 2025

Peer-to-peer support helps new farmers succeed

What if you didn’t grow up on a farm but want to be a farmer? Where would you start? For many, it’s the direct-to-consumer market and the Business Bootcamp program helps these new farmers understand the ins and outs of running an agricultural business in this rapidly growing sector of Canadian agriculture. Aspiring farmers learn about everything from startup capital to business plans to product development and more from farmers…

February 8, 2025

Need more bins? How and why farmers are increasing on-farm storage

It’s said that all bins pay for themselves eventually, but building new or upgrading a bin yard is neither easy nor cheap. Still – bigger bins and better bin technology is important when it comes to keeping grain in excellent condition so you can court better prices. One farmer and two bin manufacturers say a good plan (with blueprints), a phased approach and realistic budgeting will get you what you…

February 7, 2025

Multiple market forces to consider when planning for 2025

Price pressure getting you down? The 2024 crop year was pretty okay for the most part in terms of crop production in Canada, and our grain exports were close to record levels. Still, prices remained low going into 2025, particularly for canola. There are plenty of reasons for this – South America’s crop looks great; U.S. trade looks like it could get volatile – but how should this figure into…

February 7, 2025

Growth beyond imagining

Talk about going from zero-to-sixty in a heartbeat. Schoolfriends DJ Wassenaar and Matt Bergman went from a small custom farming business to buying and running two separate Ontario farms, plus a couple of off-farm businesses in just a few short years. It’s a journey that involved tough decisions and still involves very long days. They talk about why they decided to specialize in hay production and organic corn and soybeans,…