Grain growers in Alberta have gained access to a valuable new tool aimed at controlling the spread of Fusarium graminearum. Last month, the Alberta Seed Processors released an interim report that quantifies the incidence of the pathogen on seed samples submitted to Alberta seed testing labs. The report, which includes a provincial map showing the […] Read more
Brian Cross
Stories by Brian Cross
Thunder Bay starts shipping
The 2021 shipping season is underway at the Port of Thunder Bay, Ont. Tug Sharon M1 and Barge Huron Spirit arrived at the Port of Thunder Bay March 26, signaling the start of the new navigation season. The tug and barge are owned and operated by McKeil Marine of Burlington, Ont. The barge carried a […] Read more
West stays dry as seeding season looms
Western Canadian grain farmers, especially those in southern growing areas, will be looking for timely help from Mother Nature this year as they gear up for what could be an unusually dry spring seeding season. Agroclimate maps published by Agriculture Canada continue to show large areas of the prairie grain-growing region facing either dry or […] Read more
U of A researchers find new clubroot strains
The nine new pathotypes detected in a field survey in 2017 and 2018 brings the total number in Western Canada to 36
New strains of clubroot, a costly canola disease, are popping up in farm fields across the Canadian Prairies. According to researchers at the University of Alberta, nine new clubroot pathotypes were detected on western Canadian farms during a field survey conducted in 2017 and 2018. That brings the total number of unique clubroot pathotypes detected […] Read more
Proposed rail merger finds prairie support
Western Canadian Wheat Growers anticipates the move would improve market access for grain grown in Western Canada
Canadian farm groups and ag shippers say they are optimistic that a proposed railway merger involving Canadian Pacific Railway and Kansas City Southern will not have a negative impact on rail service offered to the western Canadian grain industry. Calgary-based CP announced March 21 that it has entered an agreement to merge with Missouri-based rail […] Read more
Thunder Bay kicks off new shipping season
The 2021 shipping season is underway at the Port of Thunder Bay, Ont. Tug Sharon M1 and Barge Huron Spirit arrived at the Port of Thunder Bay March 26, signaling the start of the new navigation season. The tug and barge are owned and operated by McKeil Marine of Burlington, Ont. The barge carried a […] Read more
No credit for no-till
Saskatchewan grain farmers who use minimal tillage or low-soil disturbance cropping systems learned last week that they could be shut out of the emerging and potentially lucrative market for agricultural offsets. Under a government framework for carbon offsets being proposed by the provincial government, offset protocols will be developed and implemented in Saskatchewan, allowing farmers, […] Read more
Container crisis hits farmers’ wallets: shipper
A global shipping snafu that has balled up the links in Canada’s supply chain for containerized goods will ultimately mean fewer dollars in the pockets of Western Canadian farmers. Export companies and freight forwarders who spoke with The Western Producer last week said global demand for the shipping containers remains unusually high, particularly among shippers […] Read more
Container crunch might be improving
North American exporters who depend on shipping containers see ‘light at the end of what has been a very dark tunnel’
It appears North America’s container supply squeeze may be starting to ease. Bo DeLong, vice-president of the grain division of the DeLong Co., a U.S. grain company that ships soybeans in containers, said there has been some relief. “It seems to be opening up a little bit,” he said during a webinar hosted by the […] Read more
CP enters deal to form new rail company
Canadian Pacific Railway could soon become part of a new and expanded North American railway operation known as CPKC. CP officials announced March 21 that the 140-year-old company based in Calgary, has entered into a merger agreement that would see CP acquire all outstanding shares of American-based railway company Kansas City Southern for about US$29 […] Read more
