Saskatchewan’s plant disease specialist says more canola fields are infected with verticillium stripe. The first case in the province was confirmed in 2021, but Alireza Akhavan said agriculture staff were surprised when they went looking for it in fields along the Manitoba border in 2022. “We got shocked because we only looked at 25 fields […] Read more
Karen Briere
Stories by Karen Briere
SARM to focus on health, irrigation
The Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities is highlighting key issues ahead of its annual convention next week in Saskatoon. President Ray Orb said the organization wants to draw attention to the main concerns before delegates hear from policymakers. Health-care facilities and staffing top the list. Orb said the provincial government has to keep rural centres […] Read more
Sask. crop insurance coverage hits record high this year
Individual premiums will be in place for 2023, based on claim history compared to a base premium in a risk zone
Saskatchewan farmers who take part in crop insurance will have record high coverage this year at an average $446 per acre. Agriculture minister David Marit announced the 2023 program details Feb. 27. Higher commodity prices and yield coverage pushed the average coverage from $405 last year, and, with higher insured prices, moved the average total […] Read more
Ag Canada researcher raises alarm over Palmer amaranth
Palmer amaranth hasn’t been found in Saskatchewan — yet. But with a recent finding in Manitoba and an established presence in North Dakota, research scientist Shaun Sharpe says everyone should be on the lookout. “I’m very, very concerned about this weed,” said the Agriculture Canada weed researcher based in Saskatoon. “It’s incredibly invasive. It causes […] Read more
Snow’s role in crop production can be managed
Crops use a lot of water from outside the growing season, which farmers can manage through agricultural practices
BALCARRES, Sask. — Farmers know that leaving taller stubble can increase water available to crops the following year. But they may not know how much they benefit from it. Hydrologist Phillip Harder from the Global Institute for Water Security said snow catch in stubble can make 10 to 30 percent more water available. He told […] Read more
House ag committee wants to hear from grocery chain CEOs
Members of Parliament add six more meetings to their schedule as they investigate food price inflation and its possible causes
The House of Commons agriculture committee has unanimously agreed to expand its study on food price inflation and call grocery chain executives as witnesses. NDP agriculture critic and committee member Alistair MacGregor moved during the Feb. 13 meeting to add at least six meetings on the topic to the schedule. The motion included a clause […] Read more
Initiative intended to aid grassland restoration
Saskatchewan Stock Growers Foundation uses reverse auction to pay successful bidders to plant native grass
The first of three rounds in a reverse auction to help Saskatchewan landowners seed land to grass closes March 31. In the reverse auction, landowners bid for program money based on how much it will cost them to seed their cultivated land to native grass and keep it that way for 30 years. The Saskatchewan […] Read more
Senators want early no-till adopters recognized
Members of Senate committee studying soil health ask why ‘trailblazers’ have been left out of government programs
Senators on the agriculture committee studying soil health questioned departmental officials last week on how and why they left early adopters of no-till out of incentive programs. Quebec senator Chantal Petitclerc said the early adopters started storing carbon without the benefit of grants, programs and subsidies that are now available from the federal government. “What […] Read more
Better data wanted for complex food price issue
Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute says Canada would benefit from the type of collection and analysis done in the U.S.
Canada requires data collection and analysis similar to that of the United States to better understand food price inflation. Tyler McCann, managing director of the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute, said the diversity and complexity of food and food production demands research and analysis. He told the Commons agriculture committee members they would benefit from the […] Read more
Transparent food system requested
The Canadian grocery code of conduct is still in development but farmers could benefit from improved transparency within the food supply chain once it is implemented. Ontario Conservative MP Lianne Rood said farmers who deliver produce to grocery stores face many fees to have their products on the shelves. She told the agriculture committee studying […] Read more
