Crop Management
REGINA — Grain and General Services Union workers employed by Viterra will vote on the company’s latest final offer over the next two weeks. Locals 1 and 2, representing country operations and head office staff, respectively, were set to walk out at 2 p.m. today if a deal had not been reached. In a website […] Read more
Crop Management
GSU members vote on Viterra final offer
Workers will be working to rule during the voting period
Protein may be oats’ next step
WINNIPEG — In a laboratory at the University of Manitoba, Lovemore Malunga held up a Ziploc bag containing a whitish-light brown powder. He opened the bag and carefully poured the powder into a small, plastic container. A master’s student, Vanessa Alexander, placed the container on a scale. She adjusted the scale to account for the […] Read more
Seeding dates can be tricky
WINNIPEG — The science around canola and seeding dates can be confusing. Plant early in May to maximize yield or seed later to avoid flea beetles, frost and re-seeding costs? “(There’s) always lots of questions (about seeding date),” said Chris Holzapfel, research manager with the Indian Head Agricultural Research Foundation. “It can be a difficult […] Read more
U of S hires lentil, fababean breeder
CALGARY — Unlocking the potential of lentils and fababeans to sustainably boost the bottom line for prairie farmers is the goal of a scientist who has been appointed an Agri-Food Innovation Fund Chair at the University of Saskatchewan. Pulses have been consumed by people for millennia, said Ana Vargas, who will head the university’s lentil […] Read more
Lentil carryout to be tight
WINNIPEG (MarketsFarm) — Lentil stocks are forecast to be extremely tight by the close of the 2023-24 marketing year, which should keep prices well supported despite expectations for fewer exports. Updated supply-demand estimates from Agriculture Canada pegged lentil carryout for the current crop year at only 50,000 tonnes, which would be a third of the […] Read more
Opening the winter wheat window
Research bumps winter wheat crop insurance deadline a whole month to allow more farmers to plant the “cover crop”
Winter wheat growers traditionally like seeding into canola stubble, something that becomes a problem when harvest runs late and pushes up against the crop insurance seeding cut-off date of September 1. The equation can be made worse by some growers deliberately planting canola later to avoid frost damage and flea beetles or to chase higher […] Read more
Kuhn updates Dominator combination disc ripper
Tillage implements have undergone a lot of changes over the past decade or two, with a lot of design influence coming from European manufacturers that have broken into the North American market. One of those brands, Kuhn, has become a significant player in the tillage segment here since it acquired Kansas-based implement manufacturer Krause in […] Read more
A new owner for Versatile
Buhler Industries, parent company of the Versatile and Farm King brands, revealed in July it was searching for a “long-term investment partner.” In late December, it announced that Turkish tractor manufacturer Basak Traktor, a wholly-owned subsidiary of ASKO Holding, was buying 96.7 percent of outstanding shares for $60.5 million. “One of the keys for us […] Read more
Linamar acquires Bourgault
In 2017, Linamar, a company best known as an auto parts manufacturer, bought Winnipeg-based header and swather manufacturer MacDon. It followed that up by bringing implement brand Salford into its fold in 2022. In late December, the company announced it is adding Saskatchewan-based air drill manufacturer Bourgault to its family of equipment brands. “Linamar’s long-term […] Read more
Viterra says it has plan in case of strike
UPDATED – January 3, 2024 – 1350 CST – Story updated to include comment from Viterra. REGINA — Viterra says it has a contingency plan in place should its unionized employees go on strike. It also suggested workers could be locked out if an agreement isn’t reached. “We are committed to the collective bargaining process […] Read more
