Crop Management
India’s pigeon pea crop is in trouble, which could bolster demand for imported lentils in that country. “The situation for Indian pigeon peas is really bad,” Gaurav Jain, analyst with AgPulse Analytica, said in an email. Farmers planted 10.4 million acres of the crop as of Aug. 25, down five percent from last year. Rains […] Read more
Crop Management
China’s economic slump may spare ag exports
China’s slumping economy is not a big cause of concern for exporters of Canadian agricultural products despite the significance of that market, says an economist. It is Canada’s second largest agricultural market behind the United States. Sales to China have steadily climbed, except for a three-year period between 2019 and 2022 when shipments of canola […] Read more
Wheat tumbles despite tight stocks
Canada entered the 2023-24 crop year with the lowest combined wheat and durum stocks in history. Agriculture Canada estimates there were 3.24 million tonnes of both crops on hand as of Aug. 1, 2023. That would break the previous record low of 3.66 million tonnes set in 2021-22 following a severe drought. Analysts are also […] Read more
Grasshopper numbers middle of the road; vary region to region
Grasshopper infestations across Alberta are patchy this year, following a cool April and scorching May with small pockets of moisture, according to a University of Lethbridge entomologist. The usual hotspot for grasshopper populations in southeastern Alberta got a late start compared to the rest of the province, said Dan Johnson. He cited a wet early […] Read more
VIDEO: Prairie wheat history comes to life in crop plots
Agriculture Canada grows a living museum that highlights the history of wheat development in Western Canada
LANGHAM, Sask. — Newspapers are chronicles of the history they cover in real time. If one goes far back into The Western Producer’s archives, they will find frequent references to famous names like Red Fife, Marquis and Thatcher, which were the dominant wheat varieties of their times. Those names are seldom heard nowadays, but Agriculture […] Read more
Supply chain problems ease
Ag equipment brands see fewer supply disruptions than what was seen during the pandemic but they aren’t completely gone
Any producer who purchased, or tried to purchase, new equipment over the past couple of years, as COVID raged, likely had to wait an unusually long time to take delivery, due to supply chain disruptions. Along with inflating wait times for delivery, the disruption pushed retail prices through the roof due to record high ocean […] Read more
Versatile partners with autonomy developer
At the recent Ag in Motion farm show, Versatile revealed it is developing production-ready, fully autonomous machines, just like the big four brands of agricultural equipment manufacturers. Versatile announced a partnership with Saskatchewan technology startup Mojow Autonomous Solutions to put a full autonomy option into its four-wheel drive tractors. “They’ve been working with us for […] Read more
Volunteer canola under the microscope
A University of Manitoba researcher targets the ability of volunteer canola seed to stay dormant in the soil after harvest
A PhD candidate at the University of Manitoba has taken on a problem many western Canadian growers face; volunteer canola. Caroline Brown said this weed is the second most common on the Prairies, according to the most recent Agriculture Canada survey of weed abundance that took place in 2019 and 2021. “I’m working on identifying […] Read more
Airbar keeps stray crop in the hopper
Air-assisted harvesting system is designed to deliver more bushels for a quick return on producers’ investment
A hollow metal tube with regularly spaced long, curved metal tines hangs over the combine header like a weird hybrid of a hay rake and harvester. Tubes lead behind the header to a powerful blower assembly, hinting at what the S3 AWS Airbar FDX rig is all about: using air to shepherd crop into the […] Read more
Smaller headers designed for easier handling
Bigger headers might be more efficient in the field but they are a nuisance when farmers are trying to manoeuvre them
New Holland’s new Durabine 413 disc header for the Speedrower Plus self-propelled windrower has a cutting width of 13 feet, one inch, a size designed to provide manoeuverability, fast dry-down and close cutting. The 413 is a response to farmers’ requests for a smaller windrower, a market niche that was not being filled, said Josh […] Read more
