Crop Management
Compared to the monocrops, Lana Shaw’s chickpea-flax combo was the clear winner, showing resiliency during extreme growing conditions. “It really put this chickpea-flax system under a pressure cooker of being seeded late with excess moisture. That’s a bad scene for chickpeas,” said Shaw, research manager at the South East Research Farm in Redvers, Sask. “We’re […] Read more
Crop Management
Camera-controlled cultivation consummated
Plant recognition has been the biggest technological hurdle as leading-edge companies strive to develop autonomous weed control machines. Any system is bound to fail if it can’t master image recognition. Lemken recognizes this and recently took a step forward in answering the challenge by partnering with an ag tech company called Track32. This Dutch company […] Read more
How the pandemic changed organic markets
Allison Squires has noticed a change in domestic consumption of organic goods in the post-COVID environment. “It has been really interesting to see the shift for us because normally we sell bulk like many producers in the prairie provinces,” said the owner of Upland Organics, an organic farm located near Wood Mountain, Sask. These days […] Read more
Imperial: Canada’s largest renewable diesel plant
Construction of another renewable diesel plant is underway in Western Canada. On Jan. 26, Imperial Oil Canada confirmed it plans to build a $720 million renewable diesel facility at its Strathcona refinery near Edmonton. The plant, when fully operational, will produce more than one billion litres of renewable diesel per year, or 20,000 barrels per […] Read more
Big Bud tractor designed for easy repair
The new machine has a 1.5-inch thick frame, C-18 engine with a horsepower range from 640 to 750 and CAT 988 HD axles
Big Bud tractors will roll off a production line this year for the first time since 1991. “We’re going back and building a new run of tractors again. Our primary reason is we think that there’s only a few major (tractor manufacturers) left in the industry, and they’re making it difficult for farmers to fix […] Read more
New seeding systems introduced to Canada
Lemken hopes South African company’s lineup will help it expand domestically and give producers new options
Equalizer is a South African company specializing in no-till seeding technology. The company’s wide range of planters, seeders and drills are sold mainly to Australia. But that’s about to change. Lemken wanted to expand its seeding technology product line, with a focus on minimal ground disturbance and no-till farming. Rather than invent a new wheel, […] Read more
Vaderstad proceeds with new Proceed multi-task seeder
Competitors in the seeding equipment industry are marching together in same direction. Research and development folks are searching for bigger yields along with significant improvements in tillage, crop protection and fertilizer efficiency. The first goal, bigger yields, has always been possible with better seed varieties, higher rates of fertilizer and better crop protection chemistry. But […] Read more
Ag lender predicts profitable crop year
Canada’s leading farm lender is forecasting another good year for farmers in 2023. Farm cash receipts are expected to increase by 4.6 percent to $98.8 billion, according to Farm Credit Canada. The rate of growth will be down from last year’s 14.1 percent, but is still a healthy increase. Saskatchewan will lead the way with […] Read more
Speculators distort wheat markets, suppressing prices
The stubbornly bearish wheat market is overdue for a correction, says an analyst. Speculators are keeping prices depressed with their short positions, but they should pay attention to what the commercials are doing, which is going long, says DTN lead analyst Todd Hultman. The United States Department of Agriculture reported 1.28 billion bushels of U.S. […] Read more
Oats take a hit in first 2023-24 crop estimate
Agriculture Canada released its first crop projections for 2023-24, forecasting a very notable drop in oats. In the department’s January supply and demand estimates, released today, it cut oat production by almost 31 percent at 3.611 million tonnes when compared to 2022-23. The department chopped the carryout for oats by nearly 48 percent at 600,000 […] Read more
