The program is designed to equip people, who already have some post-secondary education, with the skills required for jobs in the agricultural industry, said Ednali Zehavi, program manager at Palette Skills. | Screencap via paletteskills.org

Skills program in advanced agricultural technologies builds for today’s needs

A program designed to address the labour deficit in Saskatchewan’s agriculture sector will begin this June. The Automation and Digital Agriculture Specialist Program is run by Palette Skills, a national non-profit organization, with support from the University of Saskatchewan. The program is designed to equip people, who already have some post-secondary education, with the skills […] Read more

Next Instruments has released a new version of the CropScan 3000H On Combine Analyser specifically for measuring corn. | Screencap via cropscanag.com

On the go NIR moisture meter for combines

New Holland was the first manufacturer in the world to offer farmers OEM, near infrared, or NIR, moisture metering and nutrient content in real time, while the crop is still in the combine. NIR sensors on CR and CX combines continuously register a large number of parameters including humidity, protein and starch. This provides the […] Read more

Kett’s KJT130 handheld instant moisture meter lets the operator aim the instrument at the product and the moisture content is instantly shown on a digital display. Results are accurate to .01 percent in a 0-100 percent range. It’s operated with menu commands. | Kett photo

Near infrared moisture monitoring gone portable

Taking NIR from the lab to the field and now to portability put producers in control of their products


Moisture is one of the most significant controllable variables for grain producers. It matters when you’re growing, harvesting, buying, selling, processing, preparing and shipping. Moisture impacts profitability at every stage. The latest grain moisture measuring technology available to farmers is near-infrared, or NIR. NIR offers significant benefits compared to traditional methods such as Karl Fischer […] Read more


Forage analysis is crucial for every farmer who uses or produces forage. | File photo

Near infrared moisture monitor for forages

Forage analysis is key to optimizing animal nutrition and crop pricing. The latest near infrared, or NIR, technology provides cattle producers with immediate in-field analysis, cutting days off conventional feed-lab turnaround. To preserve optimal rumen function, forages should make up 60 to 75 percent of the diet. Animal well-being and productivity depends on high quality […] Read more

"Soils have been left saturated across much of agro-Manitoba with regular rains rewetting soils," Manitoba Agriculture said in its May 10 crop report. | Screencap via Twitter/@harleysiemens

Late seeding may boost canola acres

In April, Statistics Canada predicted that Manitoba farmers would seed 3.3 million acres of canola. That number may jump because of the extremely wet and late spring in the province. Some producers who were planning to seed soybeans and corn may abandon those crops and shift more acres into canola. “Soils have been left saturated […] Read more


Raef Sully, executive vice president of Nutrien, said global supply of ammonia, urea and UAN are all tight. | File photo

No relief seen for high fertilizer prices

Nitrogen fertilizer prices will remain well supported for the rest of this year and beyond, according to a major manufacturer and retailer of the product. Raef Sully, executive vice-president of Nutrien, said global supply of ammonia, urea and UAN are all tight. “I think we’ll see continued solid pricing through the rest of the year […] Read more


As of May 3, Alberta Agriculture found seeding in the south was at 36.5 percent complete, while that in the central region was 5.9 and the rest of the province was 0.1 to 0.6 percent done.  |  WP file photo

Alberta seeding ahead of five-year average 

While the rate of spring planting in Alberta is 12.2 percent complete overall, there’s a disparity between the south and the rest of the province. Also, the pace was 2.6 points above the five-year average but 5.2 behind last year.  As of May 3, Alberta Agriculture found seeding in the south was at 36.5 percent […] Read more


Bunge has more than 1,000 employees in Ukraine and significant investments in the country, including at the Black Sea port at Nikolaev in the southwestern region. Its vegetable oil plant is one of the largest in the country, and has made recent upgrades to oilseed and  grain terminal capacity at that location.  |   Bunge photo

War exports short with “a long tail”

Some analysts have suggested Ukraine’s grain exports would resume in a hurry if there was a ceasefire. But that is not the assessment of the head of one of the world’s largest grain companies, which has significant assets in the country. Bunge Limited’s chief executive officer Greg Heckman mentioned during a conference call on the […] Read more