PAMI chief executive officer Leah Olson works in the shop with fabricator Tyler Dies. “When it comes to electronics, I’ve seen some leaps and bounds by farmers young and old working on electronic equipment,” Olson says. “At the other end, I know farmers who still don’t have autosteer. They just don’t trust it. They’re nervous about it.” | PAMI PHOTO

Big equipment purchases can come with big risks

Equipment purchases today may have consequences years down the road, especially if electronic reliability, maintenance and right to repair escalate into valid reasons to keep older implements on the farm. Everyone has heard horror stories of combines sitting still for days during harvest and sprayers that break down at the peak of spraying season. The glitches […] Read more

Wild oats don't compete well with other plants, but given the chance for some sunlight and resources they will rapidly become a problem and develop resistances to chemistry.  |  Mike Raine photo

Resistance to resistance – future control today

Herbicide-resistant weeds cost Canadian farmers more than half a billion dollars annually and the price tag is growing. The next generations of producers might not be any better able to control the problem than we are today. There are wild oat populations displaying resistance to Groups 1, 2, 8, 14, and 15 herbicides, kochia populations […] Read more

Effective farm data management becoming essential to success

Effective farm data management becoming essential to success

New platform links farmers with a network of experts for support with agronomy, markets and mental health

One of the best ways farmers can prepare their business for whatever the future might bring is to ensure the information they base their decisions upon is reliable and timely. The variables growers must monitor to maximize their farm’s profitability are vast and complicated, and there are new sources of agricultural information popping up like […] Read more



International buyers were in a rush to lock up canaryseed supplies but are now turning to alternatives as prices remain high. | File photo

White-hot canaryseed market takes a break

The canaryseed market is in a standoff as international customers stop buying and Canadian farmers are no longer selling. The market started rallying in the summer and reached a record of 55 cents per pound by early fall. It has since cooled to around 50 cents. “It has been a very wild market, to say […] Read more


Manitoba Ag Days has been postponed to limit the spread of COVID-19 in the province. | File photo

Ag Days postponed

Manitoba Ag Days has been postponed. The annual farm show, held every January at the Keystone Centre in Brandon, will not take place on January 18-20 because of new public health orders in Manitoba. On December 27 the Manitoba government announced a 250-person limit on all public gatherings, including hockey games, concerts and other events […] Read more

Discussing the new high-speed disc machines, Brandt’s Scott Lessmeister said the advantage of coming to the party late is that Brandt engineers were able to study all the other products on the market and learn from their products. | BRANDT PHOTOS

Brandt enters fray of high-speed discs

Late to the party might win a prize this time as the Saskatchewan company says it has learned from others and farmers

Competition in the field of high-speed disc cultivators is heating up with the addition of a new contestant. Brandt has released a high-speed discer capable of functioning at 14 miles per hour. The high-speed disc is designed to manage crop residue, condition seed beds, level ruts, reclaim wetlands and generally simplify post-harvest and pre seed […] Read more

Rabobank expects EU biodiesel demand to start tailing off due to the increased adoption of electric/hydrogen powered vehicles. The decline will become really pronounced starting around 2030.  |  Eurostat, Rabobank, WP illustration

Biodiesel use to decline in EU

There is a good news/bad news scenario emerging for canola oil in the European Union’s biodiesel sector, according to a Rabobank report. The bad news is that diesel demand is expected to fall with the increased adoption of electric and hydrogen vehicles. The electric share of new car registrations in the EU is expected to […] Read more



Demand for canola oil remains strong, said Ward Toma, Alberta Canola general manager, and increasing domestic processing capacity to match the harvest of the western Canadian mainstay crop will strengthen the sector. | File photo

Alta. crusher plan takes step forward

Canola processor Bunge has leaped a provincial regulatory hurdle to build a facility in Lamont County east of Edmonton. Details of the proposed facility are not available from the company, but Ward Toma, Alberta Canola general manager, said the possibility of increased processing capacity in the province is good news. “There has been lots of […] Read more