South Sudanese refugee Mark Maciek spoke at a fundraising event in Winnipeg to raise money for other Sudanese refugees coping with famine.  |  Ed White photo

Foodgrains bank issues appeal

Due to the wonders of modern technology, Mark Maciek can speak directly to his relatives back in war-ravaged eastern Africa. Due to an ongoing tragedy, the South Sudanese refugee hears disturbing news when he calls. “They are hungry,” said Maciek during a fundraising event in an inner city Winnipeg church to raise money to help […] Read more

ICE Canada canola futures fall as U.S. soy slides on USDA data

(Reuters) — ICE Canada canola futures closed lower on Thursday, following a three percent drop in U.S. soybean futures after the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s U.S. soy yield estimate came in above trade expectations. November canola fell $5 to settle at $506.20 per tonne, halting a three-session rally, and January canola  ended down $5.30 at […] Read more

Once constructed, Alberta Midland Railway Terminal northeast of Edmonton plans to have storage for 850 rail cars and serve energy and agriculture companies that own private fleets.  |  File photo

Rail storage firm eyes agriculture

A new storage and mustering site will accommodate 300 rail cars by the end of this month when Alberta Midland Railway Terminal Ltd. opens its first phase in Lamont County northeast of Edmonton. And by this fall, likely sometime in October, the new terminal will have an 850-rail car capacity to serve private fleet owners […] Read more


By 2030, a marine expert says the fishing industry 
will be replaced by aquaculture. | File photo

Farmed fish will be main seafood source in the future

MOOSE JAW, Sask. — Aquaculture is the future of seafood supply, a Norwegian marine economist told a prairie audience at a recent conference. Frank Asche from the University of Florida said trying to maintain wild fisheries for human food supply is “useless” and farmed fish will actually help wild fish stocks recover. “Fishing is our […] Read more

New barley varieties start small. The crosses start out as baby plants that are incubated in the field and the greenhouse. These samples were found at the Alberta Crop Development Centre at Lacombe.  |  Barbara Duckworth photo

How does a plant breeding program work?

LACOMBE, Alta. — Selecting a new grain variety is like holding a casting call for actors in which hundreds try out but only one gets the part. The wheat, triticale and barley breeding programs at the Alberta Crop Development Centre near Lacombe look at thousands of lines of potential candidates to register the next new […] Read more


 The ethanol facility at North West Bio-Energy is in the foreground, and North West Terminal’s grain handling facility in the background. |  Karen Briere photo

Biofuel plant diversifies into new markets

Company shifts gears to target specialty markets as carbon pricing moves toward renewable and alternate fuels

UNITY, Sask. — North West Bio-Energy Ltd. is moving more into specialty alcohol markets after expanding its ethanol facility two years ago. Chief Executive Officer Jason Skinner said the plant is selling a range of higher grades of alcohol since it added distillation capacity. “When we make fuel alcohol, it’s probably the lowest grade of […] Read more

Nick Tetz of Calgary scored the highest score of 80 during the bull riding event. | Mike Sturk photo

A day at the rodeo

Great weather and good crowds showed up for the annual Canadian High School Finals Rodeo, hosted this year in Nanton, Alta., July 27-29.  |  Mike Sturk photos [ngg_images source=”galleries” container_ids=”44″ display_type=”photocrati-nextgen_basic_thumbnails” override_thumbnail_settings=”0″ thumbnail_width=”120″ thumbnail_height=”90″ thumbnail_crop=”1″ images_per_page=”20″ number_of_columns=”0″ ajax_pagination=”0″ show_all_in_lightbox=”0″ use_imagebrowser_effect=”0″ show_slideshow_link=”1″ slideshow_link_text=”[Show slideshow]” ngg_triggers_display=”never” order_by=”imagedate” order_direction=”DESC” returns=”included” maximum_entity_count=”500″]

Rosalind Bueckert, crop physiologist at the University of Saskatchewan, discusses what relative maturity means for soybean yield during a field day in Melfort, Sask., July 26.  |  William DeKay photo

Sask. soybean acres expand along with research

This chart shows the dates, treatment number and varieties used in the soybean test plots:


MELFORT, Sask. — Soybean acres are expanding rapidly in Sask-atchewan but it’s still too early to draw definitive results from the field tests that have been carried out, said a crop physiologist. Trials are underway at 10 locations across the province, Rosalind Bueckert from the University of Saskatchewan said July 26 during a joint annual […] Read more


This spore catcher unit is used at Agriculture Canada’s research centre near Lacombe. Spores travelling in the wind are captured in a filter at the end of the funnel and show what species are out there as well as help determine whether a field should be sprayed with fungicide.  |  Barbara Duckworth photo

Trials compare rotation length, weed numbers

Research studied one and two-year rotations, with and without fungicide treatments, and assessed weed populations

LACOMBE, Alta. — Current prairie crop rotations are too short to beat back weeds and disease. “If you look at our cropping systems here in Western Canada, we are largely a cereal-oilseed-cereal-oilseed rotation in many areas. In many areas, pulses are an important part of the rotation,” Kelly Turkington, a plant pathologist with Agriculture Canada […] Read more

Diamondback moth larvae can cause significant crop losses.  |  File photo

Diamondback moths pressure canola growers

Diamondback moths are the big story in canola of late, says Canola Council of Canada agronomy specialist Keith Gabert. He said Aug. 4 that farmer queries about the pesky insects have dominated his voice mail in recent days, and problems have been reported from Calgary to Winnipeg. “We’re reminding (farmers) that there’s no better way […] Read more