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
News
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

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

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

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

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
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″]

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
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 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