Manitoba farmers are starting to shy away from growing insecticide-treated soybean seed. “Farmers are changing their minds, mainly because of the commodity prices right now…. They’re choosing to cut back on costs,” said Dylan Wiebe, who operates LD Seeds in Altona, Man. “In our area, a lot of guys are cutting back on the insecticides.” […] Read more
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Cost, stewardship may reduce treated seed use
CWB not coming back, say Liberals
Even if it wanted to, the federal Liberal government couldn’t restore the Canadian Wheat Board and a single-desk marketing system for wheat. Last week, 50 farmers at a Manitoba meeting voted to restore the board, after which NDP leader Tom Mulcair raised the issue in the House of Commons during Question Period Feb. 16. “The […] Read more
Stacked trait canola has quality issues: Bayer
Bayer’s plan to roll out a new stacked trait canola variety has hit a speed bump. Invigor Choice LR250, a hybrid canola variety that contains both Liberty Link and Roundup Ready Genuity traits, was scheduled for a limited release to western Canadian growers this year. However, the company announced earlier this week that the product […] Read more
Settlement reached in XL beef lawsuit
A $4 million settlement has been reached in a class action lawsuit against XL Foods. The case stems from the largest food recall in Canadian history. The recall of 1.8 million kilograms of beef in Canada and the United States was issued after E. coli 0157:H07 was detected in beef processed at the plant at […] Read more
Egypt’s ag ministry sets ergot tolerance level
ABU DHABI, UAE (Reuters) — Egypt’s agriculture ministry sent a letter to traders saying it will allow an ergot fungus tolerance level of 0.05 percent in wheat imports, hoping suppliers will make offers in international purchase tenders for the strategic grain. Disputes about ergot content level have disrupted top buyer Egypt’s wheat imports in recent […] Read more
U.S. winter wheat in south to see warm spell
CHICAGO, Ill. (Reuters) — A warm spell in the United States Plains was expected cause a portion of the region’s hard red winter wheat to break dormancy and lose some of its winter hardiness, but forecasts showed no immediate threat to the crop, meteorologists said. Temperatures should reach the 21 to 32 C across the […] Read more
Seed grower’s website provides cover crop info
A Saskatchewan farmer is creating a how-to website for cover cropping in Western Canada. Kevin Elmy, who runs Friendly Acres Seed Farm in Saltcoats, Sask., set up a website this winter called covercrops.ca. It provides a list of seed retailers selling cover crops and the types of species for sale. Cover crops, which are used […] Read more
Specialize or diversify?
Western Canadian farmers have for years heard the same message from agronomists and advisers: grow a diverse array of crops, the more the merrier. David Sullivan takes a differentpoint of view. He says producers should specialize with three or four crops and drop the rest. “I see way too many farms growing seven, eight or […] Read more
2015 hottest year by far
OSLO, Norway (Reuters) — A record-breaking string of hot years since 2000 is almost certainly a sign of man-made global warming, says a new study. It said there is a vanishingly small chance that the heat streak was caused by random, natural swings. Last year was the hottest since records began in the 19th century. […] Read more
Edmonton centre drops horse racing
One of Alberta’s largest agricultural societies has announced it is getting out of horse racing. Tim Reid, Northlands chief executive officer, said this would be the last year of horse racing at Northland’s racetrack in Edmonton. “It is with mixed emotions today that we talk about our partnership with (Horse Racing Alberta). What we do […] Read more
