Rocky Omelchenko had just dropped off a load of "so-so" wheat and was about to cross the highway when the accident occurred. | WP freelancer photo

Train hits grain truck in Sask.

A North Battleford, Sask., farmer escaped injury when his B-train was struck by a Canadian National Railway train yesterday. Rocky Omelchenko had just dropped off a load of “so-so” wheat and was about to cross the highway when the accident occurred. “It all happened pretty quick,” said Omelchenko. “I thought I was far enough across […] Read more

The 10+ Genome Project involved nearly 100 international scientists from universities and plant breeding institutes in Canada, Switzerland, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Israel, Australia, and the United States. | Screencap via 10wheatgenomes.com

‘Huge’ breakthrough made with wheat genetics atlas

Wheat breeding programs around the world have gained access to a powerful new genomic tool that will allow for the more rapid and accurate development of improved, high-yielding wheat varieties. In a landmark research project led by the University of Saskatchewan, an international team of scientists has successfully sequenced the genomes for 15 individual wheat […] Read more

Deny Moody separates coloured plastics and places them in a tube, which deposits them in a large tote.  |  Mary MacArthur photo

Small-town bottle depot makes sorting easier

NEW NORWAY, Alta. — Bent over a table sorting cans and bottles all day long was the incentive Deny Moody needed to build an automatic bottle sorter for his bottling recycling depot. “I figured there has got to be a better, simpler way,” said Moody, owner of the Bottle Depot in New Norway. Automated bottling […] Read more


Verdient Foods wants to improve the functionality of pulse ingredients, starting with yellow peas.  |  File photo

Pulse processor to expand

A consortium is expanding manufacturing capacity at the Verdient Foods plant in Vanscoy, Sask., to commercialize new pulse ingredient technology. Protein Industries Canada is funding half of the $25.7-million project, while Ingredion Inc., Ingredion Plant Based Protein Specialties Canada, Verdient, T Base 4 Investments and O.M.D. Food Products are funding the other half. The partnership […] Read more

Food trade resiliency welcomed

World agricultural trade and food security have fared far better than many feared at the beginning of the pandemic. That “resiliency” needs to continue in order to keep the world’s farmers and hungry out of trouble, an Ohio State University economist told OSU’s Agricultural Policy and Outlook Conference. “It’s really rather critical to keep global […] Read more


Ottawa renews commitment to open trade

Trade minister says Canada’s approach to the threats facing global trade is to build alliances with like-minded nations

Canada isn’t backing away from its commitment to open and expansive export trade, according to International Trade Minister Mary Ng. Neither growing protectionist sentiment nor the pandemic should knock Canada off its willingness to be a champion of world trade. “We need to create more and open trade,” Ng said to the Conseil des Relations […] Read more

Nutrien posts quarterly loss

Reuters — Canadian fertilizer maker Nutrien Ltd. has narrowed its full-year profit forecast and said it has seen an improvement in market conditions globally, helped by higher crop and fertilizer prices. The world’s biggest fertilizer maker by capacity also posted a net loss for the third quarter, hurt by an impairment charge of $823 million. […] Read more

Farmland concentration: is it really a problem?

Concerns certainly exist regarding the growth of mega farms and the concentration of farmland control. But how many of the concerns are just envy and how many are actually valid? Darrin Qualman of the National Farmers Union is lead author on a new report called Concentration Matters: Farmland Inequality on the Prairies. This is certainly […] Read more


Election 2020 irregularities: ‘it was rigged’

Interest in the vote had been intense, as it always is. The stakes were high and supporters on all sides were becoming increasingly passionate. Allegations of election fraud muddied the waters and passions ran even higher. Was it possible the results would be too tainted to be accepted by all sides? Would the country never […] Read more

Ag Notes

Dealers revamp communications The Western Equipment Dealers Association has created a new microsite for its publications and it includes a digital knowledge centre to connect dealers to industry news and information. The site will provide news updates from the association on policy, government regulations, manufacturer relations, industry articles, podcasts, webinars, surveys and training. The site […] Read more