Blackleg incidence in prairie canola fields, which is the percentage of plants in a field with symptoms, increased to 23 per cent this year from 12 per cent last year.  |  File photo

Blackleg was brutal this year

WINNIPEG — The wet spring on the Prairies provided nearly “perfect” conditions for blackleg to develop in canola crops. That’s why 2024 will likely become the worst year on record for the disease in Saskatchewan. “Ninety-two percent of crops we surveyed in Saskatchewan in 2024 had at least trace levels of blackleg,” said Alireza Akhavan, […] Read more

The 2023–28 Canola AgriScience Research Cluster is a five-year research program funded through S-CAP and the canola industry. | File photo

Canola industry gets research boost

A federal funding announcement for Canada’s Canola Cluster aims to drive the sustainable growth of Canada’s canola industry. The $9 million comes from the AgriScience Program-Clusters Component, an initiative under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (S-CAP). “This new canola cluster will build on the great work of the previous one, which I was proud to […] Read more

Breeding canola to handle more heat at flowering is one of the major long-term innovations that the industry hopes will help increase yields. | File photo

Canola counts on agronomy, future innovation

Sector is convinced that improved agronomy in the short term and big innovations in the 2030s will push yields higher

In early October, Western Producer reporter Robert Arnason spoke with Curtis Rempel, vice-president of crop production and innovation with the Canola Council of Canada. The topic was canola yield gains over the last two decades and what will drive gains in the future. RA: What happened in the 2000s, which led to significant yield increases […] Read more


A clear beaker is sitting on a counter in a lab, it has a clear liquid in it and is labelled, "DNA extraction buffer."

Ag community excited about genomics’ future

Genome Prairie works to get expensive equipment into the hands of smaller companies and agricultural organizations

For farmers in the field, quick genomics assessment offered by services like the Manitoba Canola Growers’ Pest Surveillance Initiative enables producers to know what problems they’re dealing with.