A man in a yellow golf shirt holds a soybean plant upside down, highlighting its root, while speaking to farmers during a farm tour.

Soybeans, peas flag under drought conditions

Manitoba’s lack of rain is stressing crops, fuelling pest pressure and slicing yield potential in soybean and pea fields

Manitoba’s pea and soybean acres are suffering in drought-stricken regions like the Interlake. Dry conditions are stressing crops, fuelling pest pressure and slicing yield potential.

A website, rootrot.ca, has been launched through the Pulse Root Rot Network. Users can access information on agronomy, breeding and pathology to advance research and management practices. | Screencap via rootrot.ca

Website launched to fight pulse root rot

Glacier FarmMedia – Pea and lentil growers looking to gain the upper hand against root rot diseases have a new resource. A website, rootrot.ca, has been launched through the Pulse Root Rot Network. Users can access information on agronomy, breeding and pathology to advance research and management practices. The website is part of the Manitoba […] Read more

Dennis Lange, provincial pulse and soybean specialist with Manitoba Agriculture, recently spoke about Manitoba Pulse and Soybean Growers’ regional variety trials at Agriculture Canada’s research centre in Morden, Alta.  |  Don Norman photo

Dry bean trials in Manitoba focus on improved varieties

Beans a relatively minor crop in Western Canada, and most varieties are developed with other regions in mind, such as the United States

Glacier FarmMedia – Dry bean growers have limited options when it comes to variety selection. “With dry beans, it’s a little different than other crops,” said Dennis Lange, provincial pulse and soybean specialist with Manitoba Agriculture. “For example, in soybeans, we typically rotate varieties based on popularity, and there’s a lot of different companies involved […] Read more


This lesion on the lower stem of a soybean plant was caused by phytophthora.  |  D. Malvick/University of Minnesota photo

Crop disease tags along on soybean’s coattails

‘Honeymoon’ period for producers is ending as diseases such as phytophthora root rot make inroads following soybean expansion

Glacier FarmMedia – The worst phytophthora infection that Laura Schmidt of Manitoba Pulse and Soybean Growers has ever seen was just south of Souris. “Probably 25 per cent of the field was impacted,” the production specialist told field day attendees at the Westman Agricultural Diversification Organization near Melita. “One in four plants were dying off, […] Read more

The Western Grains Research Foundation has announced the official launch of their weed monitoring hub, www.prairieweeds.com. The website will be the new digital host for resources, data, weed maps and research under the Prairie Weed Monitoring Network (PWMN)—a joint initiative between provincial and federal governments and weed experts. | File photo

New website against weeds launched

Farmers will be able to access a library of resources, events, weed distribution maps and other tools to inform their fights against weeds

Producers have a new website to bookmark if they’re looking for weed information on the Prairies. The Western Grains Research Foundation has announced the official launch of their weed monitoring hub, www.prairieweeds.com. The website will be the new digital host for resources, data, weed maps and research under the Prairie Weed Monitoring Network (PWMN)—a joint […] Read more


It’s hoped that growth in the protein sector will result in more investment by governments and businesses into plant breeding, agronomy and other areas of research, especially for fababeans.  |  File photo

New project puts fababeans in the spotlight

Companies sign onto Protein Industries Canada initiative to boost plant protein, and fababeans are one of the stars

Glacier FarmMedia – A new $24.5-million project backed by Protein Industries Canada includes a group of plant protein companies working to tackle some of the sector’s biggest hurdles. The national cluster for protein is teaming up with Roquette, Prairie Fava, BioNeutra and Plant Up to improve innovation, come up with more diversified products and improve […] Read more

A high-protein variety of soybeans could affect the global marketplace for plant proteins and Canada’s strategy to become a major player in this sector.  |  File photo

High-protein soybeans could benefit Western Canada

Early-maturing varieties grown in Manitoba have a reputation for low protein and face a discount in global markets

WINNIPEG — A San Francisco company may soon commercialize a line of high-protein soybeans, which could lead to peas, wheat and other crops with more protein in the grain. In April, The U.S. Department of Agriculture approved the development of the gene-edited, high-protein soybeans, saying they don’t require further review or regulation. Amfora, the company […] Read more

Male (left) and female (right) waterhemp plants.  |  Photo supplied by OMAFRA

The gaps in Palmer amaranth, waterhemp prevention

No one wants Palmer amaranth or waterhemp to become bigger weed worries than they already are in Manitoba, and there’s work currently focused on making sure that doesn’t happen, but locally based knowlege is still thin on the ground. The two boogeymen of the weed realm were recently the subject of a successful resolution brought […] Read more


Winston Van Staveren, a Saskatchewan soybean grower, presents during the Soy Canada seminar in Tokyo during a recent trade mission to the Indo-Pacific.  |  Soy Canada photo

Indo-Pacific a big market opportunity for Manitoba soybeans: industry

Soy Canada representatives spent early February promoting Canadian soybeans by hosting seminars in Thailand and Japan

Glacier FarmMedia – A Manitoba soybean grower sees huge opportunity for Canadian food-grade soybeans after taking part in a trade mission to the Indo-Pacific. “We’re the ones that can have the quality they’re looking for,” said Melvin Rattai. He is chair of the Manitoba Pulse and Soybean Growers and a farmer near Beausejour, and took […] Read more

Germination is defined as the seed’s ability to break the seed coat with roots expanding out of the seed. Storage conditions and time can affect vigour. | File photo

A last check before putting seed down

Certified seed guarantees varietal purity, but specialists recommend testing all seed for germination, vigour and disease

Does certified seed mean guaranteed seed? Not necessarily, says a seed testing expert. Certified seed goes through a battery of tests to ensure vigour, germination and disease-free status, but every seed – certified or not – should be tested for the basics before it goes in the ground, says the lab manager of an Alberta […] Read more