Where did such a destructive disease come from? Verticillium stripe was first reported in Manitoba in 2014, some 10 years ago. The fungus, Verticillium longisporum, has now been confirmed present in six provinces: British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec. In a survey in 2023 across Manitoba, verticillium stripe was found in 38 per cent of canola crops surveyed. How did this disease, prevalent in European canola (rapeseed) crops, cross the Atlantic? It is likely this disease could have been present for many years in both Canada and the U.S. Verticillium stripe is a ..read more

The past few seasons have been a challenging time for farmers on the Canadian Prairies. Extreme heat, lack of precipitation and steep increases in production costs have caused some sleepless nights for many producers. As if those weren’t enough to contend with, another potential threat to crops will soon rear its ugly head: weeds. Grainews recently spoke with experts in the three Prairie provinces about the weed outlook for 2024 and what growers should know as they prepare for the upcoming season. Manitoba The 2023 growing season in Manitoba was mostly a good one in terms of weed control, than ..read more

During the first half of April, Alberta packers were buying fed cattle on a live basis at $240 per hundredweight delivered, up $8/cwt from a month earlier. Market-ready fed cattle supplies in Alberta and Saskatchewan are tightening, causing the fed cattle basis to strengthen. While the Canadian domestic slaughter is running slightly below year-over-year levels, fed cattle exports to the U.S. are sharply higher. In Kansas and Texas, fed cattle were trading at US$185/cwt, down US$2/cwt from mid-March. In the U.S., market-ready fed cattle supplies are similar to last year while the slaughter is c ..read more

If the GPS system in use on your farm relies on a WAAS (Wide Area Augmentation System) signal, then be aware there will be an outage right in the middle of spring seeding this year. The United States’ Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which administers the civilian-use GPS network, plans to switch WAAS GEO 6 (S15 – PRN 133) from regular operation into “test” mode beginning May 13. That satellite will remain out of service until June 7. However, the other two WAAS satellites, 131 and 135, will be functioning during that time. So producers will still be able to find a signal. This planned o ..read more

Wheat midge populations on the Prairies have been declining for the past few years, but a researcher specializing in insect pests says farmers need to remain vigilant about the threat they pose to crops. “My advice (to farmers) is don’t turn your back on wheat midge, even if you are in a (low level) green zone on the provincial survey map,” says Tyler Wist, a field crop entomologist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Saskatoon. “This is the biggest pest in wheat that we have in Western Canada and it’s not something that you want to take lightly.” Wheat midge populations in Western Canad ..read more

In recent years there have been a few machines introduced to the market that aim to take jobs away from the typical loader tractor. And England-based JCB has been providing farmers with some of them. This year the brand showed three different machines at the Commodity Classic farm show in Houston in February carrying the latest round of updates. Most notably for the 2024 model year in the Agri line of telehandlers is the unique DualTech VT combination hydrostatic-powershift transmission. “A lot of our competition push a Vario or hydrostatic transmission, which is great for when you’re loading ..read more

It is with sadness I heard about Alberta Farm Animal Care (AFAC) closing its doors in Alberta after 30 years, which I would say is after 30 years of extreme good. The great thing was that it was animal welfare-based through and through and had all the production animal groups on its board. They all benefited from the many things AFAC did. The question is, who will carry on the charge? I considered AFAC a very proactive group when it came to dispersing information about animal welfare. Its newsletter contained many articles about advancements in animal welfare in all species groups. It was a ve ..read more

When I was first hired by Alberta Agriculture as a diagnostic plant pathologist, I was told I would be primarily responsible for barley, oat, wheat and canola diseases. I was also asked to head up the provincial control program for bacterial ring rot of potato (BRR). The BRR program, run in partnership with the federal agriculture department in British Columbia, in itself is another huge success story which I will write up at a later date. Pretty soon, in the ’70s and ’80s, I was involved in controlling sclerotinia disease of canola, blackleg of canola, sulphur deficiency in canola and, later ..read more

If you’re gearing up for spring planting or tending to livestock, you know there are many daily tasks to complete, and your mind may be saying “The work on this farm is never done.” Many young farmers are keen to work hard to prove they are ready to become farm managers — but what tools are helpful for founders and successors to delegate the tasks ahead? Enter the RACI chart: “Responsible, Accountable, Consulted and Informed.” Responsible “Responsible” designates the task as assigned directly to this person (or group of people). The responsible person is the one who does the work to complete t ..read more

Do you know a woman working in agriculture that has made an outstanding contribution to the industry? If so, a nomination to receive an international “Women in Ag Award” may be in order. DLG, the German Agricultural Society, which hosts the farm shows Agritechnica and the animal husbandry-focused EuroTier in Hannover, Germany, is accepting nominations for that award until July 31. The organization is accepting nominations or direct applications from women internationally. The award winners will be selected by an international jury made up of representatives from agricultural practice, science ..read more