Lawrence MacAulay, minister of agriculture and agri-food, has appointed David Hunt as chief commissioner of the Canadian Grain Commission (CGC). With more than 25 years of leadership experience in Canada’s agriculture sector, Hunt brings significant expertise in agricultural science, strategic policy, and organizational management to the role. Hunt joined the Government of Manitoba in the department of agriculture in 2007, holding several positions during his tenure. Most recently, he served as assistant deputy minister within the Government of Manitoba’s department of environment and climate ..read more

Reassessing nutrient management strategies under drought conditions to determine the most economical approach can be challenging. Researchers in Saskatchewan wanted to investigate whether split applications of nitrogen (N) in spring wheat might be more economical than the commonly recommended practice of banding all of the N beneath the soil surface at seeding.  “In some areas of Saskatchewan, dry conditions have persisted for a couple of years, raising questions about nutrient management and the opportunity to improve economics with different strategies,” says Mike Hall, research coordi ..read more

Farm Credit Canada is now accepting applications from registered charities, non-profit organizations and First Nations, Métis and Inuit governments/communities in rural Canada for the FCC AgriSpirit Fund. The fund supports capital projects that enrich the lives of residents in communities with fewer than 150,000 people. There is a total of $1.5 million in funding available. Projects can receive between $10,000 and $25,000. Examples of projects include greenhouses, community gardens and other agriculture and food-related initiatives, refrigeration and equipment to support food waste reduction ..read more

Saskatchewan’s provincial government has invested $300,000 into Agricultural Manufacturers of Canada (AMC) to create a mobile, virtual-reality skills lab. According to a provincial press release, the mobile skills lab will “visit school campuses and community events across Saskatchewan to promote career opportunities within the agricultural manufacturing industry,” with a goal of highlighting what a job in the industry looks like through virtual reality technology. The release says the mobile skills lab will travel across Saskatchewan this summer and promote careers in the agricultural manufa ..read more

What looked like an early spring back in February and March has turned into more of a normal time frame after all. Weather has been inconsistent but mostly warmer, while recent rains ranged from 25 mm in the southwest to 200 mm in central Ontario have slowed down most field work. Winter wheat conditions range from excellent in the southwest to poor in some areas further north and east. Growers are reminded that early season weed control is a must, as early spring warm weather has made for good growing conditions for weeds. | READ MORE ..read more

I was reading a release the other day from Cereals Canada about its annual New Crop Trade and Technical Missions initiative, and what jumped off the page was how well-respected our wheat is around the world. Quoting what they heard from purchasers of Canadian wheat, the release says customers refer to Canadian Western Red Spring as the “gold standard” of wheat and an anchor in their wheat blends. It also says Canadian Western Amber Durum has been called the “Ferrari” of durum wheat. This is high praise indeed for Western Canada’s largest crop, of which we export approximately 75 per cent ..read more

On March 26, the Do More Agriculture Foundation (Do More Ag) announced the addition of five agriculture professionals to its board of directors. Each new board member brings a unique perspective and innovative ideas to further Do More Ag’s mission of promoting mental health awareness and support within the Canadian agriculture industry. New board members – A snapshot Calvin Sonntag: As the Executive Chairman of BrettYoung Seeds, with a lifetime devoted to the crop input business, Calvin brings unique insights into the challenges faced by Canadian farm families, emphasizing the crucial need f ..read more

Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus (BYVD) affects a wide range of grass hosts including wheat, oats and barley with oats being considered the most susceptible crop. In some regions of the province, BYDV has been reported as having a significant negative impact on oat yields. The primary symptoms of BYDV include stunting and yellowing, reddening or purpling of the leaf tips. BYDV is often confused with nutrient deficiency or other environmental causes, or other virus diseases such as wheat spindle streak mosaic virus or soil-borne wheat mosaic virus. Identifying viral pathogens is very difficult and re ..read more

Charles Geddes is a research scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada at Lethbridge, Alta. At the Top Crop Summit Feb. 27-28 in Saskatoon, he covered the discovery, occurrence, distribution and impact of herbicide-resistant weeds across the Canadian Prairies. Herbicide-resistant weeds are a global issue, and in Canada, 86 unique types of herbicide-resistant weeds have been confirmed. Since the 1930s, pesticide companies have released a steady number of new herbicide sites of action, totalling 21 active ingredients by the early 1980s. However, since then, only one new herbicide mode of ..read more

Hybrid varieties of canola are widely grown on the Prairies, but their yield response to N fertilizer has not been recently updated, especially as newer, higher yielding hybrids are introduced to the marketplace. A research study was conducted across Canada to investigate hybrid canola yield response and N use efficiency (NUE) to N fertilization and to determine site-specific economic optimum N rates (EONR). A four-year field trial led by Bao-luo Ma at the Ottawa Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, was conducted at each site from 2018 through 2022. The sites wer ..read more