Glacier FarmMedia—While seeding in Saskatchewan was still below the average pace, growers made significant progress during the week ended May 13. In total, 32 per cent of intended acres were seeded so far this spring, according to the Saskatchewan government’s weekly crop report released on May 16. One week earlier, seeding across the province was only 12 per cent complete. However, the five-year average is 54 per cent and the 10-year average is 45 per cent. Saskatchewan’s southwest region planted the most at 45 per cent, while the southeast was at 36 per cent. The northeast region completed 2 ..read more

Bioceres Crop Solutions has begun sales of genetically modified (GM) wheat seeds in Argentina, the first time the technology has been commercially available to farmers anywhere in the world, CEO Federico Trucco said on Wednesday. After years of tests followed by planting under pilot agreements between Bioceres and a small number of farmers, the company has started distributing seeds to agricultural input retail companies in the South American country, Trucco told Reuters on the sidelines of the BMO Global Farm to Market conference in New York. “Hopefully we can have it available in Brazil as w ..read more

Organic farmers across the country are invited to measure the benefits of soil management practices on their farms as part of a study led by Prairie organic organizations. The three-year project is funded by SaskOrganics, the Prairie Organics Development Fund, and will be conducted by organics researcher Martin Entz at the University of Manitoba. “We want to help farmers understand how soil health interventions that they may be interested in and are employing on their organic farms actually affect the soil health and the productivity of their systems,” Entz said. To be eligible, farms must eit ..read more

Glacier FarmMedia—Planting progress greatly accelerated across Manitoba during the week ended May 12. The province’s crop report released on May 14 showed that seeding was at 30 per cent completion, compared to just four per cent the week before. By comparison, the figure was well above three per cent from one year ago, but was also one point ahead of the five-year average. Pea acres have advanced the most at 72 per cent completion with corn (60 per cent), as well as spring wheat and barley (58 per cent) not far behind. Only 15 per cent of soybean, 13 per cent of sunflower and six per cent of ..read more

Glacier FarmMedia—The federal government is investing $5,733,852 million in funding to advance soybean, corn and oat research and promote diverse crop rotations across Canada. “The investment of $5.7 million will help grain producers in Ontario and across the country keep their businesses strong and competitive,” Guelph MP Lloyd Longfield said at the funding announcement at Woodrill Farms Ltd. “Every dollar that we invest in research puts almost $33 in the producers’ pocket, and that’s a pretty good return on investment.” The Cropping Systems Cluster will be led by the Canadian Field Crop Rese ..read more

Glacier FarmMedia—Overall spring seeding of all crops in Alberta was just over 18 per cent complete, according to the province’s first crop report of 2024. The pace was nearly seven points above the five-year average. The report, produced by the Agriculture Financial Services Corporation, noted that planting very likely started in mid-April. The south was furthest along at almost 40 per cent complete, with Peace River about 18 per cent, the central at 14 per cent, the northwest a pinch below four per cent and northeast short of three per cent. In terms of crops, potatoes were well ahead of all ..read more

Glacier FarmMedia – Planting progress in Manitoba advanced a little bit during the week ended May 7, with four per cent of the province’s crops in the ground. With the bulk of the seeding in the central region, that’s up two points from the previous week but five behind the five-year average. However, this time last year there was no reportable seeding in the province. Rain across the province ranged from 20 to 35 millimeters in the southwest, four to 35 mm in the northwest, 20 to 25 mm in the Interlake, 14 to 30 mm in the central, and five to 35 mm in the east. Daytime highs in some areas wer ..read more

Chicago | Reuters – U.S. wheat, soybean and corn futures soared to multi-month highs on Monday on worries about potentially crop-damaging weather in Brazil and Russia. Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) July wheat WN24 settled up 26-1/4 cents at $6.48-3/4 a bushel after climbing to $6.50-1/4, its highest level since late December. CBOT July corn CN24 ended up 8-3/4 cents at $4.69 a bushel, having reached its highest point since January, and July soybeans SN24 climbed 33-3/4 cents to finish at $12.48-3/4 a bushel, also reaching a four-month peak. Wheat’s rise was driven ..read more

Chicago | Reuters – U.S. corn futures rose on Friday to their highest level since January before turning lower and soybeans reached a one-month peak as floods disrupted harvests in top exporter Brazil and disease ate into Argentina’s corn crop, analysts said. Wheat futures hit a one-week high on renewed concerns over dry weather in Russia, the world’s biggest wheat supplier. Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) July corn CN24 was down 1/4 cent at $4.59-1/2 per bushel at 12:09 p.m. CDT (1709 GMT), turning lower after climbing to $4.68, the contract’s highest level since J ..read more

Once they’ve been in the biz for a few years, some farmers wish they hadn’t followed certain advice. Others wish they had. And others are happy with what they’ve accomplished based on advice they’d still follow if they had to do it all again. Here, a few farmers share what they’ve learned and offer their own bit of advice to new farmers. – April Stewart, Associate Editor. At Rockwood, Ont., Mike Sharman would like to send some advice to farmers at the start of their careers. If farming is your dream, Sharman says, don’t give up. “I’d give the same advice to any other young farmer that I would ..read more