Agripod

Everyone involved in agriculture needs to better communicate the story of farming. Cam Dahl is the General Manager of Manitoba Pork. He says the sector needs to work together to dispel the myths surrounding modern agriculture. An article circulated through community newspapers examines the connection between farmers and the "Prove It" generation and the need to better communicate the role of new t...

Two companies conducted an extensive crop tour of Western Canada during the first week of August. Argus Media and Leftfield Commodity Research combined resources to stop at more than forty farms in the three-prairie province. At more than half of the sites, they were able to speak to local producers. The companies produced average yield and production estimates for canola and wheat in Western Cana...

If the price of feed grain remains at its current high level, consumers can expect continued higher meat prices. A combination of factors including shortages of locally produced feed grains due to last year's drought, transportation challenges due to COVID-19 and generally higher global grain prices due to the war in Ukraine has pushed grain prices to record levels. Florian Possberg, a partner wit...

It's estimated soil salinity is affecting anywhere from five to 10 million acres on the Canadian Prairies. Establishing perennial forages is one of the top recommended methods to manage saline soils for the long term. Recently there was a Forage Crop Walk near Melfort, Sask. where local farmer Harvey Heavin shared his story of how he converted 90 acres of poorly producing saline land to a producti...

The Canadian Cattle Association has hired a new general manager and he comes from our province. Ryder Lee will become the CCA general manager on September 1st. For the past seven years, he has been the Chief Executive Officer of the Saskatchewan Cattlemen's Association. Ryder worked for the CCA in several capacities between 2005 and 2015. He will reflect on his experience with the Saskatchewan gro...

Baiting and trapping entire groups appears to be one of the more effective means of eliminating wild pigs. The Squeal on Pigs campaign in Manitoba, launched earlier this year, is designed to inform the public about the dangers posed by wild pigs and to provide a mechanism to report sightings. Dr. Wayne Lees the Coordinator of the Manitoba Invasive Swine Eradication Project will share the latest re...

A group that represents Canadian ranchers has changed its name to be more gender inclusive. The Canadian Cattlemen's Association, which represents more than 60,000 ranchers and feedlot operators nationwide, will now be known as the Canadian Cattle Association. He'll talk about the name change, the recent reversal of a Health Canada decision to back away from a saturated fat warning label on ground...

The grain markets have been taking a beating. Are there signs prices have started to bottom out? Without a swift recovery of bullish sentiment, growers who held off selling the best new crop prices in a decade may be headed for a familiar marketing strategy this fall; holding and hoping. Errol Anderson, the president of Pro Market Communications in Calgary says it isn't just the ag sector feeling...

Many farmers have diversified their operations. But one farm southwest of Saskatoon has several revenue streams including crops, livestock, part ownership in a Saskatoon restaurant and operating a summer day camp for elementary school students. Arlie LaRoche is the owner-operator of Farm One Forty and she will share more about the farm and its various ventures. Does Saskatchewan have the ability t...

The first North American veterinary college honeybee research chair will be located at the University of Saskatchewan. Dr. Sarah Wood is a veterinarian known for her pollinator research. Wood says bees play an important role in agriculture and with roughly 45 per cent of bee colonies lost last year the work to save the bees is more important then ever. Saskatchewan students interested in studying...

It's a given that pastures and land growing forages store additional carbon in the soil. The question is how much carbon is stored and which management practices increase forage production. A new five-year carbon soil mapping study aims to answer those questions. The joint effort between research scientists at the University of Saskatchewan and University of Alberta will be conducted in our provin...

The National Farmers Union has updated its report on greenhouse gas emissions . . . using recently released 2020 data. The report said emissions from Canadian agriculture and the production of associated farm inputs is up 35 percent since 1990. NFU Director of Climate Crisis Policy Darrin Qualman will talk about the report and the significance of a 35 per cent increase spread over three decad...

All kinds of conditions on the prairies this year. Very dry in the west but wet in Manitoba and eastern Saskatchewan which has meant seeding has been delayed. A retired agronomist says broadcasting seeding could be an option on those wet fields. Ag Direct Hail has created another option for farmers. It is the first and only, exclusively online private crop hail insurance provider on the Prairies....

Humans can transmit avian influenza to birds. That message from Dr. Susan Detmer, an Associate Professor with the Western College of Veterinary Medicine. The Saskatchewan government made the move to restrict the movements of birds including pet birds and falcons and refrain from taking birds to shows to reduce the risk that they could pick up, transmit and spread the virus. She will talk abou...

A new agreement has been signed between SeedMaster and John Deere. The SeedMaster Toolbar will be used exclusively with John Deere air seeding equipment. SeedMaster CEO Don Henry calls it a win for both companies and the agriculture industry. The Western Grains Research Foundation (WGRF) is a farmer-funded and farmer-directed non-profit organization that invests in agricultural rese...

Canola seeded into cool, over-wet and over-dry soil can be slow to emerge and slow to grow.  That can put seedlings at higher risk of flea beetle damage. Canola Council of Canada agronomy specialist Keith Gabbert says farmers need to prepare seedbeds as well as possible to help the crop outgrow its susceptible stage quickly. And while seed treatments usually provide effective protection past...

A treasure trove of data from the 2021 census of agriculture is being released. Erin Kumar is responsible for the census of agriculture at Statistics Canada. She says the information will provide a sense of what’s going on in the AG sector and how the definition of a farm is changing. And a team of researchers is taking a look at food security and culture following the pandemic. University o...

Pulse processing in this country is expanding again.   Eat Well Investment Group, which owns Belle Pulses plans to upgrade and expand its production facilities to meet recent demand increases caused by the global food supply chain crisis. Eat Well Chief investment officer Mark Coles says Belle produced approximately 90,000 metric tonnes of protein in 2021 and will be adding up to an additiona...

Canola Council of Canada says advanced biofuels is a new opportunity for growth for the country's canola growers. Earlier this month the Environmental Protection Agency released a proposal that could open the export doors even wider for Canadian canola producers. The proposed plan would recognize renewable diesel and jet fuel made from canola oil as “advanced biofuels” under the U.S. R...

Healthy soils retain carbon and are an unsung hero waiting in the wings to tackle climate change. That's the main message of a new 52 page report released by the Soil Conservation Council of Canada . . . and the Compost Council of Canada. The report says if properly managed . . . Canada's 175 million acres of agricultural and urban soils can be developed to increase and retail more carbon . . . he...

The federal government tabled its new emissions reduction plan as required under the net-zero emissions law passed last year. It projects the oil and gas industry will need to cut greenhouse emissions by 42 per cent by the end of the decade from current levels. Agriculture accounts for about 10 per cent of that total and the challenge will be to reduce that to net zero by the year 2050. Branden Le...

The work stoppage at CP Rail lasted for two days . . . before the two sides agreed to let the dispute enter binding arbitration. There is plenty of relief that CP service resumed without having to go through the lengthy process of back-to-work legislation for the 3,000 engineers, conductors, train and yard workers. Greg Northey is the Vice President of Corporate Affair with Pulse Canada. He will t...

Even with the threat of interest rate increases it appears farmers are still hungry for land. Farm Credit Canada Chief economist J.P. Gervais shares the results of the 2021 Farmland values report. He says the price for the country's farmland climbed despite impacts from pandemic supply chain disruptions and adverse weather that affected parts of the country. India has lifted fumigation requirement...

The United Nations is warning the war in Ukraine could send global food prices soaring. Murad Al-Katib is the CEO and President of AGT Food and Ingredients. He says Ukraine and Russia are both major exporters of grain---especially to Middle Eastern countries such as Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, and Iran. Al-Katib explains how a shortage of food could increase domestic tensions in those countries in the...

Another value-added food processing announcement for the prairies. AGT Food and Ingredients will be adding an oat processing line to its facility in Aberdeen . . . about 40 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon. The Aberdeen plant has been handling pulse crops for about 15 years . . . and some construction will be needed for the oat expansion. Murad Al-Katib is the president and CEO of AGT Food and In...