Ryan Pritchard and Yvonne Lawley point out the features of his strip tiller, which Pritchard modified himself.

Soil is complicated… so are people

Soil Council of Canada's summit on soil health explored diverse issues of soil health across Canada and how to win people to the cause

It used to take six or seven passes over Ryan Pritchard’s fields to get them ready for spring — harrow, cultivate, harrow, deep till, fertilize. Pritchard, who works full time off farm, was looking for a way to save time. “Can’t go no till. It’s too cold a climate,” he told a tour group during



(USDA.gov via Flickr)

Grains drop, soy firm following WASDE report

MarketsFarm — Monthly supply/demand data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture were supportive for soybean prices but bearish for corn and wheat, with adjustments to yields and harvested acres providing a number of surprises. Corn futures saw the largest immediate reaction at the Chicago Board of Trade, as average yields were unexpectedly raised to 168.4



Crop quality decreasing with rains, severe sprouting seen in unharvested acres

Manitoba Crop Report and Crop Weather report for October 8

Southwest Region Another cool and wet week in the Southwest region. Rainfall was variable but enough to stop harvesting many days. Harvest operations resumed late Sunday into Tuesday. Harvest is about 60 per cent complete in general. Majority of areas south of #1 highway are close to 65 to 70 per cent done, while some



Manitoba farmers haven’t given up on their 2019 crops yet, but a wet September saw harvest grind to a halt last week, including in this canola field near Altamont.

MASC says Manitoba farmers not giving up on harvest yet

Wet weather in September delayed Manitoba’s harvest, but there’s still time

Manitoba farmers aren’t giving up on the 2019 crop yet despite an especially wet September which, for the second consecutive year, has delayed harvest. “We’ve had very few calls from producers who have concluded their crop is in a spot where they can’t harvest it, or it’s not going to be worth harvesting,” David Van




(Dave Bedard photo)

Liberals pledge revamp of federal farm lender

The federal Liberals’ platform heading into the Oct. 21 election calls for an “expanded and enhanced” role for Farm Credit Canada in supporting the country’s agriculture and agrifood sectors. Platform documents released Sunday last week (Sept. 29) call for the merger of several existing federal financial and advisory services — which the Liberals said are