(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Major Alberta cattle feeder set to shut feedlots

Reuters — One of Canada’s biggest cattle feeding operations, Western Feedlots, said Wednesday it will close feeding operations after marketing the cattle it currently owns, due to poor market conditions. Closure of Western’s feeding operations, likely early in 2017 once its current cattle are sold, will make it more difficult for ranchers to find markets

(CropScience.Bayer.ca)

U.S. lawmakers skeptical of ag chemical, seed merger wave

Washington | Reuters — U.S. lawmakers expressed concern on Tuesday over a wave of mergers among companies that sell farmers their seeds, herbicides and insecticides, worrying that the deals could lead to higher prices and less innovation at a time of dropping farm incomes. Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, said the proposed mergers



Manitoba Crop Report and Crop Weather report: No. 21

Conditions as of September 19, 2016

Harvest 2016 continued across Manitoba, although wet weather, shorter days and heavy morning dews are impacting the number of acres harvested in any given day. Many crops are being harvested at tough or damp moisture levels, requiring aeration or artificial drying to achieve safe storage moisture levels. Some areas reported light frost events Thursday and



(Photo courtesy Nutrien)

Fertilizer merger highlights big-picture concerns

CNS Canada — A multi-billion-dollar merger between two major crop input companies is the latest in a string of consolidation efforts in North America’s agriculture industry, drawing attention again to the possible effects on the value chain. Agrium and PotashCorp announced Monday they plan to combine to create an integrated global supplier of crop inputs,


Manitoba Crop Report and Crop Weather report: No. 20

Conditions as of September 12, 2016

Wet weather over the past week slowed harvest progress in Manitoba. The recent weather is also impacting crop quality in spring wheat and barley. Some crops are being harvested at tough or damp moisture levels, requiring aeration or artificial drying to achieve safe storage moisture levels. Soybeans, grain corn and sunflowers are maturing quickly. Silage

(Dave Bedard photo)

PotashCorp, Agrium make engagement official

The boards of two of the heaviest hitters in Canada’s fertilizer sector have formally agreed to a $47 billion “merger of equals” deal under a new, yet-to-be-named parent company. PotashCorp, the world’s biggest fertilizer company by capacity, and rival Agrium, which is also the world’s biggest crop input retail chain, announced an agreement Monday in


Manitoba Crop Report and Crop Weather report: No. 19

Conditions as of September 6, 2016

Harvest 2016 continued across Manitoba with good progress made in cereal crops and canola. However, wet weather over the weekend in some areas of the province impacted harvest operations. Harvest will resume quickly in areas that received lower rainfall amounts and where field conditions allow. Field operations will be delayed in areas that received significant

Researchers at the Brandon Research and Development Centre are conducting a plot trial on various 
forages to determine what is most productive in Manitoba conditions.

Sainfoin’s forage potential tested

Trials at the Brandon Research and Development Centre aim to see how 
the crop will measure up in a second-cut system compared to alfalfa

Does sainfoin have the potential to be a productive second-cut system, comparable to alfalfa? Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) researchers intend to find out. At the Brandon Research and Development Centre they have seeded two varieties of sainfoin, Melrose and AC Mountainview, in both pure stands and mixed with grasses. Mae Elsinger, an AAFC range