‘New’ Cereals Canada selects Alberta farmer Todd Hames as chair

June 1 Cereals Canada and Cigi merged and held its first annual meeting June 22

Alberta farmer Todd Hames was elected the chair of the recently reconstituted Cereals Canada at its first annual meeting June 22. The ‘new’ Cereals Canada was created June 1 when it and the Canadian International Grains Institute (Cigi) amalgamated after two years of discussions and the approval of their respective boards April 13. Hames, who

(TopconPositioning.com)

Brandt buys GeoShack’s Ontario business

Deal makes equipment firm the exclusive Topcon dealer for Canada

Farm, forestry and construction equipment maker Brandt is about to buy itself a lock on the market for Topcon GPS equipment in Canada. The Regina-based Brandt Group announced Wednesday it has reached a deal to buy the assets of GeoShack Canada Co. and the Canadian assets of Inteq Distributors, both owned by Dallas-based Ultara Holdings.


Morris’ Quantum Air Drill had its first public appearance at Canada’s Farm Progress Show and its formal launch at Ag in Motion in 2018. (Grainews photo by Scott Garvey)

Rite Way proposes to buy Morris Industries

Regina farm equipment maker draws up letter of intent

Cash-crunched seeding equipment maker Morris Industries has been handed a letter of intent to purchase, from a Saskatchewan suitor with a farm equipment company of its own. Calgary consultancy Alvarez and Marsal said in a report Tuesday it received a letter of intent for a “proposed sale transaction” from Superior Farms Solutions Ltd. (SFSL), the

Seeding season is underway, but many producers are facing fields like this one near Somerset.

Filling in the trenches before spring seeding

Producers are trying to find time to deal with the ruts they left while scrambling to get crop in last fall

Manitoba’s grain farmers are still racking up the butcher’s bill from last year’s “harvest from hell.” Some are still trying to get last year’s harvest off the field, some have been forced to burn that unharvested crop thanks to fields too wet or crops too far gone to be worth combining. Some are trying to


Pulse, cereal crops see seeding progress across Manitoba

Manitoba Crop Report and Crop Weather report for May 12

Southwest Region Cool and wet conditions were the norm last week. Moderate snowfall happened across much of the region, stalling all field activities for two days. Total precipitation was 2 to 10 mm in different areas. Snow melted quickly and producers were able to start some seeding again. Very cold overnight temperatures coupled with below

A kochia seedling breaks ground near Winkler in late March.

Spring weeds rise up well ahead of seeding efforts

Weed forecasts have farmers expecting to reap the consequences of last year’s lack of field work

Farmers are gearing up for spring seeding, but the weeds have already made it to the field. Manitoba’s provincial weed specialist, Tammy Jones, says producers are already starting from behind on weed control this year, thanks in large part to harvest conditions last fall. Why it matters: Seeding is stressful enough as is, but farmers


Turning precision ag data into higher profits

Turning precision ag data into higher profits

Seeding and Tillage: The fast-evolving technology can bring a lot of value if you know how to manage it

Adam DeVisser is a recent convert to using precision agriculture, but he’s practical about its application. “The value is not in computers making decisions for us, but in us making more informed decisions,” he said at a recent crops conference in Ontario. DeVisser and his fellow panellists — farmer Mark Brock and Brandon Dietrich of

David Rourke (right) takes a closer look at a green manure blend during an organic field tour near Boissevain this summer.

Field work gap means spring shifts for organic growers

Organic farmers are starting from behind this spring after little field work got done last fall

Organic farmers are gearing up for a more complicated start to the growing season after missing much of their field work last fall. Last year’s “harvest from hell” is still sending shocks through Manitoba operations, with wet weather leaving many farmers with unharvested acres and incomplete fertilizer applications. For the organic sector, that same delay


Drainage ditches were near capacity this fall after a rain- and snow-filled season.

Make spring nutrient plans now, say U of M soil scientists

The very wet fall last year has set the stage for a very challenging spring season

A series of looming challenges makes planning now for spring nutrient applications crucial, two Manitoba soil scientists say. A wet fall and stretched-out harvest kept many producers from applying nitrogen fertilizer. While spring nitrogen application is not unheard of, it will then have to compete with many other tasks, said University of Manitoba soil science

Visitors to Brooks and Jen White’s farm, Borderland Agriculture near Pierson, Man., got a closer look at adaptive grazing with bison in summer 2018.

Can regenerative agriculture products find a premium niche?

“We have a product that we should be able to demand a premium from. I just don’t know how to do it,” says Brooks White

Pipestone’s Brooks White needs no convincing about the biological value of regenerative agriculture. His fields of cover crops, annual stands grazed by bison, and adaptive pasture system speak for themselves of his commitment to this way of farming. And for that commitment he’s been rewarded — in the form of lower inputs, higher soil organic matter, more and better feed for his livestock and