Nufarm’s new soybean herbicide

Manitoba soybean growers have a new herbicide option. Nufarm’s Valtera, with the active ingredient flumioxazin, controls a number of broadleaf weeds early, while suppressing annual grasses such as green foxtail, says Myles Robinson, the firm’s Manitoba sales manager. “Soybeans do not like competition” and that’s why early weed control can pay off in higher yields,



CWB offering new crop prices, contracts now

After months of anticipation the CWB started offering new crop prices and contracts March 29. Farmers can see what the CWB is offering under its Future First and deferred delivery price on its website (www.cwb.ca). The site has tools for calculating those prices based on grade (export position) and delivery month. Farmers must then confirm

CWB tries to bring clarity to new open markets

Staff say the more grain it gets the closer it can get to providing the benefits of the soon-to-be-dismantled CWB

The tiny village of Somerset was shrouded in fog March 30, not unlike the outlook for Western Canada’s new open wheat and barley market. More than 80 farmers made their way through the morning mist to hear about the CWB’s new pricing options, which includes two pools and cash offerings. It was the last in


It’s early, but a good time to fertilize

Field work was underway in some parts of Manitoba late last week as farmers began applying fertilizer applications during one of the earliest springs people can remember. But while extension officials urged farmers to take full advantage of the province’s exemption to rules limiting fertilizer applications until after April 10, they cautioned against putting seed

Richardson International’s rise to share top grain spot

The pending multibillion-dollar sale of Viterra demonstrates the value of patient capital and private ownership, says Richardson International president Curt Vossen. Last week publicly traded Viterra, Canada’s largest grain company, announced it was selling to the world’s No. 1 diversified commodities trader, Swiss-based Glencore, for $16.1 billion. But in a move believed aimed at getting


CDC Triffid contamination on the decline

Officials from Canada’s flax industry are in Europe this week to brief government and industry officials on the progress Canada is making removing traces of CDC Triffid, a genetically modified (GM) flax, from Canadian flax. “It’s getting less and less frequent and less and less intense,” Flax Council of Canada president Will Hill said in

Who is Glencore International?

Who is Glencore International? A lot of people are asking as the giant, Swiss-based, publicly traded multinational firm prepares to buy Viterra and become a dominant player in Canada’s grain industry. Glencore describes itself as the world’s largest commodity trader — mostly in metals and minerals, but also crops. It employs more than 2,800 people


Assessing winter wheat survival

There are a couple of ways to determine if winter wheat survived the winter, MAFRI says on its website. One is waiting until the soil and crowns warm up and root growth starts. That could take until mid-May. Another option is to extract several “sods” from the field and warm them inside. Keep the soil