A screengrab from a promotional video for Bayer’s Proline fungicide. (Bayer CropScience Canada via YouTube)

Finer nozzle screens linked to Proline plug-ups

Bayer CropScience is recommending users of its Proline foliar fungicide double-check the nozzles they’re using before spraying, to avoid the “plugging issues” affecting some customers’ sprayers. The company on Wednesday reported a “small” number of cases in which farmers’ sprayers were plugging up during applications of Proline, a broad-spectrum prothioconazole (Group 3) suspension Bayer bills […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

China’s requirements leave Canadian flax piling up

CNS Canada –– Stalled demand from a key international buyer has caused a buildup of flax inventories in Canada, with more crops on the way. Demand on the ingredient side of the flax market has been steady, said Mike Popowich of processing firm TA Foods at Yorkton, Sask. “But we’ve experienced a bit of a […] Read more


(Photo courtesy United Soybean Board)

Soybeans elbow their way to top of Prairie market

CNS Canada — As soybeans rise in acreage across Western Canada, many are wondering which crop will bear the brunt of their sudden expansion. “Guys are trying to figure out — is it squeezing out canola or peas?” said Dan Mazier, president of Keystone Agricultural Producers. “It’s one of those products.” Flax has also taken […] Read more

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, Canadian Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay and Mexico’s Secretary of Agriculture Jose Calzada (l-r) speak at the Port of Savannah, Ga. on June 20. (Stephen B. Morton photo courtesy Georgia Ports Authority)

NAFTA agriculture ministers see ‘few’ differences over trade

Garden City, Ga. | Reuters — The U.S., Canada and Mexico have “relatively few” differences on agricultural trade, agriculture ministers from the three countries said in a joint statement after meeting Tuesday to discuss the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement. However, some “irritants” are present for each country in the runup to […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Deadline extended for comment on cash ticket deferral

Public consultations on the income tax treatment of deferred grain cash tickets, with an eye toward “potential elimination” of farmers’ option to defer grain income, have been extended by two months. The federal government on Tuesday said the consultation, first announced in Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s March budget and due to end Wednesday, will instead […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

Flax Council cautions on seed integrity

With the latest official acreage estimates showing a jump in flax acres across much of Western Canada, the Flax Council of Canada is urging caution. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s latest Seeded Acreage Report is expecting 1.1 million acres to go into the ground this year, putting pressure on seed supplies, and putting the integrity of […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

Sobeys, Safeway parent seeks cost-cutting ‘leverage’

Empire Co., the parent firm for about 1,500 grocery stores across Canada, plans to restructure from a regional to a “largely national” operation cutting $500 million in annual costs by the end of 2020. Nova Scotia-based Empire — whose stores operate under brands including Sobeys, Safeway, IGA, Foodland, FreshCo, Thrifty Foods, and Lawton’s — on […] Read more


(Photo courtesy United Soybean Board)

Manitoba crop groups officially on merger track

Five Manitoba-based crop producer associations, nearly all of which already work out of the same building, have a memorandum of understanding to work toward forming a single merged grower group. The Manitoba Corn Growers Association (MCGA), Manitoba Pulse and Soybean Growers Association (MPSG), National Sunflower Association of Canada (NSAC) and the Manitoba Wheat and Barley […] Read more

Photo: Thinkstock

Canadian producers to plant record canola crop, boost soybean acres

CNS Canada – Canadian oilseed acreage is set to boom according to the latest acreage estimates from Statistics Canada. Today, the agency released its Principal Fields Crops Acreage Summary for 2017/18 on April 21. It pegged canola acreage at a record 22.387 million acres, a jump of 2.02 million acres over last year. “It’s no surprise […] Read more