Smoke rises from a wildfire near Wildwood, Alta., about 100 km west of Edmonton, on May 5, 2023. (Photo: Alberta Wildfire/Handout via Reuters)

Alberta ‘crossing fingers’ for rain amid wildfires

CN mainline traffic west of Edmonton suspended

Reuters — Firefighters were counting on rain and cooler weather forecast for Monday to help them quell a dramatic start to Alberta’s wildfire season. The province declared a state of emergency on Saturday in response to wildfires in northern and central regions that have displaced nearly 30,000 people and prompted energy producers to shut in […] Read more

An adult lygus bug. (Photo courtesy Canola Council of Canada)

Matador, Voliam insecticides back in ‘limited’ release

Revised labels prohibit feeding, foraging of treated crops

Syngenta Canada no longer plans to keep its lambda-cyhalothrin insecticide products off the market in Western Canada this year — but it’s planning to have a smaller supply. The crop chem and seed company announced Friday it will have a “limited amount” of its lambda-cy-based products Matador 120EC and Voliam Xpress available in the West […] Read more

Tom Aikins explains how his operation works during the Beef Farmers of Ontario annual dinner Feb. 22 in Toronto.

Rotational grazing system earns BFO pasture award

Young farmer followed his dream, started beef operation on rented land

Tom Aikins is humble about receiving the 2023 Beef Farmers of Ontario Mapleseed Pasture Award. “They decided they wanted to give me this,” said the first-generation farmer from Ravenna, Grey County, during the BFO dinner following its annual meeting last month. “I don’t really know why. I’m not reinventing the wheel, but we’re raising cattle […] Read more

File photo of a sunrise over an Alberta barley crop. (MNphotography/iStock/Getty Images)

Alberta issues final crop report for year

Harvest over 98 per cent done by region and crop type

MarketsFarm –– For the second year in a row the Alberta harvest wrapped up well ahead of the five-year average. With a gain of three points for the week ended Tuesday, Alberta Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Economic Development (AFRED) pegged the combining of major crops at 99.2 per cent complete. That’s 22 and a half […] Read more

(File photo)

Manitoba to cut Crown forage lease rates

Previous years' forage conditions a factor, province says

The rents paid by Manitoba producers using Crown lands to produce perennial forages will be cut in half next year and by smaller amounts the following two years. Provincial Ag Minister Derek Johnson on Wednesday announced the forage lease rent on agricultural Crown land will be reduced by 50 per cent in 2023, 33 per […] Read more


A Canada-wide map of drought conditions. Photo credit: Canadian Drought Monitor

Drought conditions remain in Alberta, Saskatchewan

MarketsFarm — After copious amounts of precipitation alleviated the most severe drought conditions in Saskatchewan and Alberta, there were still some areas dealing with extreme dryness entering July, according to the Canadian Drought Monitor. At the end of June, only 22 per cent of the Prairie region was classified in the Abnormally Dry (D0) to […] Read more

Agco has introduced an updated line of windrowers, the WR series, under its Hesston by Massey Ferguson brand.

Agco markets new windrowers

Hesston by Massey Ferguson brand introduces the new WR series

As Agco celebrates 75 years of the Hesston brand, which under that company’s ownership is now known by the “Hesston by Massey Ferguson” moniker, it is marking the occasion with the introduction of an updated line of windrowers. Hesston has been a well-known name in the hay and forage business for a long time, and […] Read more

Materials used to store forages, such as bale wrap and netting, pose an environmental problem because they cannot be recycled and end up in landfill. A pilot program by Cleanfarms is hoping this can change.

Recycling struggles to keep pace with increased plastic use for forages

Pilot recycling program and newly-available materials with post-consumer plastics could help reduce environmental footprint

Technologies for wrapping, covering and storing corn silage and other forage crops continue to evolve, but efforts to limit the long-term effects of those technologies on the environment haven’t kept pace. But that hasn’t stopped environmentally conscious stakeholders in the sector from trying to do their part. Globally, an Israel-based leader in agriculture plastics is […] Read more



(Government of Alberta via Flickr)

Alberta seeding ahead of five-year average

MarketsFarm — While spring planting in Alberta is 12.2 per cent complete overall there’s a disparity between the south and the rest of the province. Also, the pace was 2.6 points above the five-year average, but 5.2 behind last year. As of Tuesday, Alberta Agriculture found seeding in the south was at 36.5 per cent […] Read more