Drought expands across western Prairies

Drought expands across western Prairies

MarketsFarm — Drought conditions expanded across Alberta and Saskatchewan in October, with very little precipitation across the agricultural regions of the two provinces since August. That’s according to the latest Canadian Drought Monitor from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, as of Oct. 31. At the end of that month, 72 per cent of the Prairie region […] Read more

At least 12 killed in Nigeria attack over farmland

Gunmen appear in village in north

Abuja | Reuters — Gunmen have killed at least 12 people in an attack on a village in the northern Nigerian state of Plateau, residents and the state governor said on Wednesday, the latest deadly incident fuelled by growing pressure on land resources in the country. Violence between farmers and pastoralists has become increasingly common […] Read more

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Saskatchewan crops advancing quickly

MarketsFarm — Hot and humid conditions saw crops in Saskatchewan advance quickly during the week ended Monday, according to the latest provincial crop report — although the humidity has slowed haying. When humidity is high, cutting hay becomes more challenging and hay that is cut does not dry down as quickly, which can result in […] 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

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Planting progress picking up in Saskatchewan

MarketsFarm — Overall spring planting across Saskatchewan reached 33 per cent complete as of Monday, according to the latest weekly crop report from Saskatchewan Agriculture. Despite the good progress over the week, that’s still 20 points behind the five-year average. When compared to the excellent progress this time last year, the gap expands to 41 […] 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

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Seeding already behind in Saskatchewan

MarketsFarm — Saskatchewan Agriculture on Thursday issued its first weekly crop report of 2022, showing only one per cent of all crops in the ground. The report cited cool temperatures and spring snowstorms holding back many farmers getting into their fields. The overall five-year average at this time of year is five per cent complete. […] Read more

Emerging winter wheat plants. (File photo by Laura Rance)

Not warm enough yet for accurate read on Ontario winter crops

MarketsFarm –– The crop report on Wednesday from Ontario’s ministry of agriculture, food and rural affairs (OMAFRA) notes a lack of temperatures warm enough to accurately assess winter crops and/or to begin spring planting. OMAFRA determined winter wheat that was seeded on time looks healthier than what was planted later in the fall. Also, water […] Read more


There’s a careful and exhaustive process followed before biocontrol insects are brought to Canada, says researcher Rose De Clerck-Floate, seen here releasing stem-galling weevils.

There’s foreign workers in the bug world, too — and they attack weeds

Bringing in weed-attacking pests is a laborious process but it’s often the only option for pastures

Glacier FarmMedia – There are many ways to control weeds. Rose De Clerck-Floate’s favourite is to reunite them with their long-time enemies from the old country. “All of the weeds here can come from other parts of the world, mostly Europe and some from Asia, and establish here without the organisms that keep them in […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Saskatchewan ranchers backed for runoff control

Funding on offer for earth-moving work

Cow-calf producers in Saskatchewan may be able to get cost-shared funds from the federal/provincial Farm Stewardship Program to build ponds, ditches, dikes or berms to collect or manage runoff. The province and federal government on Tuesday announced such work now qualifies as a beneficial management practice (BMP) covered under the program. Eligible beef cow-calf producers […] Read more