(PortSeattle.org)

U.S. to take another look at Pacific trade pact

Washington | Reuters — U.S. President Donald Trump has asked his trade advisers to look at rejoining the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a multinational trade pact he withdrew the U.S. from last year, White House spokeswoman Lindsay Walters said. Republican senators met with Trump on Thursday and he told them that he has asked U.S. Trade Representative […] Read more

Canadian drought conditions at March 31, 2018. (Drought Monitor map, Agr.gc.ca)

Prairie drought conditions improve

CNS Canada — While drought conditions in Western Canada have improved following late-season snowfall, it isn’t a completely rosy picture just yet. “We have seen significant departures from normal in terms of precipitation (on the Prairies over) a long period. The winter hasn’t been above average (for precipitation) so there hasn’t been a whole lot […] Read more



round hay bales in field

Forage testing more complicated, but rations more accurate

Forage testing has evolved significantly in the past three to five years, with more precise tools for livestock ration development

Forage quality evaluation has moved from rule of thumb to rule of rumen. Mark Bowman, a ruminant nutritionist with Grand Valley Fortifiers in Cambridge, Ont., told the annual meeting of the Canadian Forage and Grassland Association in Guelph last November that forage testing has evolved significantly in the past three to five years, with more […] Read more


Pegged to the ground with bent rebar, the exclusion cages are strong enough to shield the grass inside, even while cattle scratch themselves on the cage.

Putting science into grass management

The Grazing Response Index scores foliage removal, grazing period and recovery time

When it came out of Colorado in the 1990s, the Grazing Response Index (GRI) was strictly at home on the range. Now Ducks Unlimited Canada’s Jodie Horvath says that, with a few tweaks, the grass management tool can help graziers on Western Canada’s tame pastures, too. “When you’re a farmer, a lot of things feel […] Read more

Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland, Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer take part in a joint news conference on the closing of the seventh round of NAFTA talks in Mexico City. (Photo: Reuters/Edgard Garrido)

No breakthrough at NAFTA talks, U.S. timeline could be in doubt

Washington/Ottawa | Reuters — The U.S., Mexico and Canada still have to resolve major issues around NAFTA, Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Friday, casting doubt that the quick deal sought by Washington would materialize. Freeland met with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo for several hours on Friday […] Read more


Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland, Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer take part in a joint news conference on the closing of the seventh round of NAFTA talks in Mexico City. (Photo: Reuters/Edgard Garrido)

Canada reports progress on NAFTA, says ‘we’re not there yet’

Ottawa/Mexico City | Reuters — Mexico, Canada and the U.S. have made good progress in their bid to modernize the NAFTA trade pact but still have work to do, Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said Wednesday. Freeland also said she would be flying to Washington for a meeting on Thursday with U.S. Trade Representative Robert […] Read more

More than 1.2 million acres are infested with leafy spurge in Manitoba alone, with an annual estimate loss of over $40 million.

Spurge purge tests bovine palates

Goats and sheep can eat leafy spurge. Can cattle be trained to do the same?

Like a parent convincing kids to eat their vegetables because they’re good for them, Jane Thornton is trying the same approach with getting cattle to eat leafy spurge. “Contrary to popular belief, leafy spurge is a very nutritious plant, comparable to alfalfa in quality,” Thornton says. “If cattle can become accustomed to eating leafy spurge […] Read more



Tom Kilcer recommends triticale as a cover crop with high feed value, and says to manage it as a feed crop, not just a cover, using seed treatment and good seed.

Don’t call it ‘cover,’ call it ‘feed’

How sacrificing some silage yield can gain another six to 10 tons of forage per acre

Tom Kilcer says farmers are missing an opportunity to create greater value from cover crops by using them in a carefully planned winter forage system. He’s promoting a system that gives up some yield in corn silage planted after the winter forage in order to gain overall total yield over a whole growing season.  Kilcer, […] Read more