Drilling down on carbon sequestration

Drilling down on carbon sequestration

New 10-year study looks for a more accurate formula to calculate the carbon-swallowing value of native grass

Ranchers in all three Prairie provinces are taking part in a decade-long study to assess the cumulative effect of different grazing systems on carbon sequestration and other ecological benefits from a working ranch. In each province, 10 pastures managed under adaptive multi-paddock (AMP) grazing systems for at least 10 years will be paired with neighbouring […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

New study on glyphosate to feed into crucial EU vote

London | Reuters — Results of a new animal study into possible health risks of glyphosate will be published in time to inform a key EU re-licensing vote due by the end of 2017, according to the researcher leading the trial. A row over possible effects of glyphosate — an ingredient in Monsanto’s herbicide Roundup […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

Canpotex aims for ‘material’ potash price bump from China

Winnipeg | Reuters — Canadian potash exporter Canpotex is pressing Chinese buyers to pay a “material” price increase for the fertilizer in their annual supply contract, as spot values in other markets rise off multi-year lows, Canpotex’s chief executive said on Monday. “We’re not interested in some kind of ratcheting down. That is for sure,” […] Read more

Syngenta’s Interaction Centre at Stein, Switzerland. (Syngenta.com)

China clears ChemChina’s Syngenta deal

Zurich | Reuters — ChemChina’s US$43 billion planned takeover of Swiss pesticides and seeds group Syngenta has received approval from China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), the two companies said Wednesday. “This represents a further step towards the closing of the transaction, which is expected to take place in the second quarter of 2017,” they said […] Read more


Target sustainable grazing

Target sustainable grazing

Cover crops and holistic management practices on the Richards' farm in Saskatchewan

Garry Richards is seeing positive results from holistic management on the farm where he grew up near Bangor, Sask. He and his wife Lynn and three children are making it work with little outside input. “This farm was homesteaded in 1902 by my grandfather. My mother and father farmed here, then I went away to […] Read more

Quality samples are taken from every plot, assessing diseases, stand establishment and re-growth, among other observations.

At Pickseed, forages are No. 1

Acquisition by a Danish company has allowed a sharp increase in research trials across the country

Forages may lack for attention in Canada’s overall research budget, but not at Pickseed, which has long focused most of its attention on the forage and turf sectors. Now owned by Denmark’s DFL-Trifolium, Pickseed operates seven research stations across Canada, with its main facility in Lindsay, Ont., and another near Port Hope. There are also […] Read more


Alberta Agriculture Minister Oneil Carlier speaks with Alberta Beef Producers’ Tom Lynch-Staunton, Roland Cailliau and Bob Lowe (l-r). (Government of Alberta photo)

Alberta to restore non-refundable checkoff option

Alberta’s farmed-commodity commissions may soon be able to make their checkoffs non-refundable again if their producer members are willing. The provincial government on Tuesday tabled amendments to the Marketing of Agricultural Products Act (MAPA) which would grant each of the province’s 13 agricultural commissions the ability to determine whether their checkoffs should be refundable or […] Read more

Grass is a crop too

Grass is a crop too

Just because forage is on marginal land doesn’t mean it should get marginal management, says a recent Beef Cattle Research Council study

If grain farmers routinely fertilize their crops to get higher yields and profits, why don’t forage producers do the same to their pastures? That question is at the heart of a recent Beef Cattle Research Council study into improving forage yields in Canada. The study notes that while annual crops have seen significant yield increases […] Read more


Brandt Industries will buy the Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Canada plant in Saskatoon for an undisclosed sum. (HilcoInd.com)

Brandt buys Saskatoon power generating equipment plant

Tractor and equipment manufacturer Brandt expects to double its manufacturing footprint — and expand into new equipment lines — after closing a deal for a major Saskatchewan plant site specializing in power generation machinery. The Regina-based company on Friday announced it had closed its deal to buy the former Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Canada facility […] Read more