Cover crops, including radish, have grown increasingly popular across Canada.

OMAFRA seen needing a soil health ‘tuneup’

Ontario’s environmental commissioner is calling on the provincial ag ministry to rebuild its soil health expertise and find ways to encourage farmers to adopt soil-friendly production practices, to deal with what she calls a “catastrophic” loss in soil organic matter levels. The report recommends better soil carbon level monitoring and 10-year programs to financially encourage […] Read more

Cash advances to be offered on unharvested grain

Farmers who weren’t able to wrap up their harvest this fall on account of lousy weather may still be eligible for cash advances under the federal Advance Payments Program. The Canadian Canola Growers Association (CCGA), which administers the program for farmers in Western Canada, said that effective Tuesday it will accept new seeded cash advance […] Read more


U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, shown here in a video on his website in September discussing consolidation in the seed and ag chem sectors, has raised concerns that ChemChina, when or if it takes over Syngenta, might invoke sovereign immunity to block claims filed against it in U.S. courts. (Grassley.senate.gov)

Key U.S. senator remains wary of China’s Syngenta play

Beijing | Reuters — A powerful U.S. senator said he is concerned that state-owned ChemChina, which is buying Swiss crop protection and seed group Syngenta for $43 billion, could use U.S. sovereign immunity laws to shield itself from claims in U.S. courts. Some Chinese state-owned entities have argued that they have sovereign immunity and thus […] Read more




The project may look simple from above ground, but underground many sensors and scales take complex soil measures.

Soil health sensor project largest in North America

A new $2-million soil health research project aims to figure out the impact of different cropping systems on the environment. Research will also be conducted on crop productivity relating to soil health. The result should be new knowledge on productivity of traditional cropping systems versus those with cover crops. The project, at the new Soil […] Read more


Agriculture Minister Lyle Stewart and Garth Whyte, President & CEO of Fertilizer Canada sign Memorandum of Cooperation.  Photo: CNW Group/Fertilizer Canada

Saskatchewan government signs onto 4R fertilizer stewardship

The Saskatchewan government has agreed to work with Fertilizer Canada to promote adoption of fertilizer application practices using the 4R stewardship model. “Saskatchewan has long promoted 4R Nutrient Stewardship and many farmers have adopted it as best practice. This agreement will further that work, contributing to greater on-farm sustainability and environmental stewardship in Saskatchewan,” Agriculture […] Read more

A preserved portion of the Berlin Wall in Berlin, Germany. (CIA.gov)

German cabinet approves draft law banning GM crops

Berlin | Reuters — The German cabinet has approved a draft law banning cultivation of crops with genetically modified organisms (GMOs), government sources told Reuters on Wednesday. Germany had announced in September 2015 that it will ban cultivation of crops with GMOs under new European Union rules allowing member states to opt out of their […] Read more