Flea beetle. (Photo courtesy Canola Council of Canada)

Forecast, flea beetles complicate canola timing

Dry conditions make ideal seeding time difficult to peg

Drought conditions, and the odds of more to come, have some Prairie canola growers pondering when to roll the dice on seeding, if they want to do more than feed the flea beetles. Small-seeded crops, such as canola, have garnered particular concern from agronomists and producers worried about germination, given power dry topsoil across much […] Read more

(GFM Network staff photo)

Ag publishing house Issues Ink sold

Farms.com buys Winnipeg media company

Online ag information company Farms.com has taken another step into Canadian print media by buying ag publishing and consulting company Issues Ink. Winnipeg-based Issues Ink publishes Germination, Spud Smart, the Alberta Seed Guide, European Seed and Seed World. Its Seed World Group division also includes Seed World Create, a consulting unit providing marketing and communications […] Read more


Precipitation percentiles on the Prairies for the period of April 1 to May 23, 2019. (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Drought Watch)

Prairie dryness concerns to persist

MarketsFarm — Large areas of Western Canada remain on the dry side, with little moisture in the immediate forecasts. And while it’s still early in the growing season, the interplay of conflicting patterns from the south and north will determine whether the dry areas receive timely precipitation during the growing season. “We are looking at […] Read more



(Dave Bedard photo)

Flax Council cautions on seed integrity

With the latest official acreage estimates showing a jump in flax acres across much of Western Canada, the Flax Council of Canada is urging caution. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s latest Seeded Acreage Report is expecting 1.1 million acres to go into the ground this year, putting pressure on seed supplies, and putting the integrity of […] Read more