If you already have a precision planter for corn, it can work for other crops. Although it produces better, more even emergence, the yield benefit isn't always there, says Gurbir Dhillon, who has been conducting precision planting trials for several years.

Precision planting: Good looks and high yields don’t always go together

Precision-planted crops look great at emergence, but lose that edge if timely rains don't come

Reading Time: 3 minutes If your greatest joy in farming is seeing nice, even emergence, you can’t beat a precision planter. “We tried a bunch of pulse crops, including field peas, chickpeas, lentils, faba beans, soybeans, and we also tried it on irrigated durum and hemp,” said Farming Smarter researcher Gurbir Dhillon. “Seedling emergence and stand establishment improved across […] Read more

File photo of a federal office building in downtown Winnipeg. (Dave Bedard photo)

AAFC projecting canola ending stocks to tighten

New-crop wheat ending stocks figure boosted

MarketsFarm — Canadian canola ending stocks in both the current marketing year and upcoming 2023-24 season will be tighter than earlier estimates, according to supply/demand projections from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) on Tuesday. Factoring in Statistics Canada’s latest acreage estimates and its data for stocks as of March 31 — figures both released in […] Read more


File photo of a chickpea crop in India. (Nikhil Patil/iStock/Getty Images)

Firm Canadian chickpea market watching world production

Trade keeps eye on crops in Turkey, Russia, India

MarketsFarm — Canadian farmers are in the early stages of planting the country’s next chickpea crop, with market conditions firm for the time being, ahead of new-crop harvests in other countries. “The market is firm, it’s not going up or down,” said Jake Hansen of Mid-West Grain at Moose Jaw, Sask., noting there was not […] Read more

Chickpeas. (CalypsoArt/iStock/Getty Images)

Pulse weekly outlook: Canadian exports solid

Bangladesh, Pakistan now buying Canadian peas

MarketsFarm — Canadian pulse exports are running well ahead of their year-ago level, with some demand rationing likely over the next few months as supplies tighten ahead of the new-crop harvest. Canada has exported 1.56 million tonnes of lentils during the crop year to date, with Turkey the top destination at 421,000 tonnes followed by […] Read more


Lentils. (Seb_ra/iStock/Getty Images)

Pulse weekly outlook: StatCan report likely won’t affect prices

Canada 'not the market maker' on peas, lentils

MarketsFarm — Statistics Canada (StatCan) on Tuesday released its report on grain stocks at March 31, with MarketsFarm Pro analyst Mike Jubinville suggesting there’s not much to the report. “It’s one of those [reports] where people look at it and move on,” he said. StatCan’s report pegged total farm and commercial stocks of chickpeas at […] Read more

File photo of a pea crop south of Ethelton, Sask. on Aug. 1, 2019. (Dave Bedard photo)

Pulse weekly outlook: Seeding to start in Manitoba, Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan lentils expected to lose acres to wheat, canola

MarketsFarm — With the calendar turning to May and temperatures expected to surpass 20 C this week, pulse seedings are set to begin for parts of Manitoba and Saskatchewan. “Right now, we’re still in a bit of a holding pattern,” said Manitoba provincial pulse specialist Dennis Lange. “We haven’t really had much for drying. Now […] Read more


(File photo)

Pulse weekly outlook: Larger pea, chickpea exports expected

China, Bangladesh among major destinations

MarketsFarm — Canadian pea, chickpea and edible bean exports will likely beat earlier expectations during the current 2022-23 marketing year, according to updated supply/demand projections from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. The stocks-to-use rations for the three crops should also tighten as a result. In its report Friday, the government agency upped its call for Canadian […] Read more

Provincial officials have calculated numbers for every major soil zone. But be forewarned — the cost of inputs is frighteningly high.

Highlights from this year’s crop forecast

There aren’t a lot of surprises but much of the forecast hinges on the cost of growing a crop

Reading Time: 2 minutes Want to hit a home run this year? Grow kabuli chickpeas. But only if you farm in the brown soil zone. That pulse crop holds the No. 1 spot in this year’s forecast from the provincial agriculture department with an anticipated profit (before fixed costs and rent) of $347 an acre — if there’s a […] Read more


File photo of a pea crop south of Ethelton, Sask. on Aug. 1, 2019. (Dave Bedard photo)

Pulse weekly outlook: Slow start to Saskatchewan spring

Timely pulse seeding still expected

MarketsFarm — While below-normal temperatures have welcomed the start of spring, pulse seeding in Saskatchewan is expected to start on time in 2023 if the weather co-operates. “We’ve had a slow start to spring,” said Saskatchewan Pulse Growers (SaskPulse) executive director Carl Potts. “It’s still a bit of time before seeding would normally start across […] Read more

File photo of a chickpea crop in India. (Nikhil Patil/iStock/Getty Images)

Pulse weekly outlook: World chickpea supplies expected tight over next six months

MarketsFarm — Chickpeas are expected to be in short supply around the world over the next six months, according to a release from the Global Pulse Confederation (GPC). Hot and dry weather in India cut production prospects for that country’s kabuli chickpea crop, according to the report. Production out of Mexico also failed to meet […] Read more