If pea acreage plunges as some expect, it will leave a big hole in the rotations of many Alberta producers.

What are the alternatives if peas don’t pencil out for your farm?

A canola-wheat rotation fosters weed and resistance problems, but a major drop 
in pea acreage will leave a big hole in cropping plans

Reading Time: 3 minutes Experts are stumped on what to grow this spring as a third mainstay crop. Peas have increasingly been the choice of many looking to avoid a canola-wheat rotation — but India’s trade barriers along with disease issues have left many of those producers scrambling to find an alternative. “I do believe pea acres will be […] Read more

Red lentils. (Photo courtesy U.S. Dry Pea and Lentil Council)

India imposes duties on chickpeas, lentils

CNS Canada — India is introducing immediate 30 per cent tariffs on imports of chickpeas and lentils, the country’s government announced Thursday. The import duties follow the 50 per cent tariff on yellow peas India introduced in November, and come as part of ongoing efforts by India to support farmers. “Production of chana (chickpeas) and […] Read more


Western bumblebee. (Stephen Ausmus photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

U.S. study links bumblebee declines to fungicide use

A new look at the environmental factors around declining bumblebee populations and ranges points to a less-than-usual suspect: fungicides. “Insecticides work; they kill insects. Fungicides have been largely overlooked because they are not targeted for insects, but fungicides may not be quite as benign — toward bumblebees — as we once thought,” Scott McArt, assistant […] Read more




(AGTFoods.com)

Lack of notice a worry on India fumigation exemption

CNS Canada — The CEO of Canada’s pulse industry association says he’s starting to become concerned because a fumigation exemption granted to Canadian pulses exported to India remains expired after 12 days. Normally this exemption is renewed within three or four days, said Gord Bacon of Pulse Canada. Bacon said he checks his email every […] Read more


Snow, killing frost puts brakes on harvest, crop quality better than expected so far

Alberta crop conditions as of October 3

Reading Time: 2 minutes Over the weekend, an intense and large system delivered cold, wet weather across the province which caused significant snowfall in some areas and brought killing frost to almost all areas across the province. The recently wet conditions also increased soil moisture levels, especially, in the Southern and Central Regions, pausing the harvest operations for a […] Read more

Useful data from Harvest Sample Program

Reading Time: < 1 minute Many producers have told us that it’s useful to have grade and quality information on samples before delivering their grain. Participants in the Harvest Sample Program receive dockage assessment on canola; an unofficial grade; protein content on barley, beans, chickpeas, lentils, oats, peas and wheat; oil, protein and chlorophyll content for canola; oil and protein […] Read more



Photo: File/Laura Rance

Grain grading changes for Western Canada

The Canadian Grain Commission has announced several grain grading changes for the 2017 to 2018 crop year in Western Canada that will take effect August 1, 2017: It has added an ergot tolerance of 0.05 per cent in all grades of fababeans and chickpeas; Changed the tolerance for grasshopper and army worm damage from eight […] Read more