File photo of an ammonia pipe. (Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images)

Kremlin says ammonia pipeline blast negative for Black Sea grain deal

Russia had sought transit for ammonia via Ukraine

Moscow | Reuters — The Kremlin said on Thursday that there would be a “negative impact” on the fate of a Black Sea grain deal from a blast which damaged a pipeline used to export Russian ammonia via Ukraine that Moscow wants restarted. The Togliatti-Odesa pipeline, which once pumped up to 2.5 million tonnes of […] Read more

“Whether you’re in
Alberta, Saskatchewan
or Manitoba, this data
is from those provinces
and targeted towards
those pradducers
(and) the varieties
being grown and the
management practices
being used here.”

New tool helps producers measure nutrients leaving the soil

Nutrient removal calculator first of its kind for Western Canada

Reading Time: 3 minutes Farmers may do regular soil tests but do they measure the nutrients that leave via harvested crops? There’s a calculator for that. The Prairie Nutrient Removal Calculator helps farmers calculate or anticipate those numbers. Although not a new idea, it’s the only one designed specifically for Western Canadian farmers. “Whether you’re in Alberta, Saskatchewan or […] Read more


High yields and improved varieties are boosting winter wheat acres in Manitoba, says Alex Griffiths of Ducks Unlimited Canada.

Improved varieties contributing to rise in winter wheat acres

Acreage is still small, but more Manitoba farmers are growing the crop and reporting high profits

Reading Time: 3 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – New varieties of winter wheat are boosting the bottom line of growers and fuelling an upsurge in acres in Manitoba. “Winter wheat is the most profitable cereal crop for many farmers in our program,” said Alex Griffiths, a winter wheat specialist with Ducks Unlimited Canada in Brandon, Man. “In the past two […] Read more

A Belize-flagged bulker, carrying grain under UN’s Black Sea Grain Initiative, transits the Bosphorus at Istanbul on May 12, 2023. (File photo: Reuters/Yoruk Isik)

Ukraine says Russia again blocking Black Sea grain export deal

Russia seeks ammonia transit via Pivdennyi

Kyiv | Reuters — Ukraine’s ministry of renovation and infrastructure said on Thursday the U.N.-brokered Black Sea grain export deal had been halted again because Russia had blocked registration of ships to all Ukrainian ports. A U.N. spokesman said Russia had informed officials overseeing the initiative that Moscow would limit registrations to the port of […] Read more


Soil sensor tech nears tipping point

Soil sensor tech nears tipping point

Reading Time: 3 minutes Soil nutrient sensor technology offers to save producers time and money, but do those promises measure up? The answer so far is a tentative yes, say researchers at Olds College. “It’s showing quite a bit of promise,” said Abby Sim, a research technician at the college. “A lot of them seem like they will be […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

Net farm income down in 2022 despite high commodity prices: StatCan

Hike in farm fuel, fertilizer and feed costs is the largest in nearly 50 years

Farmers’ realized net income dropped by over eight per cent in 2022 as expenses outpaced the rise in cash receipts, a new Statistics Canada report says. Realized net income is the difference between cash receipts and operating expenses, minus depreciation and plus income in kind. When cannabis is included, realized net income dropped by nearly […] Read more


Liberia-flagged bulker K Sukret, carrying grain under the Black Sea Grain Initiative, waits for inspection in the southern anchorage of Istanbul on May 17, 2023. (Photo: Reuters/Mehmet Emin Caliskan)

Black Sea grain deal slow to get moving after extension

Ukraine says Russia has effectively frozen out one port

United Nations | Reuters — A deal allowing the safe wartime export of grain and fertilizer from Ukrainian Black Sea ports has not yet resumed full operations, the United Nations said on Friday, having come to a halt before Russia’s decision last week to extend it. The pact called the Black Sea Grain Initiative, brokered […] Read more

Aerial view of a breakwater near Ukraine’s Black Sea port of Pivdennyi (formerly Yuzhny) near Odesa. (Viktor Ketal/iStock/Getty Images)

Russia preventing Black Sea grain deal port from operating, Ukraine says

Black Sea Grain Initiative was extended last week

Kyiv | Reuters — The Ukrainian port of Pivdennyi has halted operations because Russia is not allowing ships to enter it, in effect cutting it out of a deal allowing safe Black Sea grain exports, a Ukrainian official said on Tuesday. The Black Sea Grain Initiative signed by Russia and Ukraine last July, and extended […] Read more


More cash available for 4R practices

More cash available for 4R practices

Reading Time: < 1 minute The Canola Council of Canada is boosting incentives for the second year of its Canola 4R Advantage program. There are grants for soil testing, enhanced efficiency fertilizers, preferred application and field zone mapping. This year, the grants are being increased to $20,000 per farm (up from $6,000 last year), more incentives per farm (four this […] Read more

Liberia-flagged bulker K Sukret, carrying grain under the Black Sea Grain Initiative, waits for inspection in the southern anchorage of Istanbul on May 17, 2023. (Photo: Reuters/Mehmet Emin Caliskan)

Black Sea grain deal extended for two months

Agreement has helped to tackle global food crisis

Ankara/United Nations | Reuters — The Ukraine Black Sea grain deal has been extended for two more months, one day before Russia could have quit the pact over obstacles to its grain and fertilizer exports. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan announced the extension in a televised speech and it was confirmed by Russia and Ukraine. The […] Read more