Reading Time: 4 minutes The St. Mary River Irrigation District is putting the sun to work providing water to its users. Solar arrays at two large pump stations have the district in a position to achieve net zero electrical use — and potentially save hundreds of thousands in electricity costs down the road. The inspiration to look at solar came […] Read more
Inspired by farmers, irrigation district aims for ‘net zero’
St. Mary River Irrigation District moves a lot of water and has a big electric bill — but that’s about to change
Fighting gravity for better underground irrigation
Subsurface drip irrigation can pay off with the right practices and a little patience, says researcher
Reading Time: 4 minutes At first glance, subsurface drip irrigation seems like an obvious winner as it gets water directly to the roots and there’s less evaporation. But that’s not the whole story. Subsurface drip irrigation is a literal fight against gravity — you’re trying to make water go from side to side when it’s inclined to go down […] Read more
Precision planting produces results — but doesn’t come cheap
Small-plot study finds 15 per cent yield bump, but cost and fertilization are issues with precision planter
Reading Time: 5 minutes New research shows that tightening up row spacing when seeding canola with precision planters can make a big yield difference — up to 15 per cent more, in fact — compared to conventional air drills. That’s a key finding from a four-year small-plot study by Farming Smarter researchers after adjusting a precision vacuum planter to […] Read more
Saskatchewan crop insurance deadline pushed to mid-April
Governments offer farmers 'flexibility'
The month-end deadline for Saskatchewan farmers to finalize contracts with the provincial Crown crop insurance agency for 2020 has been moved to April 13. Provincial Agriculture Minister David Marit and federal Ag Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau on Monday announced the extension on farmers’ deadline to “apply, reinstate, cancel or make changes” to crop insurance contracts. “We […] Read more
Chances of flooding in Manitoba depend on weather
MarketsFarm — Manitoba has issued its spring thaw forecast of 2020 — with high water levels coming for the Red River. That’s due to significant soil moisture levels left over from the fall and above-normal snow levels in the river’s U.S. watershed. “Our focus is currently on the Red River, where we are expecting a […] Read more
Average Prairie heat, more rain in summer forecast
MarketsFarm — Canada’s Prairies should see higher-than-normal precipitation and generally average temperatures during the 2020 growing season, according to a forecast from Scott Kehler of Weatherlogics. Speaking Thursday at CropConnect in Winnipeg, Kehler said “there’s not really a strong pattern one way or the other” when it comes to the temperature outlook. The Weatherlogics forecast […] Read more
Machinery costs driving up fixed farming expenses
MarketsFarm — Fixed costs on farms continue to rise year-over-year, a statistic largely attributed to increasing land values and interest rates. At the beginning of 2019, Farm Credit Canada (FCC) reported farmland values across Canada increased by an average of 6.6 per cent during the previous year. But that’s not the main driver of fixed […] Read more
B.C. to punch up AgriStability
Reference margin limit eliminated for 2019, 2020
British Columbia plans to make another $9 million available to farmers through “enhancements” to AgriStability for the 2019 and 2020 program years. The province on Thursday announced it will increase the compensation rate available through the federal/provincial income stabilization program from 70 per cent to 80 per cent when margins fall below the 30 per […] Read more
AgDealer offers online equipment financing, shipping tools
Canada’s biggest used farm equipment shopper publication has added tools to link prospective buyers to options for payment plans and shipping. AgDealer on Monday announced “major enhancement(s)” at its AgDealer.com site, where each equipment listing will include buttons linking to tools from CWB National Leasing and Trusted Dispatch. The online tools allow AgDealer.com users to […] Read more
Trump administration scales back U.S. water protections
Washington | Reuters — The Trump administration finalized a rule on Thursday to pare back the types of waterways protected from pollution under federal law, easing burdens on industries such as agriculture and mining but angering environmental groups. The Navigable Waters Protection Rule could win political points ahead of the November election for Republican President […] Read more
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