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

Pulse weekly outlook: Peas, beans hold up in dry Manitoba

MarketsFarm — Of the pulses being planted in Manitoba this spring, field peas and dry beans appear the best able to handle the difficult drought conditions the province continues to experience throughout its growing areas. Field peas “have a relatively low water requirement, similar to dry beans,” Cassandra Tkachuk, production specialist with Manitoba Pulse and […] Read more

The yellow patches indicate that aphanomyces root rot has reached an advanced stage. But even if detected earlier, there’s nothing that can be done save not planting peas in this field for several years.

STACKED DECK: Root rot pathogen holds all the cards

You can’t spray aphanomyces or buy resistant varieties, so longer rotations are the only tool

Reading Time: 3 minutes Hard to spot, impossible to treat, and no resistant varieties. So when aphanomyces root rot does show up, you know you’ve got a long-term problem. “Once you see it, you kind of get scared and realize you’re stuck with it for a bit,” said Bow Island producer Will Müller. Because it is a soil-borne pathogen […] Read more


Root rot on peas — severe infestations can cut yields by 70 per cent while aphanomyces spores can linger in the soil for years.

Aphanomyces could become the new clubroot

Researcher recommends pea and lentil growers consider a seven-year break between crops

Reading Time: 5 minutes If not managed correctly, aphanomyces could be the next clubroot. And since longer rotations are the only effective management tool, pulse growers battling the soil-borne pathogen that causes root rot in peas and lentils could be facing a big-time reshuffling of what they grow. “Our recommendation now is to think about going one in eight […] Read more

W.A. Grain & Pulse Solutions placed in receivership

W.A. Grain & Pulse Solutions placed in receivership

About 100 farmers are known to be owed money, any others must make a claim quickly

Reading Time: 3 minutes A court has ordered prominent Alberta pulse buyer and processor W.A. Grain & Pulse Solutions into receivership. Justice Douglas Mah of the Court of Queen’s Bench issued the order on April 26 at the request of ATB Financial and appointed BDO Canada as the receiver. W.A. Grain & Pulse Solutions, founded by Chris and Tracey […] Read more


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

Pulse weekly outlook: Harvest shortcomings could open doors to India

MarketsFarm — As India’s pulse harvest continues, indications have been that initial projections might not be met — which could lead the world’s largest producer and consumer of pulses to allow more imports, MarketsFarm Pro analyst Mike Jubinville says. The Indian government expected about 11.5 million tonnes of chickpeas, but the harvest might bring in […] Read more

Screenshot from an Alberta Agriculture video profiling Innisfail-based pulse and grain handler W.A. Grain & Pulse Solutions.

W.A. Grain & Pulse Solutions has licences suspended

Company says it was in ‘constant contact’ with the Canadian Grain Commission over financial situation

Reading Time: 3 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – W.A. Grain & Pulse Solutions has had its licences temporarily suspended by the Canadian Grain Commission and the company’s owner says the firm is facing “a worst-case scenario.”  The Innisfail company, which has two elevators in Alberta and three in Saskatchewan, had its licences suspended by the grain commission on April 20 […] Read more


Not your typical harvest scene: Dill being harvested at Dale Thacker Specialty Crops.

Specialty crop farmer leverages the power of irrigation

And others will do the same as massive irrigation expansion comes online, says Dale Thacker

Reading Time: 5 minutes If you’ve ever chewed a stick of gum or used a minty toothpaste, there’s a reasonable chance the spearmint inside is from Dale Thacker’s farm. The southeastern Alberta producer has been growing specialty crops — starting with spearmint and expanding into a host of others — for more than three decades. Most depend on irrigation […] Read more

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

Pulse weekly outlook: StatsCan’s pea, chickpea acres short of trade expectations

MarketsFarm — Numbers were seen as disappointing for dry peas and chickpeas in Statistics Canada’s survey-based principal field crop planting projections released Tuesday. The federal agency predicted 3.839 million acres seeded for dry peas nationwide, nearly a 10 per cent decline compared to last year. By comparison, MarketsFarm projected 4.38 million acres while Agriculture and […] Read more


Lovingly Made Ingredients’ new 30,000-square-foot facility opened in Calgary in March and plans to source yellow pea protein for its novel ingredients for plant-based foods.

‘Go west’ is paying off for British maker of plant-based ingredients

Its Calgary division plans to source — and eventually process — its yellow peas locally

Reading Time: 4 minutes Plant-protein processing is slowly but surely making its way to Alberta with the recent launch of Lovingly Made Ingredients in Calgary. The ingredient manufacturing arm of the British company Meatless Farm began production in its 33,000-square-foot facility in March. And so far, Alberta is proving to be the right location for the rapidly growing startup. […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

More canola, less wheat expected ahead of StatsCan report

'Returns per acre are just so much stronger'

MarketsFarm — Canadian farmers are seen as likely to plant more canola and barley and less wheat this spring, as market participants await the first survey-based estimates from Statistics Canada on Tuesday to confirm the extent of that shift. “Canola will gain acres and wheat will lose acres,” said MarketsFarm Pro analyst Mike Jubinville, pointing […] Read more