Although overlap can be greatly reduced with sectional control, it can’t be completely eliminated as was shown in trials conducted last year for Alberta Pulse Growers. The study also found there was less overlap of larger seeds (such as peas on left) versus smaller ones (like canola on right).

Sectional control minimizes, but doesn’t eliminate overlap

The theoretical savings are great but overlap still happens, and size of both seed and sections matters

Reading Time: 4 minutes Unless you farm some magical piece of land where there are no stone piles, hills, water bodies or other obstacles to get around, you will always have some overlap. That extra seed or fertilizer can cost you big bucks over time — which is why stories about sectional control technology often focus on the potential […] Read more

Edmonton plant-ingredient company expands

Reading Time: < 1 minute Edmonton-based BioNeutra is getting a $2.9-million interest-free federal loan to grow its product line of organic plant-based food ingredients. The funding from Western Economic Diversification Canada will allow the company, founded in 2003, to buy equipment that will double its manufacturing capacity and move its bottling processes from a foreign supplier to its Alberta facility. […] Read more


Chickpeas. (Grigorenko/iStock/Getty Images Plus)

Pulse weekly outlook: Seeding numbers may exceed USDA expectations

MarketsFarm — The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) prospective plantings report, delivered March 31, provided a mixed bag for pulse growers in that country as far as the numbers are concerned. Some analysts, however, believe the actual acres seeded will top USDA’s projections. Increasing demand from China, India and a recovering domestic market have raised […] Read more

A man waves an Egyptian flag after the Ever Given, one of the world’s largest container ships, is fully floated on the Suez Canal in Egypt on March 29, 2021. (Photo: Suez Canal Authority handout via Reuters)

Pulse weekly outlook: Shipping delays aggravate growers, exporters

Montreal longshoremen's strike again possible

MarketsFarm — On top of disruptions to major supply chains and shipping routes already due to the COVID-19 pandemic, recent events are causing even more headaches for pulse exporters and growers. The six-day blockage of the Suez Canal by the grounded container ship Ever Given caused a major backup of container ships, tankers and other […] Read more



After five years of effort, Chris Chivilo expects to start construction on his pulse-processing plant at Bowden this summer. But during those five years, Roquette has built the world’s largest pea-processing plant in Portage la Prairie, Man. (left), Merit Functional Foods is now commissioning its new facility in Winnipeg, and Verdient Foods (right) is expanding its processing operation at Vanscoy, Sask.

The plant protein ship hasn’t sailed — but time is running out

Manitoba and Saskatchewan are part of the pulse-processing boom — but in Alberta, nothing

Reading Time: 7 minutes For nearly five years, Chris Chivilo has been ready to break ground on a new pulse-fractioning facility near Bowden. And every year, his plans have been pushed to next year. First, the bottom fell out of the pulse market. Then the capital just wasn’t there. Then the pandemic. But you only get so many ‘next […] Read more





WGEA executive director Wade Sobkowich. (Manitoba Co-operator photo by Allan Dawson)

Railways to blame for terminal shortages, WGEA says

Grain handlers take issue with MarketsFarm report

MarketsFarm — The association representing the Prairies’ main grain handling companies says recent delays in loading vessels have less to do with the availability of grain and more to do with the railways hauling it to port. The Western Grain Elevator Association (WGEA), which represents major handlers such as Viterra, Richardson, Cargill and others, raised […] Read more

Last year’s conditions mean this year’s weather will be the driver when it comes to crop diseases, says provincial research scientist Michael Harding. But keep close watch for clubroot and root rots (which continued to spread last year) and watch for fusarium head blight, which has laid low recently but could easily rebound in 2021.

Your 2021 disease forecast will depend on your weather forecast

Keep an eye out for the usual suspects in your crops this year if the weather turns wet, says researcher

Reading Time: 4 minutes Predicting which diseases will cause problems on your farm this year is a little like predicting the weather — you know it’s going to hit you, but you don’t know when or how bad it will be. And it doesn’t help that these two unpredictable forces often go hand in hand. “One of the primary […] Read more