canola oil in a laboratory flask

Canola checkoff brings tax credit

Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta canola growers who don’t request a checkoff refund qualify for a tax credit for the 2014 tax year. The Scientific Research and Experimental Development tax credit allows growers to claim the tax credit for the portion of the checkoff paid used to fund qualifying research. The rate for Alberta canola producers in 2014 is […] Read more



Markert new chair of canola producers commission

Reading Time: < 1 minute Vulcan producer Lee Markert is the new chairman of the Alberta Canola Producers Commission. He succeeds Colin Felstad. Greg Sears of Sexsmith was elected to serve as vice-chairman. Also joining the board are three directors acclaimed in October. Steve Marshman of Strathmore will replace Elaine Bellamy in Region 8, Dale Uglem of Bawlf will replace […] Read more

cover of a graphic novel

Canola the star in graphic novels for schoolkids

The 10th Chase Duffy book is about to hit the shelves 
and continue his adventures in learning about canola

Reading Time: 2 minutes Farmers at the recent Alberta Canola Producers Commission meeting were welcomed by an entourage of cartoon characters on the stage. These characters are from the Chase Duffy book series, which was launched in 2010 and is aimed at elementary students aged eight to 11. The main character in the books is Chase ‘Superman’ Duffy, a […] Read more


Website to shine a light on grain prices

Website to shine a light on grain prices

Data updated on a daily basis for eight zones across the Prairies

Reading Time: 3 minutes Don’t know if your local elevator is offering a good price or not? There’s an app for that. Or at least there will be once www.pdqinfo.ca is fully up and running. The new website, created by the Alberta Wheat Commission with $743,000 in federal funding, aims to give farmers timely and accurate pricing data for […] Read more

canola flowers

Canola council launches new online database

The Canola Council of Canada says the database offers ‘top science for your bottom line’


Reading Time: < 1 minute The Canola Council of Canada has launched an online database, called the Canola Research Hub, to provide growers with the latest research findings to increase both productivity and profitability. “This is a first-of-its-kind technology transfer tool,” said Curtis Rempel, the council’s vice-president of crop production and innovation. “It will allow growers to access canola research […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

ICE weekly outlook: Canola hangs tough with loonie

CNS Canada –– ICE Futures Canada canola contracts were rangebound for the week ended Wednesday, but managed to post slight gains overall as a weaker Canadian dollar supported values. “Weakness in the Canadian dollar is the underlying supportive factor,” said Keith Ferley of RBC Dominion Securities in Winnipeg. Funds are very long right now, he […] Read more

a man catching insects

Wild pollinators earn their keep on the farm

Wild pollinators may boost yields and help crops mature more uniformly, 
and also are a natural source of pest protection

Reading Time: 3 minutes It’s crop-planning season and that means it’s a good time for making plans to create a wild pollinator habitat near your crops. Having a strong pollinator population can offer a benefit to crops, said Mark Wonneck, an ecologist at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Calgary. Bees are an important part of both alfalfa production and […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

ICE weekly outlook: Canola ‘reasonably balanced’

CNS Canada –– ICE Futures Canada canola contracts moved higher during the week ended Wednesday, but remain rangebound overall with offsetting market factors expected to keep values steady in the short term. “The market seems, at least temporarily, reasonably balanced,” said Jon Driedger of FarmLink Marketing Solutions. “It’s that window of the year where there’s […] Read more

CS2000, shown here in field trials in August 2014, is billed as having “intermediate” resistance to the recently-discovered clubroot pathotype 5x. (BehindTheSeeds.ca)

Against clubroot, ‘I’-rated canola sits between ‘R’ and ‘S’

A new canola variety billed with “intermediate” reaction against a new pathotype of clubroot is being placed in the zone between “resistant” and “susceptible.” Canterra Seeds, the Winnipeg firm marketing the new CS2000 hybrid variety, clarified its claim for the seed in a statement on a company blog Wednesday, granting many growers may be seeing the […] Read more