(Jade Markus photo for CNS Canada)

Feds step in to restore rail service to Churchill

CNS Canada — The federal government says it’s prepared to restore rail service to Hudson Bay at Churchill, Man. The Hudson Bay Railway, running from The Pas to Churchill, was closed in the spring of 2017 after flooding damaged multiple sections of the route to the northern Manitoba community. U.S. rail operator OmniTrax, the line’s […] Read more

Many soybean fields are showing signs of injury, including patches of premature yellowing, says Manitoba Agriculture plant pathologist Holly Derksen. In many cases the cause could be a combination of stressors. (Photo courtesy Holly Derksen, Manitoba Agriculture)

Stressors pile up for Manitoba soybeans

Damaged patches of soybeans around Manitoba this year could be due to a combination of stresses, says Manitoba Agriculture plant pathologist Holly Derksen. “It’s a tricky year for diagnosing these problems,” Derksen said Wednesday during the Crop Talk Westman webinar. “When multiple stressors are present often the soybean plants may respond differently. Not all plants, […] Read more


White pea (navy) beans. (PulseCanada.com)

Manitoba’s bean harvest on track

CNS Canada — Manitoba’s dry edible bean crop should come in this harvest with numbers roughly the same as last year, from where a provincial specialist sits. “This year, I would say right now, depending on how things settle out in the next little while, we’ll be at least equal to last year, if not […] Read more



Speaking July 5 at the Crop Diagnostic School in Carman, Manitoba Agriculture’s Terry Buss shows a Roundup Ready 2 soybean plot dying due to dicamba drifting over from the Xtend soybean plot at left. (Allan Dawson photo)

Xtend soybeans expand options, but be dicamba-drift aware

New dicamba- and glyphosate-tolerant soybeans offer more weed control options and are another tool to address herbicide-tolerant weeds, but farmers need to take steps to avoid dicamba drift and spray tank residue, Manitoba officials say. What’s been happening in Arkansas underscores the risk dicamba drift presents. The U.S. state of Arkansas on Friday announced a […] Read more

Southern Saskatchewan dry, but Prairies mostly OK for now

CNS Canada — Dry conditions in southern Saskatchewan are cause for vigilance, but rain could still pull out a healthy harvest, according to a provincial soil and nutrient specialist. The area of concern lies within a triangle shape, with the northern tip at Saskatoon, one arm stretching southeast to Weyburn, Estevan and the U.S. border, […] Read more


(Photo courtesy United Soybean Board)

Soybeans elbow their way to top of Prairie market

CNS Canada — As soybeans rise in acreage across Western Canada, many are wondering which crop will bear the brunt of their sudden expansion. “Guys are trying to figure out — is it squeezing out canola or peas?” said Dan Mazier, president of Keystone Agricultural Producers. “It’s one of those products.” Flax has also taken […] Read more



(Gloria Solano-Aguilar photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

New Manitoba PED case pushes envelope

Southeastern Manitoba’s latest on-farm cases of porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) include one outside the buffer zones in which earlier cases have been found. According to Manitoba Pork, the province’s chief veterinary officer (CVO) on Wednesday confirmed positive tests for PED on a hog nursery operation outside an existing five-kilometre buffer zone. That case — along […] Read more

(Regis Lefebure photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

PED’s spread alarms piglet-exporting Manitoba

Winnipeg | Reuters — The deadly pig disease PEDv (porcine epidemic diarrhea virus) is spreading faster than expected in Manitoba, Canada’s biggest piglet-producing province. The number of cases since the beginning of May, now at 10, matches the total from the past three years combined, although the outbreak is not comparable in scale to PEDv’s […] Read more