File photo of tea plantations in Sri Lanka. (Dmitrii Anikin/iStock/Getty Images)

Rajapaksa dynasty draws to humiliating close in Sri Lanka

Food shortages, fertilizer ban among flashpoints

Colombo | Reuters — The Rajapaksa dynasty dominated Sri Lankan politics until April when street protests against fuel and food shortages began to slip out of control. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country early on Wednesday, leaving no one from the once-illustrious family in a position of power. The president vowed last month to stay […] Read more



File photo of a cornfield in the northern region of Luzon in the Philippines. (Nate Hovee/iStock/Getty Images)

Marcos vows to boost Philippines’ grains output

New president/ag min aims to avert food crisis

Manila | Reuters — Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. vowed Monday to do what it takes to boost his country’s rice and corn production, seeking to reduce reliance on imports and avoid being hit hard by a food crisis now looming across the world. Marcos, who was sworn in as president last week and has […] Read more




Gamma ray spectrometry provides a lot of info for soil modelling in a field, but it needs expert analysis to be useful, says Alex Melnitchouck, pictured here testing SoilOptix technology at Olds College’s Smart Farm.

Soil sensing goes radioactive with gamma ray spectrometry

A geiger counter for your fields is one of the latest innovations for mapping soil

Reading Time: 4 minutes Scanning your field with what is essentially a geiger counter may seem like a strange way to find out which areas might yield the most, but it works pretty well, says a digital ag expert. “In combination with soil sampling, gamma ray measurement can be used for soil modelling, creation of site-specific nutrient maps and […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

AAFC ups wheat production, usage numbers; stocks steady

MarketsFarm — Projected ending stocks of Canada’s major crops were left relatively unchanged in the latest supply/demand estimates from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, released Monday, although there were some revisions to the wheat production and usage numbers. The government agency raised its forecast for total Canadian wheat production in 2022-23 to 33.092 million tonnes, up […] Read more

Get the lowdown on kochia control

Get the lowdown on kochia control

Reading Time: < 1 minute Manage Resistance Now has put out a new fact sheet on dealing with herbicide-resistant kochia. “Herbicide-resistant kochia is one of the largest weed threats to crop production in Western Canada,” the organization, created by CropLife Canada, notes in the online resource (available in the Weeds section of manageresistancenow.ca. A combination of control methods is needed, […] Read more


“I have a dream job,” says rancher Ben Campbell — but it’s also one that is increasingly out of reach for most would-be farmers.

With fewer young farmers, what will the future hold?

The shift to very large operations run by a smaller number of (mostly older) producers is intensifying, latest census finds

Reading Time: 4 minutes The average age of farmers keeps going up, but it’s not because younger people don’t want to farm — it’s high land prices and tight margins that’s keeping them out, the latest ag census suggests. Bob Ohlhauser agrees. “It’s about money,” said the 82-year-old who still helps operate a medium-size grain farm near Carbon, an […] Read more

Producers at a 2019 field tour take a look into the soil under cover crops.

Incentives and research tempting more to try cover crops

Many farmers are interested in cover crops but don’t know if they will work ton the Prairies

Reading Time: 3 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – Regenerative ag advocates have an evocative term for ground cover: soil armour. It means crop residue or living plants that hold the soil together and protect it from erosion. The soil in many parts of Manitoba could’ve used some armour this spring, as heavy spring rains, strong winds and flooding have all […] Read more