File photo of potatoes in storage. (Kativ/E+/Getty Images)

Potato wart survey gives clean bill of health

Fields across Canada with a history of getting seed potatoes from P.E.I. tested negative

A national survey on the watch for potato wart has come back clean. On March 13, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) said results from their 2022 potato wart survey had not found any cases of the soil-borne fungus. The agency had tested nearly 1,500 soil samples from fields in British Columbia, the three Prairie […] Read more



Ag funding survey closes June 5

Reading Time: < 1 minute The deadline is looming for farmers to “share thoughts” on what should be the priorities for the next five-year ag funding deal between Ottawa and the provinces. The Next Policy Framework will replace the $3-billion Canadian Agricultural Partnership, which expires next March. The federal, provincial, and territorial ag ministers set out their priorities in November […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Cereal groups want to harvest farmers’ views on merger

Reading Time: 2 minutes Producers being asked if Alberta Wheat, Alberta Barley should go for full amalgamation The seeds were planted long ago and now producers will get their say on whether they want Alberta Wheat and Alberta Barley to merge. “The consultation will begin in July with an online survey, followed by online town hall events after harvest […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

Manitoba extends forage insurance survey deadline

Review's face-to-face public meetings cancelled

Manitoba’s provincial review of its relatively under-subscribed crop insurance offerings for forage growers has extended its deadline for grower comment. Manitoba Agricultural Services Corp. (MASC) last week announced it has cancelled all in-person public meetings on its forage insurance review, citing the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. But the agency has extended the deadline to take part […] Read more



Food security is an issue in this election for 54 per cent of Canadians. (FatCamera/E+/Getty Images)

Food, farming not expected to be big election issues

Canadians don’t think that food and agriculture will be a significant issue in the current federal election. A survey conducted Sept. 9 and released Tuesday by Angus Reid Global with the support of Dalhousie University’s Agri-Food Analytics Lab shows 31 per cent of Canadians believe food and agriculture will be a prime electoral issue during […] Read more

Canola south of Ethelton, Sask. on Aug. 3, 2017. (Dave Bedard photo)

Tighter StatsCan canola crop won’t affect market, analysts say

CNS Canada — Canada’s canola production has been revised lower in the latest data from Statistics Canada’s Production of Principal Field Crops report, issued Thursday. However, two observers agree the final numbers won’t have much effect on markets. “It’s not a report that’s going to allow canola to trade tremendously strong. It might trade a […] Read more



Statistics Canada’s model-based report is based in part on data from sensors on the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) series of satellites. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), shown here for Sept. 16 over an NOAA satellite map of North America, is used to gauge surface vegetation content. (OSPO.noaa.gov)

Canola, wheat crop size hiked in StatsCan’s view from space

CNS Canada — Statistics Canada raised its production estimates for most crops across Western Canada in its latest report released Wednesday. Unlike traditional StatsCan reports using information gathered from phone surveys, the model-based report was based in part on coarse-resolution satellite imagery collected during the month of August. The model-based report has only been in […] Read more