Alberta’s Peace Region gets a touch of frost, crop conditions see slight decline overall

Alberta Crop Report: Conditions as of August 13

Reading Time: 6 minutes Frequent rain since July accompanied with cool temperature increased excessive soil moisture particularly in the North East and North West Regions. Hailstorms damaged some mature crops in southern parts of the province and destroyed some field crops in other areas. Additionally, a light frost occurred in the western to central parts of the Peace Region, […] Read more

Livestock tax deferral regions announced

Reading Time: < 1 minute Ottawa recently announced its initial list of eligible regions for the Livestock Tax Deferral Provision months earlier than usual. There are 30 counties and special areas named in Alberta, concentrated along the southern side of the province and in the north and northwest. The provision allows producers who sell part of their breeding herd to […] Read more


Crops that have high rates of applied nitrogen, such as canola, can have a high amount of soil nitrogen well into July in thin stands.

Watch for nitrate accumulation in hailed-out crops

There’s extra value in a salvage crop this year, but nitrates are a risk in crops such as canola and wheat

Reading Time: 2 minutes The issue of nitrate accumulation needs to be considered when salvaging hailed-out crops. “Nitrate accumulation occurs in a plant when it is injured and is not able to convert nitrate to protein efficiently after a hail storm,” said provincial beef and forage specialist Barry Yaremcio. “In non-legume crops, water and nutrients are pushed into the […] Read more

Photo: File

Crop reports stoke hay shortage concerns

MarketsFarm – Rainfall varied across the Prairie provinces during week ended August 2, as concerns of a hay shortage continue. Approximately 39 per cent of the hay crop in Saskatchewan is now baled or stored. While hay quality is 55 per cent good-to-excellent, yields have been well below normal across the province. According to the […] Read more


Premature bleaching of wheat spikelet infected by fusarium head blight, 
which is expected to be more common this year.

The rains came and crop disease pathogens couldn’t be happier

Scouting regularly and intensely gives you the best chance of hitting the ideal fungicide window

Reading Time: 4 minutes Early season diseases generally passed crop growers by during the dry spring, but rainfall across much of the province means they need to keep a close watch now. “The dry conditions earlier this spring tended to slow things down, but we’ve had moisture occurring, and that has elevated the risk for diseases,” federal research scientist […] Read more

Canola is flowering in most areas of Manitoba.  Photo: Greg Berg

Manitoba crops progressing quickly in hot and humid weather

MarketsFarm – Dry areas of Manitoba received much needed rain during the week ended July 22, with the majority of the province’s agricultural land now reporting optimal soil moisture conditions, according to the latest weekly report from Manitoba Agriculture. Warm and humid conditions helped with crop development in most areas of the province during the […] Read more



Crop development varies across Alberta

Alberta Crop Report: Conditions as of July 16

Reading Time: 5 minutes Cooler than normal temperatures have prevailed in the past month across most of Alberta resulting in a slight setback of approximately a week for many fields. Combined with the dry conditions throughout the South, East and Peace regions and higher than normal precipitation along the foothills and North West region, the crop conditions and staging […] Read more


These bins on this Bonnyville farm were empty when they were toppled by winds gusting to 130 kilometres an hour in January 2014. The bins were anchored with cables but it wasn’t enough. However, the full bins (which also had cables anchored to the ground) — although described as “rocking back and forth” and needed to be supported by tractors — stayed standing.

Don’t let grain bins blow away — anchor with care

You don’t need a concrete base to keep a bin upright in high winds, but strong anchoring is a must

Reading Time: 3 minutes As anyone who’s seen the footage can tell you, the ‘bomb cyclones’ which hit the flooded U.S. Midwest this spring showed the force of Mother Nature at its most devastating. The combination of heavy winds and water not only knocked grain bins over — it crushed them like aluminum cans, sending them floating down makeshift […] Read more