Insights and Stories on Crops

Wheat breeder extraordinaire Ron DePauw retires from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Mar. 27, 2015 at 11:43 am CDT

One of the world’s pre-eminent wheat breeders has retired, sort of. Ron DePauw, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s senior principal wheat breeder at the Semi Arid Prairie Agricultural Research Centre (SPARC) in Swift Current, retired from the department March 20. Last year DePauw was dubbed the “billion-dollar man” in recognition of […]

Team approach makes for success at Blythe Brae Farms

Mar. 13, 2015 at 10:37 am CDT

By Helen Lammers-Helps

Small farm ‘toys’ pack a mighty punch

Feb. 13, 2015 at 12:09 pm CST

By Alberta Farmer Staff Jennifer Blair

Diesel, fertilizer, and chemicals not expected to match declining oil prices

Feb. 6, 2015 at 11:21 am CST

By Jennifer Blair

Wild pollinators earning their keep on the farm

Jan. 30, 2015 at 11:49 am CST

By Alexis Kienlen

Farmers say some low-quality grain grades inconsistent

Jan. 16, 2015 at 11:20 am CST

Some farmers are still hurting from a poor growing season and harvest at elevators this winter, as they struggle with inconsistent grading. “The condition of this year’s durum crop leaves a lot to be desired,” Jim Wickett said. Wickett farms near Rosetown, Sask., and sits on the Western Standards Committee, which […]

By Lisa Guenther

Tillage in agriculture is not always a dirty word

Nov. 28, 2014 at 11:56 am CST

When soil-incorporated herbicides were all the rage, tillage was the main operation on many farms. For some granular soil-applied herbicides, the recommendation was to cultivate several inches deep at high speed and to go over it twice at right angles. In the best black soils it was not uncommon to […]

By Les Henry

American soil health guru plants seeds in Alberta

Nov. 7, 2014 at 10:56 am CST

Gabe Brown found some fertile Alberta soil for his message that diversity builds soil health and boosts profitability. The North Dakota farmer and soil health guru did a barnstorm tour of the province in the last week of October, starting in the Peace Country community of Grimshaw, swinging through Legal […]

By Alexis Kienlen

Farmers in the U.S. Midwest told to get ready for a new “normal”

Oct. 3, 2014 at 11:33 am CDT

Farmers in the Rabo AgriFinance tent at the U.S. Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa, in late August looked uncomfortable when Curt Hudnutt, Rabo AgriFinance’s chief credit officer, delivered the heart of his message: “We expect that corn and soybean farmers will lose money in 2015 and 2016.” It was […]

By Leeann Minogue

Join the club

Sep. 19, 2014 at 11:00 am CDT

As you drive throughout the region surrounding Edmonton, canola is inescapable. It’s absolutely everywhere. And looking at the crops, it’s easy to understand why. With long days, cool nights and adequate rainfall, this is canola country pure and simple, and in most seasons, the crop flourishes under nearly ideal conditions. Canola […]

By CG Associate Editor Gord Gilmour