Ag News

The Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance (CAFTA) attended the 33rd Annual Tri-National Agricultural Accord meetings from October 21-23 in Arlington, VA, to reinforce its strong support for the North American agri-food trading system.

“The strength of CAFTA’s delegation underscores our firm commitment to the North American agri-food trading framework, particularly as we approach the 2026 CUSMA Review,” said CAFTA president Greg Northey. “With the U.S. Presidential election on the horizon, it is critical to hear directly from our U.S. and Mexican partners.”

Blackleg is a disease in canola mainly caused by the fungus Leptosphaeria maculans. It’s a serious disease that affect canola plants in the seedling stage by attaching to the stems and working up the stem as it grows, inhibiting the movement of water and nutrients within the plant. It can cause upwards of 50% yield reduction in severe cases. Blackleg was first spotted in western Canada in 1975 in north-east Saskatchewan. 

There is a new partnership delivering the Soy Quality Program to Canadian producers.  

Nathan Gerelus is the manager of National Affairs at the Canadian Grain Commission, based in Winnipeg, and he says, 

“We are excited to have recently partnered with Soy Canada to deliver the Soy Quality Program, and that will start with this year's 2024 harvest.” 

The Manitoba Beef and Forage Conference is set to take place Wednesday at the William Glesby Centre in Portage La Prairie, where a full range of Agri business booths will be on hand for producers across the prairies to explore. 

The conference is a popular event to hear from local producers and industry experts across the region discussing the application of research on the farm.  Forage and livestock specialist Shawn Cabak is one of the speakers and notes the venue will be full of agribusiness booths for producers to visit. 

The Beef Cattle Research Council (BCRC) wrapped up their inaugural cow-calf survey and is sharing some of the results with people around the country.

The BCRC, funded thanks to check-offs from cattle sales in Canada, put on the survey to find how producers are working with their cattle and what practices could be adopted in the future.

Harvest for major crops has wrapped up in Central Alberta as favourable weather in August and September has allowed harvest to progress at a record pace.

Only about one per cent of crops remain across the province, most of that is oats and canola.

Harvest is well ahead of the provincial 5-year average of 93 per cent and the 10-year average of 87 per cent for this time of year.

Agriculture Financial Services Corporation says crop yields are averaging 83.6 per cent of the 5-year average in the Central Region.

Alberta Grains regional meetings are scheduled across six regions within Alberta from October 28 to November 15. 

These annual meetings offer Alberta’s 18,000+ barley and wheat farmers a detailed look at the commission's research, advocacy and extension efforts funded by their checkoff dollars.

Harvest has all but concluded throughout the prairie provinces, according to crop reports released by the Government of Saskatchewan, the Government of Manitoba, and the

With the winter approaching rapidly CN Rail is looking at a lot of movement coming as winter approaches the prairies.

With plenty of grain left in prairie bins following the harvest, CN Rail will be moving quite a bit of that to buyers over the coming months.

Assistant Vice President of Grain at CN Rail David Przednoweck says that they've been seeing a lot of movement over the previous two weeks.

A Steinbach business, that has roots in agriculture, has made the final ballot for the Best of America Small Business Awards.

Cameron Bergen is co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of mode40. Bergen explains they work primarily with Fortune 1000 manufacturing organizations across Canada and the United States. 

"We take data, and we turn it into money," says Bergen, explaining that they help optimize processes through analyzing, optimizing, and disseminating information using software, artificial intelligence, and other tools.