Ag News

It's been a busy week out in the field as farmers continue to work on getting this year's crop in the ground.

Manitoba's weekly crop report shows the provincial crop is now 32 per cent seeded.

Oilseed Specialist Sonia Wilson puts together the weekly crop report, updating seeding progress around the province. 

Livestock producers are being reminded to stay vigilant after lab results confirmed anthrax as the cause of death in two cattle on a farm in the Rural Municipality (RM) of Paynton No. 470. The confirmation came late Tuesday.

For cow-calf operations, a major driver of profitability is reproductive efficiency, or the number of calves weaned per cow exposed. There are a lot of factors influencing this outcome, from breeding time through weaning. However, some considerations can be looked at well before the breeding season begins.

After calving, cows will have about 30 to 100 days to recover, resume cycling and be re-bred to calve around the same time the following year. This period through calving and early lactation is when a cow’s requirements for energy and protein are the highest.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is releasing an update with April stats on federally reportable diseases.

As of April 30th, there have been 17 cases of avian influenza, with three in British Columbia, one in Alberta, three in Saskatchewan, and two in Manitoba.

The Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan, the Honourable Bernadette McIntyre, and her husband, Mr. Rich McIntyre had a private audience with King Charles today at Buckingham Palace.

Their Honours presented the King with lentil and chickpea snacks from the Three Farmers company of Saskatoon. Saskatchewan is a major producer of pulse crops.

A jar of Savoury Dill Pickle Mustard from Gravelbourg Mustard. The province is the world’s largest exporter of mustard seed.

Alberta's Agriculture Financial Services Corporation put together the first crop report of the season. 

Manglai a product coordinator with AFSC, says provincially there's now 23 per cent of the 2025 crop is now in the ground, thawhich t's well ahead of the 5-year average of 12 per cent, and the 10-year average of 14 per cent.

"Regionally - the South leads with 50 per cent of all crops seeded, followed by the Central Region at 22 per cent, the Peace Region at 10 per cent, the North West at 8 per cent, and the North East at 6 per cent."

Production is expected to recover by 70 million tonnes due to favourable conditions, while demand will rise by 45 million tonnes

SASKATOON — The global grain outlook for 2025-26 is incredibly balanced, says an analyst.

The International Grains Council (IGC) is forecasting 2.373 billion tonnes of production and an identical 2.373 billion tonnes of demand.

“We’re looking at quite a finely balanced fundamental picture for grains,” Helen Plant, senior analyst for the United Kingdom’s Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, said in a recent webinar.

The Canadian Federation of Agriculture President Keith Currie says Canadian agriculture is at a critical juncture, with the recent dramatic rise of trade uncertainty, high costs, and more frequent extreme weather events.

He notes during the recent election, the CFA made the priorities of Canadian farmers very clear: farmers need to see a focus on competitiveness, resiliency, and maintaining rule-based trade.

YORKTON, Sask. —Those affected by quarantines and eradication policies want more financial assistance from the federal government.

Efforts to trace the bovine tuberculosis case discovered last fall have put several farms in quarantine and under financial pressure.

The positive test found on a Saskatchewan cow at slaughter Nov. 29, 2024, brought with it numerous ramifications as a result of Canada’s tracing policies to ensure continued trade under international animal health rules.

A distinguished professor emeritus in the Department of Biosystems Engineering at the University of Manitoba will be invested into the Order of Manitoba this summer.

Dr. Digvir S. Jayas, an engineer and agrologist, has received multiple awards for his 30-year research and teaching career. He conducts research related to drying, handling and storing of grains and oilseeds and digital image processing for grading and processing operations in the Agri-Food industry.