A life of service, a legacy of leadership: Celebrating the life of Ron Helwer
Yesterday afternoon a celebration of life was held in memory of founder and owner of Shur-Gro, Ron Helwer, at the Victoria Inn in Brandon.
visionary agricultural entrepreneur and longtime community leader in Brandon, passed away on Friday at age 92, May 23, 2025
Prairie farmers may face a potential rust threat this year
Prairie farmers may have to contend with rust this year, a disease that can significantly impact crop yields.
Dr. Kelly Turkington, a research scientist in plant pathology with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada at Lacombe, explains that rust spores typically originate from the Pacific Northwest and the Texas-to-Nebraska corridor in the U.S. These spores, which include stripe rust, leaf rust, stem rust, and crown rust in oats, are carried by the wind and usually start appearing in the prairies in June.
Drought developing in northern Saskatchewan agricultural region
Almost no rain has fallen since April 1 in Nipawin and Prince Albert
Rain has become a rarity in Nipawin, Sask.
In the 30 days of April, Nipawin received one millimetre of precipitation. In the first 27 days of May, the Environment Canada weather station in Nipawin recorded 1.5 mm of rain and snow.
It’s a similar story across the northern agricultural region of Saskatchewan. There’s been almost no rain this spring in Hudson Bay, Carrot River and Prince Albert.
Communication part of the job for Agriculture Canada scientists
The department says producer engagement, field demonstrations and making data available online are expected of its researchers
Agriculture Canada employs about 380 scientists at its 20 research centres across the country.
Their job?
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Commodity Markets Experience Volatility Following U.S. Memorial Day
This week has seen significant fluctuations in the commodity markets, particularly in wheat and canola prices. Following the U.S. Memorial Day long weekend, wheat prices dropped sharply on Tuesday, falling by $10 to $15 per tonne.
Seeding progress in Saskatchewan now at 88 per cent
Farmers have been making good progress in the field; so far 88 per cent of the provincial crop in the ground.
According to Saskatchewan's weekly crop report seeding is most advanced in the southwest at 95 per cent, followed by the west-central region at 94 per cent, the northwest at 93, the northeast at 92, the east central at 81, and the southeast at 80 per cent seeded.
Farmers and Food Price Report 2025 - Farmers' share continues to shrink
The Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS) has released its third Farmers and Food Price Report.
The report shows that while food prices remain high, the share of the food dollar reaching Saskatchewan farmers continues to decline.
Understanding wind all about the force
One of the contributors to wind is the Coriolis force. The Coriolis force arises from the fact that the Earth rotates. | Photo: File
Last issue, we talked about how the pressure gradient force is the main driving force of wind in our atmosphere and that it exists due to the unequal heating of the Earth’s surface.
Now, if we were to take a simple look at the Earth, this would mean that the polar regions would have high pressure because they are cold and the equatorial regions would be areas of low pressure because they are warm.
Gene edited crops face turning point
India takes the plunge, but some crop sectors remain hesitant.
May 4, 2025, could be a significant day in the history of agriculture.
On that day, Indian agriculture minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced the release of two gene-edited rice varieties.
The announcement signals to the world that India — a country of nearly 1.5 billion people — is committed to gene edited technologies and modern tools to improve crop production.
Preparing for Pasture turn out
Green grass means that pasture turnout is right around the corner. The to do list gets longer than the days do. Checking fence to remove any fallen trees, repairing stretched or broken wires; make sure the water system is operational, and the water itself is safe for the livestock to drink. It all happens before animals can be moved to their summer home.