Ag News

The span of rainy days in the southwestern corner of the province was a welcome relief as farmers were heading into the spring seeding season on very dry land.

Applied Research and Crop Specialist with WADO, Scott Chalmers, felt the area between Reston and Souris had the most rainfall.

The University of Saskatchewan’s Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM) has secured over $194 million in funding, to be delivered over the next five years. This renewed interprovincial funding commitment from Manitoba, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan has been in place for over 60 years.

Through the agreement, WCVM provides essential veterinary medicine programming, research, and clinical services to meet the needs of each province. Saskatchewan and Manitoba each have 25 student seats, while British Columbia funds 40 seats.

Plant 2025 is well underway across the prairies and generally ahead of the seasonal averages.

Canada's Outlook for Principal Field Crops came out yesterday.

Some of the highlights for the 2025-26 growing season:

As farmers continue their seeding operations, the latest crop report brings a mix of optimism and caution. 

Crop Extension Specialist Tyce Masich says at this point 72 per cent of the provincial crop is now planted; that's an increase of 23 per cent from last week. 

He notes it's a smaller increase than the week before, largely due to rain delays in parts of the south and east regions of the province. 

Farmers have been experiencing rain delays as they work to complete their seeding operations.

Oilseed Specialist Sonia Wilson reports that recent rain events in Manitoba over the past eight days have brought much-needed precipitation to many areas. However, she remains hopeful that producers will soon be able to return to the fields.

Grow Hope Saskatchewan is launching its eigth season with a new national partner - Canadian Lutheran World Relief.

The Canadian Foodgrains Bank's 'Grow Hope Saskatchewan' project connects farmers who donate land with donors who help to cover input costs.

The project started in 2017 as a way to get more people involved in the effort to help end global hunger, originally a collaboration between the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, Mennonite Central Committee Saskatchewan, and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon.

The Canadian Cattle Association (CCA) is announcing some key moves within the organization.

Jennifer Babcock has been promoted to the Chief Government and International Affairs Officer.

She has a proven track record of advocacy successes.

Babcock will lead CCA’s initiatives to promote and protect the interests of Canada’s beef cattle industry domestically and internationally.

In a recent CCA Action News Blog, Babcock says she looks forward to her new and expanded leadership role on CCA’s advocacy efforts.

A U.S. company develops a trait that it says provides genetic resistance to sclerotinia, which can be challenging for growers.

A San Diego company is closer to commercializing a trait that could protect canola from sclerotinia.

In April, Cibus announced that two of its disease resistance traits for canola have been designated as “not regulated” by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“We are encouraged by USDA-APHIS (Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service) broad designation for these traits being developed,” said Cibus co-founder Peter Beetham.

Manitoba's latest potato report shows planting in the province is now estimated to be 95 per cent complete. 

Planting has been going very smoothly, with most farms now finished.

Potato and Horticulture Crops Pathologist Vikram Bisht says with planting nearly over, it's now time to take care of cull piles in and around fields and farmyards, as cull piles can be a source of disease inoculum and may harbour Colorado potato beetles and aphids.

Scott Jespersen has been named the acting chair for Alberta Grains. 

Chair Tara Sawyer is taking a leave of absence effective immediately following her appointment by Premier Danielle Smith as the United Conservative Party (UCP) candidate for the Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills by-election. 

Sawyer, a wheat and barley farmer from Acme, Alberta, was elected as Alberta Grains’ inaugural chair in 2023 after the amalgamation of the Alberta Wheat and Barley Commissions.