Ag News

Many west-central Saskatchewan producers are in the heart of harvest. The most recent crop report for the period of August 1-7 was released on Thursday as producers are busy harvesting and checking fields for maturity levels.

As farmers are getting to work on harvest, many are using desiccants to spray down crops to get them to dry out quicker.

Those chemicals come with a bevy of rules and regulations, explains Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture Crop Extension Specialist Mackenzie Haldun.

With the approaching fall season, railways are getting ready to ship a lot of grain soon.

That includes CN Rail, with Assistant Vice President of Grain David Przednowick saying that they're trying to estimate those crop sizes by the end of the month.

Avian influenza had a big effect on poultry farms in 2022, but 2023 seems to be a bit quieter on that front.

That's confirmed by Wendy Wilkins, a disease surveillance veterinarian with the livestock branch of the Ministry of Agriculture, who says they've seen zero cases so far.

That's also true for poultry producers across the country.

Harvest is underway in Saskatchewan according to the newest crop report, released today showing off that progress.

According to that harvest is now 4 per cent complete in Saskatchewan, ahead of the 5 and 10-year average of 2 per cent. 

Crop Extension Specilaist with the Ministry of Agriculture Mackenzie Hladun describes the progress of various crops.

Pheasants Forever Canada is getting the message out that road right-of-ways and ditches are a very integral part of the eco-system.

Perry McCormick with the group, says the primary contribution they bring is filtration of chemicals used by farmers who are growing crops for our food.

"Some of the advantages they bring may not come to mind instantly but those places, that lush vegetation on the edge of a field, the primary contribution it brings to our society is filtration."

As Canada's tracks are getting ready to transport grain all around the country, producers and those in the industry are taking a look at what might influence price day-to-day.

That includes international events, weather, and consumer demand.

Jon Dreidger, the Vice President at Leftfield Commodity Research, detailed some of those factors.

Farm Credit Canada has released its 2023 outlook for beef and pork, with both being heavily affected by the current conditions.

Senior Economist Leigh Anderson points out that a rise in both cattle and hog prices is an outcome of recent weather events.

Harvest is underway in the Moose Jaw area.

Mackenzie Hladun, crops extension specialist with Saskatchewan's Ministry of Agriculture, says the west central and southwest areas are a bit more advanced, however combines have also it the fields around Moose Jaw.

She says harvest timing is similar to last year.

"Right now, what we're seeing is that a lot of our crops that are coming off are those pulse crops such as peas or lentils. We're also seeing some of our feed crops coming off as well for greenfeed use such as barley or other sorts of feed crops as well."

Researchers at Agriculture and Agri-Foods Canada are sharing the results of a recent study on just how prevalent kochia is in the prairies.

That also included stats on just how Glyphosate and Dicamba resistant the weed is, a fact that's been a pain point for many farmers.

Dr. Shaun Sharpe, one of the co-authors of the paper, details the methods behind the study.