Ag News

Canola fields are starting to bloom.

Justine Cornelsen is Agronomic and Regulatory Services Manager with BrettYoung.

"It's obviously been a slow start to the spring but things are progressing," she said. "We still do have a bulk of acres that are sitting around that four to six leaf stage getting ready to bulk. I imagine in the next week here, we're really going to see things start to turn yellow. We've had some high humidity and some heat and a lot of rain so there's going to be a fairly large risk for sclerotinia this year."

Farmers are out checking crops again for damage following another weekend of summer storms.

Environment Canada reporting three tornadoes in the Paynton area and another around Blaine Lake on Friday that caused a lot of damage, toppling grain bins and blowing debris.

The storms also resulting in pea to golf ball sized hail in many areas.

Crops Extension Specialist Shannon Chant says when it comes to hail damage to crops, farmers will want to give the crop a few days to see if there is any chance of recovery. 

Area farmers have a chance to check out equipment, network and take in some key information during the Thanks for Farming Tour this week.

The event runs Tuesday and Wednesday at the Stockade in Kinetic Park.

Jeremy Matuszewski, one of the Thanks for Farming Tour organizers says the "Thanks for Farming Tour" offers education, entertainment, and the opportunity to meet with and learn from innovative Ag businesses.

Formerly, the Canadian Cattlemen's Association was officially rebranded to better include all aspects of the industry.

Reg Schellenberg, CCA President says for 90 years, CCA has been the voice of beef farmers and ranchers across the country.

"The organization has grown to include the 60,000 members we represent today. It is important that our name, logo and brand also grow and be reflective of how our organization has evolved."

Tyler Fulton an officer with the Canadian Cattle Association says the group includes more than just ranchers and cow calf operators.

Storms that occurred during the last week of June resulted in mostly light storm damage to young crops across western Canada with heavy rain in some areas, according to the Canadian Crop Hail Association (CCHA).

CCHA member companies are investigating more than 1,280 claims of crop damage during the time period.

Cleanfarms has announced that it is changing its recycling drop off locations in Manitoba where producers take empty 23L and smaller plastic pesticide and fertilizer containers.

The recycling collection system is gradually transitioning from sites at municipal transfer stations and landfill facilities to collecting empty ag jugs at Manitoba agricultural retail operations.

The Canadian Canola Growers Association (CCGA) is on a record pace in terms of the number of advances issued through the Advance Payments Program, as well as the dollars issued. 
    
"What we've seen so far is a record-breaking year in terms of the number of advances as well as the dollar value of advances," said David Gallant, Director of Finance & Operations. "One the first day of the program this year, we issued over 1,500 farmers over $275 million in the cash advance program."   

The Western Canadian Wheat Growers (WCWG) has made its submission to the Pest Management Regulatory Agency’s review of the Pest Control Products Act. 

The Federal Government is taking action to improve rail safety and security.

This week, the Minister of Transport announced two new rail safety measures.

One will focus on railway-related fire prevention, while the other improves the resiliency of Canada's railway infrastructure against climate change impacts, such as flooding, landslides, and fire risks. 

New rules are now in place to help prevent fires on railway property and in nearby communities.

These new rules require railway companies to: 

The Western Canadian Wheat Growers (WCWG) has made its submission to the Pest Management Regulatory Agency’s review of the Pest Control Products Act.