Michels

The Western Producer

Corporate Canada moves ahead on sustainability

OTTAWA — The public might not be there yet, but some major buyers of farmers’ products are beginning to develop a “sustainable” food system. “Consumers, they don’t get it. They don’t. They will, eventually, but we’re not going to wait,” Matt Kohler, McCain Foods Canada’s managing director, said at the Future of Food conference. “Our assumption...

March 14, 2024

The Western Producer

Disease management comes down to basics

Identifying and managing diseases is crucial to yield and grain quality. Spraying technology, chemical application and new seed varieties help in the battle for healthy crops, but fungi, bacteria and other microorganisms continuously adapt, becoming resistant to genetic defences and crop protection products. So, what are the latest threats? Green and yellow peas, chickpeas, lentils,...

March 14, 2024

The Western Producer

Farmers promised easy Clean Fuel Regulations process

SASKATOON — Selling canola into the market created by Canada’s new Clean Fuel Regulations will not be onerous, according to a crush industry executive. “A lot of work has been done by the industry and the grower associations to try and make it as streamlined as possible,” Brian Conn, vice-chair of the Canadian Oilseed Processors...

February 29, 2024

The Western Producer

Research finds canola growers use fertilizer responsibly

BALGONIE, Sask. — A study at the University of Saskatchewan found a tax or cap on fertilizer use in canola would harm producer profitability when most are already using optimal amounts. Michelle Ross studied the topic for her master’s thesis after the federal government floated its target to reduce emissions from fertilizer by 30 percent...

February 15, 2024

The Western Producer

Soil’s complexity must be understood

It all starts with the soil. To the naked eye, it may appear to simply be dead dirt. But that dirt is actually a thin skin on our planet that is very much alive; a complex ecosystem full of organisms that grow our food. These diverse soil organisms are the original farmers of our world...

January 4, 2024

The Western Producer

Can upland rice make it on the Prairies?

Scientists are trying to prove that raising rice on the windswept prairies of southern Alberta is not as unlikely as it might first appear. There is a common misconception that rice can only be grown in flooded fields or paddies in Asia, said Michele Konschuh, an irrigated crop scientist at the University of Lethbridge. However,...

September 21, 2023