THURSDAY, JANUARY 15, 2015
VOL. 93 | NO. 3 | $4.25
New farm show
Farm Safety
Western Canada will soon have a new outdoor farm show | P. 3
SERVING WESTERN CANADIAN FARM FAMILIES SINCE 1923
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AGRONOMY
Crop news:
Verticillium wilt finds its way into Manitoba canola field Previously thought to be a European problem, this damaging fungus has now been officially verified in Canada
P.4 When is it a good time to buy diesel? P.4 Winter wheat: what’s in a year? P.5 Wheat midge and sawfly predictor maps for 2015.
P.6 How will reduced U.S. winter wheat acres affect prices? P. 8 Falling ethanol profits will weigh on corn prices P.14 Both national railways fined for missing their weekly grain movement targets.
BY ED WHITE WINNIPEG BUREAU
Farm and agriculture leaders are urging farmers not to panic about the discovery of a dangerous new canola disease in Manitoba. However, farmers should spend the winter learning all about verticillium wilt: how to spot it and how to prevent it spreading. With only one known field infected, there is a chance it can still be eradicated. “We’ve got it quarantined, isolated,” said Ed Rempel, president of the Manitoba Canola Growers Association. Canola Council of Canada president Patti Miller said eradication might be possible. “If this is a completely isolated incident, maybe there is something that can be done,” she said. “If there are other locations, you would look at other risk mitigation factors.” Verticillium wilt, which is the No. 1 canola disease in Sweden, was spotted in one field at harvest time, with patches of crop showing a strange wilting pattern. Manitoba Agriculture and Canadian Food Inspection Agency officials visited the field, took samples, organized quarantine measures and chased down the identity of the pathogen.
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P.27 Canola industry hits back at some long-standing myths. P.74 COLUMN: Which crops are looking profitable for the year ahead?
u|xhHEEJBy00001pzYv+:. JANUARY 15, 2015 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Box 2500, Stn. Main, Saskatoon, SK. S7K 2C4
Verticillium wilt, the No. 1 canola disease in Sweden, was verified a few weeks ago for the first time in Canada in a Manitoba field. | MICHELLE HOULDEN PHOTO ILLUSTRATION
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SEE VERTICILLIUM, PAGE 2
Rural health is about more than machinery safety | P. 19