(Alice McFarlane/farmnews NOW Staff)

By Alice McFarlane

Agriculture Roundup

Agriculture News Roundup for Monday June 24, 2019

Jun 24, 2019 | 9:58 AM

Farmers are being encouraged to report rural crime to RCMP.

Nick Cornea is the president of Farmers Against Rural Crime. He was part of a panel discussion at Canada’s Farm Progress Show.

Cornea said it’s important for farmers to tell the RCMP about all incidents that occur and it as a key to prevention of a growing problem in rural areas.

He said all rural residents should sign up to the Saskatchewan Crime Watch Advisory Network to be better informed.

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Responsive measures

Some Sask. farmers to get winter elk hunting permits next year to protect land

Mar 12, 2026

Buy Now, Pay Later!

Spring 2026 Early Buy Program

Mar 09, 2026

SARM Convention

Sask RMs gather to address come concerns

Mar 06, 2026

Feeder cattle prices have been up and down.

Provincial livestock economist Brad Marceniuk said some of the contributing factors include strong basis levels in Saskatchewan and a weak Canadian dollar.

U.S. cash feeder markets were mostly higher last week. Marceniuk said local feed supplies and prices along with pasture conditions influenced supply and demand fundamentals in Western Canada.

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The energy needs of Canadian farms have grown substantially over the past three decades, but that energy is being put to increasingly efficient use.

According to a recent National Energy Board analysis of federal statistics, Canadian agricultural energy demand increased by about 50 per cent between 1990 and 2016, but the amount of energy consumed per inflation-adjusted dollar of agricultural output fell 17 per cent.

Energy and crop engineer Steve Clarke said farms in Ontario are embracing new technologies including the use of LED lighting in barns to dramatically reduce energy costs.

He said average farms are larger and being operated with fewer people, a situation that is also forcing the adoption of more remote monitoring and automated processes on farms.

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An Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada research scientist and her team have been working on keeping beneficial insects from getting hungry once their food sources have run out.

Roselyne Labbe at the Harrow Research and Development Centre worked with two specific biocontrol agents. One being an insect that helps control pests on pepper, cucumber and ornamental crops, and another that works with tomatoes.

Alternative food sources that were tested included Ephestia eggs, Artemia cysts and pollen.

Labbe said it was important to be able to distinguish the relative values of food types for predators frequently used in Canada so that growers could select the best foods with which to add value to their existing crop protection practices.

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alice.mcfarlane@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @AliceMcF