Jackson farm about 650 kilometers apart under vastly different growing conditions. Yet for the past 20 years or more, both have been committed to the concept of conservation farming.

Over a cup of coffee at Carver’s Steakhouse at the Sheraton Cavalier in Saskatoon, the city where he now lives, Bill Cooper framed his achievements in a team context. The sturdy, straight-talking 82-year-old farmer from West Bend, SK, is interim chair of the Saskatchewan Barley Development Commission (SBDC), serves on the Barley Council of Canada, and operates Farm West Management Inc., his own agricultural accounting service and consultancy.

My first cellphone was a Motorola bag phone, and when I first hoisted that puppy into my tractor back in the ’90s, I was pretty sure it represented the pinnacle of modern communication. It weighed about five pounds, was the size of a breadbox, and had enough wattage to double as an arc welder.

There’s a poem called “Silos,” by former U.S. poet laureate Rita Dove. It ends: “They were masculine toys. They were tall wishes. They were the ribs of the modern world.”

Canada has developed a brand of its own when it comes to Canadian agricultural products. People around the world who eat anything labelled “Product of Canada” know they are getting a quality product. That label is sought out at grocery stores both here in Canada and worldwide.

Looking back on the 2013 harvest, we can summarize the year’s dominant theme in one word: replenishment. In 2012, once-a-decade weather aberrations in all of the major growing regions created extremely tight carryovers headed into 2013. Prices rose to levels unprecedented in recent decades. For grain, pulse and oilseed growers, it all translated into a comparatively easy period of doing business. It was the proto-typical “seller’s market.”

According to Canada’s minister of international trade, cohesiveness among stakeholders is the key that unlocked this country’s successful position in the Canada–European Union Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA).

Wheat is Canada’S major commodity crop, and one of the most popular food crops in the world—yet for the last 20 years, research has lagged and production has decreased. A new research alliance is bringing together some of the superpowers in Canadian genetic research and cereal development to fill the gap and ensure future competitiveness of Canadian wheat farmers.

More than 100 years ago, the Alberta Department of Agriculture recognized that the many new settlers living in the province needed agricultural education. In 1911, it created seven demonstration farms throughout the province. People were encouraged to visit these farms for short courses so they could develop hands-on skills while learning about the scientific side of farming.

After a dozen years of research, University of Alberta wheat breeder Dean Spaner, PhD, has scored two major wins for prairie wheat producers. For now, they are known as BW947 and PT765, two newly registered Canadian Western Red Spring (CWRS) wheat cultivars notable for their combination of high-yield, early-maturation, good protein and improved disease tolerance. When they become available to commercial producers two to three years from now, these two cultivars may become known as something else entirely.