The massive uncontrollable variable that is the weather can create challenges when benchmarking and comparing agronomic decisions over large geographies. Antara Agronomy is trying to overcome the problem with weather by taking a "small data-first" approach with Antara Insights — an agronomy benchmarking program that was recognized with a runner-up award in the Ag Days'... Read More
Category: Agronomy
Biological products, such as inoculants for pulses and soybeans, have been around a very long time, but the ever-expanding world of biological products now means that growers have options for hundreds of products that are supposed to do everything from stimulating root growth, to helping plants recover from hail, to fixing nitrogen. To help evaluate... Read More
Tar spot was a little late arriving in Ontario cornfields in 2023, but the leaf disease ramped up post tasseling, and with an extended fall, took a late-season bite out of grain yields in southwestern areas of the province. Growers who sprayed fungicides to defend their crop against disease were rewarded with higher yields, reports... Read More
Large seed capacity and the ability to fold into a three-metre (about 10-foot) travelling width are two key features of the new Efecta CM 1200 air seeder from Bednar. In this report from Agritechnica, the company’s business director, Jan Bednar, explains how operators can manage seed flows from the two 6,000-litre tanks and monitor seed... Read More
What's the most economic rate of nitrogen for corn? Where is that line between feeding the crop the right amount of the yield-producing nutrient and wasting dollars on excess product? University of Guelph sustainable cropping systems professor Dr. Adrian Correndo says a lot of field trials and research brainpower has been invested in identifying an... Read More
With any new crop pest or disease, it takes time to understand the problem and to develop best management practices. It's been around a decade since verticillium stripe was first confirmed in Manitoba. Both awareness and prevalence of the disease have increased across the Prairies since then, but there are still gaps to be filled... Read More
When it comes to farm equipment manufacturers, Spalding, United Kingdom-based Horizon Agricultural Machinery is a relatively new kid on the block. The company has a growing dealership across 27 countries and is making inroads into the strip till and planter market, notes Horizon's technical lead and national agronomist Jon Myhill. With the growth of strip... Read More
It’s Wednesday, so that means it’s time for another episode of Wheat Pete’s Word! It’s also Bell Let’s Talk Day, a day designed to raise awareness about mental health and taking care of it. Peter “Wheat Pete” Johnson is a fan of doing that year-round, of course, with his Wheat Pete’s 15. Once you’ve done... Read More
Biologicals hold great promise for improving crop production. From increasing root activity, soil microbes, and nutrient availability to building plant resiliency to abiotic stresses — this emerging crop input segment is bursting with product choices. But for farmers, selecting which product and application is right for their acres can be a daunting and confusing task.... Read More
Cover crops are not magic. It's important to first understand the goal of using a cover crop and then measuring up each species and season to see if it's a match. Farmers from east to west are using cover crops to accomplish several things: reducing erosion, cycling nutrients, fixing nitrogen, and fighting weeds, but that... Read More