A comprehensive survey of farmers in Ontario suggests that once farmers incorporate cover crops in to the cropping strategy, they tend to stay in the rotation. That's according to the Ontario Cover Crop Feedback Survey, completed by graduate student Callum Morrison and advisor Yvonne Lawley with the University of Manitoba. They collaborated with the Ontario... Read More
Category: Agronomy
As farmers continue to look for answers to questions they are faced with on their farm, the need for on-farm research programs continues. One of these on-farm research programs is the Alberta Wheat and Barley Commissions Plot2Farm program. Jeremy Boychyn, agronomy research extension specialist with Alberta Wheat and Barley Commissions, was at the Prairie Cereals... Read More
Every selection tool shifts the weed spectrum, and that includes farmer-controlled decisions such as tillage, crop rotation, and seeding rate. It also includes non-farmer controlled selection tools, such as wet or dry weather cycles. To unpack what we can learn from shifting weed patterns, we go to Mike Cowbrough, weed specialist with the Ontario Ministry... Read More
2021 will certainly be remembered for the drought in Western Canada, but there were other factors, such as late frost, damaging winds, and new pests that also challenged the soybean crop on the eastern side of the Prairies. Despite all of those stresses, there was still a crop to harvest in most cases, with yields... Read More
Using surveys and science to detect regional pathogens aren't new methods to detect diseases in pulse crops, but how are our U.S. pulse crop growing counterparts dealing with the diseases present in their areas? In this Pulse School episode, Lyndon Porter, research plant pathologist with the United States Department of Agriculture, joins Kara Oosterhuis to... Read More
With high fertilizer prices heading into 2022, corn growers can't afford to over-apply nutrients. But they also can't risk losing money by shorting the crop of its fertility needs. On the season-ending episode of RealAgriculture's Corn School for 2021, University of Guelph associate professor Dr. David Hooker returns to comment on this conundrum and share... Read More
It would seem that there's one thing Peter Johnson can count on from his loyal listeners: a stern finger wagging when he's got something all wrong. Such is the case with last week's episode of Wheat Pete's Word, where Johnson had the audacity to say manure was anything but magical. Have no fear, dear listeners,... Read More
Lentils are one of those crops that can be difficult to keep free of weeds. Lentils are a poor competitor with weeds not just as seedlings, but throughout the growing season, as well. Over the past five years, the Western Applied Research Corporation (WARC), has been doing research trials that look at herbicide layering to... Read More
There are plenty of things farmers can add to soil other than a commercial fertilizer to add carbon and feed microbes. Increasingly, there are products that promise increased nutrient availability or even nitrogen-fixation for non-legumes. Whether or not the products work as they should and determining the best situation to use them is yet to... Read More
The soil health benefits of growing a forage crop, such as alfalfa, are well documented. Traditionally a staple crop on livestock farms, alfalfa delivers increased biomass, especially in its root structure where the plant boasts a large tap root which contributes to soil health, while reducing compaction. There's also increased organic matter and water-holding capacity,... Read More