Improved access to technology and sensors for tracking the weather, machinery, and crop development are helping farmers and agronomists with crop management decisions. "The ability to gather and integrate detailed information from growers’ fields, coupled with advances in weather forecasting, rapid processing, predictive modeling, and machine learning, is changing farming from a business that often... Read More
Category: Agronomy
After several delays on voting, a majority of European Union member states voted in favour of added restrictions on outdoor neonicotinoid use on Friday. Restrictions on neonic use within the EU were first introduced in 2013. Similar to restrictions in Canada, imidacloprid, clothianidin, and thiamethoxam were first restricted for use on corn wheat, barley, oats,... Read More
After several years of waiting, Canadian farmers will be able to use the plant growth regulator (PGR) known as Manipulator on wheat destined for the U.S., beginning in 2018. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency published the regulation establishing a maximum residue limit for chlormequat chloride — the active ingredient in Manipulator — on Wednesday (April... Read More
As of Sunday night only five percent of U.S. corn acres had been planted. That's nine percent behind the five-year average and 10 percent behind last year at this time. This may have you thinking this is bullish for corn prices, right? However, the U.S. farmer, and Canadian alike, can plant at paces never seen... Read More
Ontario ag retailers need to provide leadership in helping farmers adopt 4R nutrient stewardship and a new audit program can do just that, says AGRIS Co-operative agronomist Dale Cowan. In 2015, OMAFRA, the Ontario Agri Business Association, Fertilizer Canada, and ag retailer stakeholders signed a memorandum of understanding stating that 4R nutrient stewardship – right... Read More
Following significant restrictions by the Ontario government in 2015, seed corn companies in the province began to offer non-neonicotinoid seed treatment insecticide options. Now, a significant portion of corn seed sales carry non-neonicotinoid options. It's bizarre then, that the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change recently published data showing only a 22% reduction in the... Read More