What do Canadian speed skater Kim Boutin and your soil have in common? They both prosper and succeed when you treat them like an Olympic athlete. Boutin’s Olympic training earned her three medals at the recently-concluded Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. What would happen if farmers treated their soil like an Olympic athlete? Soil... Read More
Category: Agronomy
Tiles, tillers, and tests. In this week's episode of the Word, host Peter Johnson covers everything from tile drainage systems plugging with roots, to managing tillering in wheat, and variability in organic matter tests. Plus: even non-clay soils can compact... Have a question you’d like Johnson to address? Or some yield results to send in?... Read More
Salford Group has made its first foray into aftermarket equipment with the launch of mounted air boom applicators for common sprayer chassis and floater chassis. The company unveiled its Salford-Valmar 6700 last week at the National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville, Kentucky. The company bills the new release as the world's only aftermarket chassis mounted... Read More
With an emphasis on maximizing bushels and minimizing frost risk, minimum protein content of soybeans hasn't been on the radar of most Western Canadian growers, as acres in Manitoba and Saskatchewan have exploded from 825 thousand in 2012 to 3.1 million in 2017. The same can be said for breeders developing new varieties. As acres... Read More
It's not just herbicides with a persistent nature that can cause injury in the following years if conditions are dry enough. In very dry growing seasons, herbicide actives don't break down in the soil and will remain there until a rainfall when these still-potent molecules are released back in to the root zone. As Jason... Read More
In this week's episode of the Word, host Peter Johnson takes us through a few of his key learnings in the last month with a discussion on the 38 million acre problem — herbicide resistance. Then Johnson talks geese in wheat, building magnesium, cover crops, tillage, and spreading/piling manure. Have a question you’d like Johnson... Read More
Similar to regulations introduced in Ontario in 2015, Quebec announced this week that farmers will require an agronomist's prescription before accessing any of the three neonicotinoid insecticides, chlorpyrifos (also an insecticide), and the herbicide atrazine. Isabelle Melançon, Quebec's Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and the Fight Against Climate Change, cited the risk to pollinators as... Read More
Farming is evolving into such a precise business, it only makes sense that soil, seed, and tissue testing and analysis all happen under one roof. That's the thinking behind SGS Biovision — a new company formed when SGS bought Biovision Seed Labs late in 2017. The lab offers farmers a one-stop-shop for testing and diagnostics.... Read More
When you want to learn about a new farming practice, where do you turn? Yes, there are conferences and field days, but many farmers have also had great success with social media platforms that easily connect farmers over large distances. We also know that some things are better discussed, explained, shared, and questioned in person,... Read More