I thought goodbyes were supposed to be hard, and that they usually bring tears, hugs, and long waves of sorrow. Not always. Glen Murray's resignation as Ontario's Minister of Environment and Climate Change has left many farmers across the province smiling, even though the wake of his non-science-based decision-making will be felt long after he... Read More
Category: Agronomy
At some point you have to say goodbye to your favourite variety. We all have our favourites for different crops. Some varieties last one year and others have more staying power based on a wider geographical fit or superior agronomic profile. In canola, Bayer’s Invigor 5440 has been one of the varieties that has been... Read More
Driving combine as a custom harvester, Marcel Kringe and a co-worker figured there had to be an easier way to measure how much good seed was being thrown out the back — something more accurate than checking the ground and more safe than running right beside the combine to throw a pan between the wheels.... Read More
The weather continues to be all over the map, whether in Ontario or Western Canada, as RealAg agronomist Peter Johnson leads off this week's edition of Wheat Pete's Word. He gives a quick update on crop insurance coverage, saying there's some good news there. There are also a number of issues to cover in corn,... Read More
Nitrogen in the soil is available to plants in two forms: ammonium (NH4) and nitrate (N03). The problem with nitrate is, unlike ammonium, it's a negatively-charged ion that's not attracted to soil particles or soil organic matter. Nitrate is also water soluble, so it can easily move out of a crop's rooting zone to places... Read More
Agriculture's Big 6 seed and chemical companies are pretty busy these days sorting through the details of mergers and acquisitions and keeping an eye on their mega competitors. The club, which includes BASF, Bayer, DuPont, Dow, Monsanto and Syngenta, are deep into their post commodity boom strategies, with a key focus on efficiency and shareholder... Read More