Low oil prices should translate into reduced input prices for farmers, but don't expect to see major declines in fertilizer prices before the 2015 growing season, according to a lending institution consultant speaking at St. Jean Farm Days in Manitoba this week. "I think in the long run we will see our cost of production... Read More
Category: Agronomy
Start clean, stay clean is a smart motto when it comes to corn and soybean fields, but what's the right amount of "clean" in relation to weed cover and yield potential? Dr. Peter Sikkema, professor of plant science with the University of Guelph — Ridgetown Campus, took to the field to answer that question. If,... Read More
It's rare to find a western Canadian farmer who doesn't have a tale to tell of the roaring comebacks canola has made in a growing season. Sure, there have been some wrecks — wicked windstorms that flip swaths or hail that leaves nothing but sticks — but the "Cinderella crop" (you've heard the song, right?)... Read More
"Neonicotinoids," "Colony Collapse Disorder," "Varroa," "Nosema"... Defining those colloquialisms (and others) was just one of the goals the Canola Council of Canada's Gregory Sekulic had in mind when he presented "Buzzwords about Bees" at the Farming Smarter Conference in Medicine Hat. Sekulic wanted to clear the air on jargon that so often exacerbates misunderstanding "We... Read More
Herbicide resistant wild oats are pretty easy to identify, says Neil Harker, a research scientist in weed ecology and crop management at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's Lacombe Research Centre. "You generally see them in patches. If you see [wild oats] in real straight lines, then you suspect a sprayer error, but if you just see... Read More
Editor’s note: This story was updated on Thursday, January 8th with additional information from the CFIA about the location of the case of verticillium wilt in canola. The first North American case of a disease that has caused serious economic losses in Europe’s rapeseed crop has been found in a canola trial plot in Manitoba.... Read More
The amount of data we can collect on farms has grown exponentially over the last decade or two. Whether it’s through yield monitors, images captured by satellites or drones, smartphone apps or RFID sensors, our ability to track and record what’s happening has come a long way from the pocketbooks of earlier generations. And there’s... Read More
How do you make a skinny tire that damages as little crop as possible but doesn't just cut through soft soil like a knife through butter? The key is having a flexible sidewall that allows the tire's footprint to expand. "Basically the ability to make the tire as flexible as possible means you can carry... Read More
Peter Johnson, cereal specialist with Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, will be moving on after February 4, a day that marks 30 years with the ministry. But, it doesn't sound like Johnson will be retiring from agriculture any time soon. "We have to get back to that thought process of protecting the... Read More
Manitoba farmers whose soil test results say they have soybean cyst nematode in their soil may want to get a second opinion, says a soil ecologist from the University of Manitoba. While the number of soybean acres has exploded on the eastern side of the Prairies over the last few years, Western Canadian growers have... Read More