Category: Agronomy

Mixing alfalfa and sainfoin for a pasture stand has potential, as research scientists pointed out last week at the Western Canadian Grazing Conference in Edmonton. Sainfoin is a perennial forage legume. It was introduced to North America from Europe and Asia in the late 1800s and has since been used for both grazing and hay.... Read More

Canada's rules and regulations regarding plant breeder's rights adhere to a convention that's over 35 years old, even though there is a more modern, widely accepted convention that's a mere 23 years old — UPOV '91. Bill C-18, currently in the parliamentary process, will bring Canada in line with UPOV '91, a move that has... Read More

The day when unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are used for spraying fields in North America could be here sooner than we expect. In fact, for small acres, that day may have already arrived. Several spraying units made by a Swift Current-based RotorSpray attracted plenty of attention at Farm Forum in Saskatoon earlier this month. The... Read More

One of the leading causes of herbicide injury in canola is insufficient sprayer cleaning, says Clark Brenzil, provincial weed control specialist for the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture. Whether due to drift or residue, herbicide injury can result in drastic yield losses, besides being an eye-sore to drive by. Related: Spray Tips with Tom Wolf —... Read More

What’s the danger of building regulations on a “precautionary principle?” Is the Ontario government’s push to regulate neonicotinoids moving too quickly? That’s part of the discussion that Real Agriculture’s Bernard Tobin had with Paul Wettlaufer and Mark Wales, both of whom are farmers and directors with Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA). In the interview below... Read More

Two webex meetings and two in-person public consultation meetings took place in Ontario this week. At issue is the proposed increased regulation of neonicotinoid seed treatments for corn and soybean crops. Real Agriculture’s Bernard Tobin attended the London meeting on Tuesday (you can hear a recap of the event here), and spoke with Steve Klose,... Read More

White mould love tight soybean rotations. What's the best plan of attack for 2015? A good chunk of wheat acres didn't get planted in the fall of 2014, during what some have dubbed a "harvest from hell." Many of those acres are likely to go into soybeans, and for good reason. But, agronomically, it's not... Read More

The first public consultation meeting regarding impending neonicotinoid seed treatment regulations got underway yesterday in London, Ontario. Real Agriculture’s Ontario field editor Bernard Tobin was there to cover the event. The meeting format may have surprised some, as opportunities for individuals to speak were kept to a minimum. Instead, government officials from both the agriculture... Read More

Now that there's a little more time on our hands, we can look back at the growing season and see where issues and inefficiencies arose. One of the major concerns this year in Western Canada was herbicide injury, especially in canola crops, where some growers thought their Liberty Link canola was seeing injury from its... Read More

The Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO) have publicly asked its members not to attend next week's government-hosted public consultation meetings. The meetings are slated for Tuesday in London, Ont., and Thursday in Toronto, to discuss the impending increased regulations required for access to neonicotinoid seed treatments. Barry Senft, CEO of GFO, says his organization feels... Read More