Winnipeg-based Canterra Seeds has announced a major increase in its internal research and product development (R&PD) program. "We are set for some dramatic changes in our research program, in both scope and depth. In 2014, we will be testing five times as many potential varieties as in 2013, including a significant amount of material from... Read More
Category: Agronomy
I promise at some point to jump off this Rotation Bandwagon and start talking about something else agronomy-related, but for now, humour me while I beat this ailing-but-still-alive-but-just-barely horse. Where was I? Oh, yes. Rotation. In my last podcast, featuring Randy Kutcher, we learned many things about plant pathology — how genetic resistance to a... Read More
Every year, North American farmers adopt more technology, enabling precision, efficiency and, in some cases, more holiday time. Even those with intensive management systems can control and monitor some of the operation from a distance. This is certainly becoming the case with irrigation systems, with a few apps and precision technologies now competing on the... Read More
As May ticks away, farmers in Ontario continue to wrestle with difficult planting conditions. In this episode of the Agronomy Geeks Ontario podcast, Bernard Tobin and Syngenta agronomic sales manager Shawn Brenneman discuss the pace of #plant14 and the decisions farmers are facing. As of May 21, Brenneman estimates that 40 to 50 percent of... Read More
In a perfect world, the soybean plant would pop up out of the ground, grow some leaves and then really stretch a bit before setting where that first pod will form. The reality for many western Canadian farmers, however, is that even in a decent year, our Prairie springs are quite cool — first pod... Read More
Have you walked your canola fields shortly after emergence only to find several seedlings struggling and dying off or found seeds rotting in the furrow? Even treated seed can't fully overcome the pressure of the seedling disease complex endemic to all of Western Canada's canola growing region, especially if canola is seeded too deep or... Read More
Poor spring weather inevitably leads to rushed planting and shorter spray windows. Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food application technology specialist Jason Deveau says there are three keys to minimizing drift and getting the best return on your spraying dollar. In this video, Deveau and summer research student Tara Wiederman set up a spray trial... Read More
Soybeans are a relatively new crop for many farmers in Western Canada. For many farmers, this brings a second RoundUp Ready crop (or possibly third) into rotation. Because of this, controlling volunteer canola ahead of the soybean crop is crucial, as high canola populations can have a significant yield impact, and more costly, as a... Read More
The Alberta Wheat Commission (AWC) announced today its plans of investing $1.5 million across ten agronomic and breeding/genetic research projects. This funding commitment is part of the Agriculture Funding Consortium (AFC), a group of 14 funding organizations that have partnered to collaborate on agriculture research funding. Kent Erickson, chair of AWC's board of directors, says... Read More
This spring has started off much cooler than usual across much of Western Canada, with forecasts trending towards more cool temperatures. With these cool temperatures comes the risk of frost injury once crops have emerged, but just because a frost occurs does that mean you have to re-seed? Where should you look first? There are... Read More