Commercial beekeeper Hugh Simpson believes farmers and beekeepers have to collaborate, communicate and co-operate to ensure Ontario's bee population remains strong and healthy. Simpson is a founding member of the Independent Commercial Beekeepers Organization. The group was founded by like-minded beekeepers who make a living keeping bees as livestock based on economics, logic and practical... Read More
Category: Agronomy
Once upon a time, something like a cabbage and a turnip-like plant engaged in a very "fortuitous cross pollination" and a new species was born, first known as oilseed rape, and then further cross-bred to become the human-consumption form, canola. It's this cross-pollination so long ago that has made mapping of the canola genome a... Read More
With seed companies preparing for an expansion in corn acres across the prairies, farmers considering growing Roundup Ready corn for the first time are wondering whether it fits in crop rotations that already include Roundup Ready canola. The concern is the introduction of another glyphosate-tolerant crop could complicate management of volunteer forms of corn or... Read More
The law firm of Siskinds LLP, based at London, Ont., has launched a class action regarding neonicotinoid pesticides, specifically those containing imidacloprid, clothianidin and thiomethoxam, designed, developed, marketed and produced by Bayer (as Bayer CropScience) and Syngenta. The action, set in motion by Sun Parlor and Munro Honey, seeks in excess of $400 million in... Read More
When it comes to planting no-till wheat, Phil Needham, of Needham Ag Technologies, says farmers need to think first about the combine before rolling out the drill. "You can buy the best piece of seeding equipment on the market, but it's only going to be as good as the residue management (in a no-till system)... Read More
So you're thinking of switching to a wider row spacing for next year's soybeans. Have you taken your hula hoop around this year's crop first? Though there isn't necessarily an "ideal" row spacing suggested for western Canadian soybean growers, the importance of knowing a target plant population and assessing stand establishment is still essential. Related:... Read More
If you support research-based solutions to agricultural challenges, rejoice. A new report from a group called the Council of Canadian Academies says Canadians have the lowest level of reservation toward science among 17 countries considered. That's heartening for the pro-science crowd. It runs counter to the growing belief that precaution is prevailing among Canadians, rather... Read More
Protecting honeybees and pollinators is a key focus for Ontario farmers. Limiting exposure of the bees to certain insecticides, namely neonicotinoid-based corn and soybean seed treatments, plays an important role in a thriving bee population in the province. Corn planter air exhaust has been identified as a possible risk to moving neonicotinoid particles off the... Read More
With the canola crop maturing later than normal in parts of Western Canada, there’s some concern about frost hurting the crop. Temperatures dipped close to freezing in some parts of the Prairies earlier this week, with reports of light frost in northern Alberta. In this Canola School, Warren Ward, agronomy specialist for Eastern Saskatchewan with... Read More
It may have an ominous sounding name, but black chaff is rarely a cause for major concern in wheat, says a crop pathologist with Manitoba Agriculture. Black chaff is one of several wheat disorders that will catch a grower’s eye at harvest due to the dark colour and discolouration that appears on wheat heads. As... Read More