It's the nasty phytoplasma that took many Prairie farmers by surprise in 2012 — aster yellows. Carried on the aster leafhopper, aster yellows can infect over 200 species but took a particularly heavy toll on canola this year. The irony is, canola isn't even a preferred food source, as the leafhopper tends to prefer grasses.... Read More
Category: Agronomy
Lentil struggled in some areas this year, as areas of Saskatchewan still had a excess moisture or the hangover from it to deal with. Still other areas were very dry, or suffered from extreme weather. Of note, fields with tight lentil/wheat rotations certainly suffered lower yields versus fields with at least one year of an... Read More
In a good news/not so good news scenario, the 2012 corn crop is showing very low incidence of ear molds. That said, there are likely to be areas with higher numbers, and farmers are reminded to scout or test each field for possible infection, especially if the crop is destined for feed use. In this... Read More
One of the most frequently asked questions I get concerns dormancy — what causes it and how it impacts crops destined for seed use. Dormancy in cereals is the most common of all, and it can be quite troublesome in certain years. This year, growing conditions have been excellent and very little dormancy has... Read More
This semester at the University of Guelph, Ontario Agriculture College, Francois Tardif and Mike Cowbrough's Crops 4240 - Undergraduate Weed Science students were given the assignment of making a weed identification video for a weed commonly found in Ontario. The objective is for the students to discuss identification at different growth stages and methods of... Read More
As farmers approach the mid-way point of the Ontario corn harvest (and quickly surpass it, we hope), preliminary reports suggest decent yields in spite of challenging conditions. That said, it most certainly wasn't an ideal growing season, and farmers aren't likely to see their highest ever production this year. What a challenging year does allow... Read More
A web-based crop protection selection tool, AgChemExpert, launched this week. AgChemExpert is a custom designed software program that helps farmers and agronomists alike understand what chemicals do what, how and when to use them and even what they are made up of, according to the company's release. Developed by agronomist Chris Hawkins, A-C-E is an... Read More
There are more than a few weeks ahead yet for the corn harvest, but as a testament to constantly improving genetics and the hardiness of the crop, preliminary corn yields for 2012 are actually quite good. There are areas that are hurting, yes, but some farmers are pleasantly surprised with yields and quality, especially in... Read More
In the last Pulse School episode, Dr. Bert Vandenberg, lentil and faba bean breeder at the University of Saskatchewan, outlined the market development challenges facing the faba bean industry. He noted, however, that the varieties farmers have to choose from are already a very good fit for much of the prairies. Duane Ransome, member relations... Read More
Recently, I asked if farmland prices had surpassed the point of profitability. The response was mixed — prices in some areas were listed as quite high, but often actual sales occurred at a lower, more manageable price. As balance, however, prices far beyond even the $15,000 an acre discussed have since been reported in areas... Read More