Although Alberta seed producers have done an excellent job of managing the risks associated with diseases, several of our Lethbridge clients have been concerned about Fusarium graminearum in their cereals this season and have been requesting more disease testing. One-third of the cereal samples tested this fall have tested positive for the fungus, with infection... Read More
Category: Agronomy
FNA is looking for farmer commitment and seed money for a new western Canadian fertilizer plant it has dubbed "ProjectN." The organization is not looking to be an owner of this plant; FNA is acting only as facilitator to round up interest and fund the FNA Fertilizer Limited Partnership. “It needs to be clear that... Read More
It was the great Kenny Rogers that said "There'll be time enough for countin, when the dealin's done". Well, Kenny Rogers never grew corn....at least not to my knowledge. The truth is, there is a benefit of having an idea where your crop will yield before it's off the field. The trick comes in estimating... Read More
Once again, there is talk of a cosmetic pesticide ban for Manitoba. This isn't the first time this has been discussed; Manitoba is also not the first province to entertain such a ban -- one exists in whole or in part in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and PEI. Ontario introduced its ban even while expanding... Read More
If supply and demand is a big part of how ag commodities are priced, it's understandable why there is some head scratching surrounding the high price of wheat. From the outside it would appear as though there is a lot of wheat around, but as Moe Agostino of Farms.com Risk Management explains it's not necessarily... Read More
First identified in Tennessee in 2008, soybean vein necrosis virus was confirmed just over a week ago in two Ontario counties. Easily confused with general plant stress, Cercospora leaf blight or scald (sunburn), SVNV often begin as light green to yellow patches near the main leaf veins which may enlarge eventually becoming necrotic (brown) areas.... Read More
Whether it's wet springs or just farmers exploring their options, it appears as though the moldboard plow is making a bit of a comeback. It is though, as Agronomist Pat Lynch explains, not the moldboard plow you knew before. The newer plows are much more adjustable, doing their job much better than their older counterparts.... Read More
Blackleg, a fungal disease of canola, is getting away with murder. That's right, murder. This fall, dead, brittle canola plants at swathing or harvest are being attributed, sometimes very wrongly, to sclerotinia infection when, in fact, blackleg is to blame. It's likely been happening for years, Clint Jurke, agronomy specialist with the Canola Council of... Read More
For whatever reason, there are a few agronomy topics that never seem to fully get sorted out — seeding by thousand kernel weight, the right time to spray for wheat midge and what the difference between ESN and Agrotain is, for example. Let's tackle the last on the list. Here's a quick reminder of what... Read More
In the first part of our interview with MAFRI Cereal Specialist Pam de Rocquigny we spoke about some of the critical elements involved in seeding winter wheat: 1. What kind of stubble you're going to seed into. 2. How deep you should seed. 3. Weed and volunteer crop control. SEE MORE WHEAT SCHOOL. In this... Read More