As kids we used to laugh about people who bought bottled water. Who would pay for water! How about every nation on the planet. We need water on just about every level imaginable. It is a commodity that affects all other commodities. Droughts hurt crops, poor crops hurt supplies, demand for those supplies, in the... Read More
Category: Agronomy
Originally looked upon as "snake oil" seed treatments have become an integral part of the production system. For the most part many farmers originally had trouble understanding the value because the action was underground. Farmers are used to using products like herbicides that kills weeds which is very visual. The action of seed treatments is... Read More
The standard rule of thumb for polite dinner conversation is never talk religion or politics. When it comes to the topic of biotechnology and GMO crops, it may be a good idea to make another addition to that list. Depending on who you talk to the opinions can range from " those companies are raising... Read More
I love cool marketing that thinks a little differently and gets creative. One of my favorites this winter has been the Halex GT robots that pick weeds out of corn fields. With precision accuracy the robot inspects the weeds from the field and minimizes adverse crop competition for the corn plant. At the London Farm... Read More
GPS has become a major component of in-tractor technology. For many of the applications of GPS, once you have them you sometimes wonder how you did certain things before hand. Auto-steer is one of those GPS applications that has received lots of marketing and as time moves on more and more farmers are experiencing the... Read More
Precision agriculture has become a much more popular production management on many farms in Canada. One of the newer precision technologies in the marketplace is precision irrigation. The idea is very similar to other variable rate technologies which allow for the prescription applications of inputs. In this case its about applying water to your crop... Read More
Since early October canola has been the story for many Western Canadian farmers. In the fall some farmers were talking about seeding their whole farm to canola in total disregard for rotations in the quest to maximize profit. Talk of 20-22 million acres of canola was very popular speculation. Turn the clock forward to... Read More
By Dr. Cami Ryan, University of Saskatchewan Currently on hiatus in Perth and working on a research project with the Institute of Agriculture at University of Western Australia (UWA), I had the opportunity to the attend Crop Updates 2011. Crop Updates 2011 is Western Australia's premier agronomic event and is sponsored by the Department of... Read More
Farmers across the globe continue to try and improve wheat production. Higher yields and environmental stewardship continue to evolve and be achieved. One of the best ways to learn new practices and raise your personal knowledge of agronomy is to look at other production practices around the globe. A deeper look into how fellow farmers... Read More
For many farmers conservations agriculture is like old hat. Many of us would never consider going back to recreational tillage. In many areas of the world conservation agriculture is in it's infancy. In fact many Canadian farmers are just beginning to scratch the surface of no-till and other conservation methods. With increased focus on environmental... Read More