Saline soils are part of the natural landscape of Western Canada. "They were here when we broke the land, they are part of the soil cycle and they're here to stay," says Nutrien Premium Fertilizer Technologies senior agronomist Lyle Cowell. Salt can move down through the soil profile and outside the root system, but high... Read More
Category: Agronomy
Straight-cutting canola without losing significant yield thanks to pod-shatter resistance traits means that farmers have a full range of options when managing canola harvest. The decision on swathing or not isn't always an easy one, but many farmers use swathing as a harvest timing management tool. But when is the right time? What happens if... Read More
In 1996, fusarium devastated the Ontario wheat crop. More than 90 percent of the crop was downgraded to feed, or sample, or simply dumped in the bush thanks to high deoxynivalenol (DON) levels. In 2024, fusarium was back in Ontario fields, but the crop, with help from improved genetic resistance and improved fungicides, was much... Read More
This year at Ag in Motion near Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Shaun Haney of RealAgriculture moderated a panel offering insight and the opportunity to provide feedback on the future of pulse plant breeding in the province. Hosted by Saskatchewan Pulse Growers, listen below to hear why building a competitive breeding environment is essential for the pulse industry... Read More
When fields are wet or the crop is too tall, applying a fungicide by airplane and even helicopter can be a solution. So why then aren't farmers clear to spray by drone? It all comes down to Transport Canada rules on piloting and approved label uses by product. Currently, there's only one herbicide with a... Read More
To borrow a phrase, the first step is always the hardest. Taking the first step in planting cover crops or multi-species forage mixes are no exception and requires some careful analysis before deciding on what's right. Soil type, soil biology, and rainfall for each farm, as well as goals and expectations of cover crops can... Read More
Farmers are looking for two things during harvest: efficiency and a clean sample. When time to combine is limited, ground speed increases and minimizing grain loss while maximizing sample quality can make a large difference on a farmer's bottom line. As Tyson Sanderson of Bushel Plus says in this interview from Ag in Motion, all... Read More
There's no denying when a spray clean out has gone wrong — the streaky start to a spray pass with injured plants never seems to happen at the back of the farm, either. There are a few things at play, says Tom Wolf, co-founder of AgriMetrix and Sprayers 101. There's the possibility of active ingredient... Read More
There are some very sad looking low spots in parts of southwestern Ontario, as excess water and water logged soils make growing difficult, especially for dry beans and soybeans. Despite the rain, a stretch of better weather in the last week did mean that plenty of wheat has been harvested, so Peter "Wheat Pete" Johnson... Read More
When it comes to our collective understanding of nitrogen fertilizer losses in Western Canada, much of what we know is due to the decades of work of a few researchers and members of the fertilizer community, including Rigas Karamanos. Karamanos, now retired, says that the process of understanding loss is tied to first recognizing the... Read More