Improving the soil while maintaining a profit to feed the farm. It's a simple philosophy that's reflected in Cavan, Ont., farmer Norm Lamothe's approach to nitrogen management and cover crops. On this episode of Farming Forward, Lamothe shares how he's combining cover crops and the power of living roots with a split nitrogen strategy to... Read More
Category: Agronomy
Clearing bales from the field in a timely and efficient manner is a key step in making great straw or hay and decreasing injury to plant crowns. Fully automated bale collecting machines are designed to help speed up that process. James Pavey of the U.K.-based Big Bale Company South joined RealAgriculture's Amber Bell to discuss... Read More
Choosing traits for new canola varieties goes well beyond yield, with breeders balancing disease resistance, lodging tolerance, maturity, and other agronomic needs that vary by farm and region. That approach was the focus of a conversation at Canola Week in Saskatoon, where RealAgriculture spoke with Jed Christianson, Bayer’s product design canola lead, about how Bayer... Read More
Palmer amaranth and waterhemp are two weeds that prairie growers may not yet be familiar with, but that may soon change. According to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada research scientist Dr. Shaun Sharpe, these two weeds should be on farmers' and agronomists' radar as these invasive species continue their slow push north. Sharpe says in the... Read More
It’s the final Word of 2025, landing just in time for Christmas! In this special year-end episode, Peter “Wheat Pete” Johnson shares agronomic insights with a philosophical twist — encouraging rest, reconnection, and a deeper look at the long-term impacts of what we do, both in the field and in life. Have a question you’d... Read More
As artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT gain traction across agriculture, questions are growing about where they fit — and where they fall short — in agronomic decision-making. That is the focus of this Pulse School episode hosted by Amber Bell, joined by RealAgriculture’s Lyndsey Smith, examining how ChatGPT stacks up against experienced agronomists when answering... Read More
On this episode of The Agronomists, host Lyndsey Smith is joined by Peter "Bah Humbug" Johnson of RealAg and Mike "Ho Ho Ho" Palmier of MNP Ag Intellect to review the 2025 growing season and discuss top agronomic issues, challenges and wins or surprises from spring, summer, and fall! This episode of The Agronomists is... Read More
The Great Lakes Yield Enhancement Network (YEN) wrapped up its fifth season earlier this year with the 2024-2025 competition winner, Michigan grower Nick Suwyn, harvesting a whopping winter wheat yield of 182.6 bushels/acre. The YEN wheat concept, which fosters collaboration and knowledge exchange among farmers across Ontario and the Great Lakes region of the United... Read More
You can learn a lot about what makes a good soybean variety in 27 years. That's how long Dr. Istvan Rajcan has been breeding soybeans at the University of Guelph. For the past 10 years, Rajcan has focused his breeding efforts on developing new high-yielding and high-quality disease resistant cultivars for the short- and medium-season... Read More
It’s the second-last Word of 2025, and Wheat Pete is diving into resistance risks, fertilizer economics, and the big agronomic takeaways from recent conferences. From septoria strains in the UK to corn-on-corn nitrogen credits, there’s no shortage of head-turning info this week — plus a reminder to challenge long-held practices (like plowing down red clover).... Read More