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
Category: Crop Schools
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
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
How much more resilient and productive are soils with higher organic matter content? A quick review of available research and a look at farm fields paints a pretty clear picture of the power of soil organic matter, says University of Minnesota soil extension specialist Jodi DeJong-Hughes. On this episode of the RealAgriculture Soil School, DeJong-Hughes... Read More
Effective scouting and timely decision-making remain the foundation of managing insect pests in canola, particularly when it comes to bertha armyworm and cabbage seedpod weevil. In this episode of the Canola School, recorded at Canola Week in Saskatoon, RealAgriculture’s Amber Bell spoke with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada research scientist Meghan Vankosky about how growers can... Read More
A clean start remains one of the most important steps in a canola production plan, and for many growers that begins with a timely pre-seed herbicide application. In west-central Saskatchewan, Carl deConinck Smith says taking out early flushes of weeds protects valuable soil moisture and nutrients while setting the stage for a more efficient in-crop... Read More
Corn leaf diseases love wet weather, but regardless of the environmental conditions there are always one or two disease pathogens that will thrive during the summer months. On this episode of the RealAgriculture Corn School, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness plant pathologist Albert Tenuta shines the spotlight on five of the most common... Read More
Whether growers are using commercial fertilizer, manure, compost or industrial sources — they need to know what’s in that fertilizer source to determine the right application rates for crops. On this episode of the RealAgriculture Soil School, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness soil fertility specialist Colin Elgie looks at why it's critical for... Read More
From blackleg to sclerotinia,to clubroot and verticillium, growers face a shifting landscape of canola diseases, and with that comes a steady stream of questions about when to scout, what to spray, and how to choose the right genetics. In this episode of RealAgriculture's Canola School, Keith Gabert, provincial canola agronomy specialist with Alberta Canola Producers... Read More