Category: Crop Schools

We've talked about the importance of pre-plant control of Canada fleabane, and how to avoid letting this weed get a foothold in your field, but what are your options when it is there? There are several options, but the effectiveness of both tillage or herbicides is influenced by many factors. Tillage is only about 70%... Read More

Towering yellow-flowered plants in a soybean field don't just look a bit out of place, these volunteer canola plants are actually competing with the crop and using valuable soil nutrients. Just how much of an impact this has on final soybean yield is important to know, as, just like with any pest, it's important to... Read More

While seeding may be running a wee bit behind average for many, the long days and warmer soil can mean crops pop up quite quickly. In Manitoba, many canola fields are pushing through in about a week, which makes now a great time to start scouting for a number of things, like flea beetle feeding... Read More

Does your farm have the cleavers? In this episode of the Pulse School, Ken Sapsford, research assistant at the University of Saskatchewan, explains issues surrounding the abundance of cleavers across the prairies. With the shift towards no-till farming practices, cleavers, which were once considered a summer annual, are now overwintering, particularly in the presence of... Read More

An nasty cold weekend has left many corn and wheat fields looking just a little sad over a huge area of southern Ontario. According to wheat specialist, Peter Johnson, wheat still in the boot should be fine, but fields with heads emerged could see some yield damage. Similarly, the staging of the corn crop at... Read More

As planting season winds down, the To-Do list of little fixes starts to grow. The good news is that a little extra care and attention paid to machinery and equipment now will help speed along the set up process next spring when we get to do this all over again. The planter is such an... Read More

Darling Mother Nature can really be tricky at times. It's bad enough that nutrient deficiency symptoms can be subtle at best, but there are some symptoms that look like several different things. Group 2 drift injury of young plants, for example, can look very much like sulphur deficiency. Soil residual Group 2 injury may be... Read More

Rolling soybean fields at or just after planting can be most efficient, but planting conditions aren't always exactly rolling-friendly. The good news is there is still time to roll long after seeding, with one very specific no-go window. But first, do you have to roll? That's the question RealAgriculture.com put to Dennis Lange, farm production... Read More

We all know that pulling a roller behind the tractor in wet conditions is akin to rolling dough without flour, with one key difference: you likely never have to park your embarrassing, dough-covered rolling pin beside the highway for all to see. Conversely, in dry conditions, a roller can actually pulverize the soil, increasing the... Read More

While planters most certainly do a precise job at soybean planting depth, many farmers are still on the fence over whether or not the benefits are worth the added investment of a second (or third) planting implement. After all, does their existing unit do just as good a job? These are exactly the kinds of... Read More