Category: Crop Schools

One thing this wet spring has taught most of the western Canadian farmers is that maybe canola growers are leaving way too much canola in the field to grow as volunteer the next crop year. Canola volunteers have been very prevalent in the field and one of the ways that this can be minimized is... Read More

Many of you have heard the industry talk about the need to develop research initiatives. Without research there is no innovation and Canadian agriculture will begin to lose ground to its international competitors. Across the country provincial and federal government agricultural funding is getting cut which is threatening our ability to compete in the long... Read More

As if the Western Canadian canola fields have not had enough challenges this year but now we also have to deal with the presence of the diamondback moth. The diamondback moth is really causing havoc this season in comparison to prior years. In this episode of the Canola School, I speak to University of Alberta,... Read More

As we begin to look ahead to the rest of the canola growing season, many challenges continue to face the grower. This is being looked at as one of the most challenges seasons to date. Instead of looking backwards I thought that it would be fruitful to engage a discussion on the rest of the... Read More

The canola crop that has emerged is quite variable in height which is causing significant challenges in trying to control unwanted weeds. This year the ideal scenarios never seem to be playing out which requires farmers to weigh all the positives and negatives to all situations. This is a year where there is give and... Read More

Fusarium head blight continues to be a major concern for North American farmers. Yield loss can be high and the amount of vomotoxin infection in the grain can cause significant grade loss. Although there are wheat varieties available to minimize the impact of fusarium, the reality is there is no technology available to control it... Read More

It seems that the amount of pests that can have a negative impact on our wheat fields is never ending. In this weeks episode of the Wheat School we are going to discuss army worms. Army worms can cause significant yield loss in a wheat crop and also impact neighboring crops like corn or canola... Read More

In this episode of the Canola School, Troy Prosofsky discusses the impact that the flea beetle is having on the Western Canadian canola crop. Troy also talks about the evaluation of flea beetle damage and when or when not to spray to control the pest. Flea Beetles can be terrible pests and if the damage... Read More

Whether you farm in Ontario or the west it is time to start thinking about spraying your winter wheat with fungicide to protect it from leaf diseases like septoria or powdery mildew. When spraying fungicides there are many considerations that need to be taken into account. Nozzle selection, nozzle position, water volume, and sprayer boom... Read More

Many people think that if farmers get moisture you are ensured success. Well this year is proving that moisture can also bring challenges. One of those challenges is crusting (see picture below). Canola has a hard time penetrating any crust. This year the crust in many areas seems to be worse than usual and growers... Read More