Eight years after building a 32-row strip-till “beast,” Greg Vermeersch says the MegaStripper has become one of the most efficient pieces of equipment at VanMeer Farms — but that doesn’t mean the farm is finished tinkering with it. In this episode of RealAgriculture’s Soil School, Vermeersch takes a closer look at the home-built strip-till unit…Read More
Category: Crop Production
Tight seeding windows and wet spring conditions routinely test broad-acre producers across the Canadian Prairies, making field efficiency and tendering speed critical to getting a crop in the ground. To cover more acres with fewer stops, equipment manufacturers are expanding cart capacities and redesigning handling systems to keep drills moving during narrow planting windows. At... Read More
A cool start and late-season rain has made for uneven fields that are full of thick, lush, green canola stands, leaving farmers to question if they need to look into swathing more acres than has been the norm the last few years. In this episode of RealAgriculture's Canola School, Amber Bell is joined by Jenny…Read More
Can autonomous nitrogen robots outperform a traditional fertility program when the weather refuses to co-operate? That's the question Brucelea Poultry field crops manager Mark McLean is watching unfold as a dry summer puts a unique field-scale trial to the test. In this second episode of RealAgriculture's Corn School series following autonomous nutrient management, Bernard Tobin…Read More
Geopolitical disruptions and infrastructure targets in the Black Sea are causing significant uncertainty in global wheat markets, causing farmers to question how the wheat market is going to play out. In this interview, RealAgriculture’s Shaun Haney sits down with Jon Driedger of Leftfield Commodity Research to analyze the shifting fundamentals of the global wheat market.... Read More
As canola growers navigate crop potential following an unusual spring, market dynamics and tight supply balances continue to support strong commodity values. Weather disruptions, low carryout projections, and strong demand from the U.S. biofuel sector are shaping the supply and demand landscape as harvest approaches. Jon Driedger of Leftfield Commodity Research says that despite delayed... Read More
Right on schedule, tar spot is back in Ontario corn crops, making disease management and leaf wetness a key focus this week. Host Peter "Wheat Pete" Johnson breaks down highly variable crop conditions across North America, from severe drought to drowned-out acres, and shares critical agronomic management advice for late-season disease control and cover crop... Read More
This week on The Agronomists, host Lyndsey Smith is joined by Derwyn Hammond of Pioneer Seed and Derek Flad of Winfield United to talk about where the canola season is at, how it has unfolded and how to manage harvest in variable or stagey fields. From field selection, to the swath vs. let-it-stand decision and... Read More
Expanding domestic canola processing has created significant opportunities for Canadian growers, but maintaining steady growth requires navigating evolving trade policies and biofuel mandates across North American markets. With approximately 75 per cent of the domestic crop now processed in Canada, alignment with regulatory frameworks remains critical to sustaining momentum. In this interview, host Shaun Haney... Read More
The July 2026 Canadian Farmer Sentiment Index (CFSI) data reveals a notable surge in farmer optimism, marking a sharp contrast to the economic concerns that dominated earlier in the year. In the April 2026 survey, 57% of producers believed that we are in a period of strutural change and not just another down cycle. That... Read More