There are so many things that can't be controlled on the farm, including when Mother Nature decides to provide some moisture. Irrigation provides more control over the moisture situation — however, the water is not limitless. Maximizing the water allowance not only makes growers happy, because it allows them to become more profitable, but it... Read More
Category: Crop Production
If you're wondering what on earth is going on with the canola market, you certainly aren't alone. Shaun Haney, RealAgriculture founder, took this question to Jonathon Driedger, vice president of Leftfield Commodity Research, to gain some clarity. At the time of the interview, November canola was almost at $800. At the end of May, the... Read More
The meeting of food production and solar power off the same acre has a name — agrivoltaics. It's both a new term and a new concept, still in the beginning stages of an industry in Canada. While new, early adopters and research alike point to some real benefits of marrying power and food production, contrary... Read More
The federal and Saskatchewan governments have announced a change to crop insurance offered by Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corporation (SCIC) to allow more acres of low-yielding crops to be redirected to help livestock producers. Following on the heels of a similar announcement in Alberta last week, SCIC is again doubling the low yield appraisal threshold, allowing... Read More
Corn growers who dodged the tar spot bullet last season are unlikely to be nearly so lucky this year, as the disease has been identified in southern Ontario and conditions are conducive to its spread. Peter "Wheat Pete" Johnson has that discussion on this week's edition of Wheat Pete's Word, plus an insect alert, an... Read More
The Beef Cattle Research Council, a division of the Canadian Cattle Association, will administer $12 million under the new Beef and Forage Cluster announced today at the Calgary Stampede. The funding is through Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's AgriScience Program – Clusters Component, part of the new five-year Sustainable Canadian Agriculture Partnership that started in April... Read More
When talking soil, often the topic focus is on soil type, nutrients, moisture, or microbiology. But what about soil structure? As Steve Larocque, Alberta farmer and founder of Beyond Agronomy explains in this Soil School episode, the physical types of soil can't be changed, whether it be sand, silt, or clay. However, how land is... Read More
The Canola Council of Canada has announced Chris Davison will be replacing outgoing president and CEO Jim Everson, as of July 31. Davison joined the council in 2021 as vice-president of stakeholder and industry relations, and has more than 25 years agriculture sector, working in areas of public and regulatory affairs, and government and industry... Read More
True armyworms hungry for grassy plants, including wheat, have arrived in large numbers in parts of the Prairies this summer. The pest, which migrates north as a light brown moth, arrived in Manitoba during the last week of May, explains John Gavloski, entomologist with Manitoba Agriculture, in this armyworm-focused Wheat School episode filmed at the... Read More
Research has repeatedly shown corn's yield potential starts declining if plants don't emerge within a tight timeframe, but dry conditions following planting can wreak havoc on best-laid plans for uniform emergence. If one in six corn plants is two leaf stages behind the rest, expect a four per cent yield reduction, says Morgan Cott, agronomy... Read More