With an emphasis on maximizing bushels and minimizing frost risk, minimum protein content of soybeans hasn't been on the radar of most Western Canadian growers, as acres in Manitoba and Saskatchewan have exploded from 825 thousand in 2012 to 3.1 million in 2017. The same can be said for breeders developing new varieties. As acres... Read More
Category: Crop Production
It's not just herbicides with a persistent nature that can cause injury in the following years if conditions are dry enough. In very dry growing seasons, herbicide actives don't break down in the soil and will remain there until a rainfall when these still-potent molecules are released back in to the root zone. As Jason... Read More
While there are several aspects of farming that are part art, part science, the science part is becoming increasingly easier to measure, manage, and compare. While research has always been a driving force of agronomic decisions, we're just now starting to see how in-field information can shape decisions, on-the-go. That's made possible by company's such... Read More
In this week's episode of the Word, host Peter Johnson takes us through a few of his key learnings in the last month with a discussion on the 38 million acre problem — herbicide resistance. Then Johnson talks geese in wheat, building magnesium, cover crops, tillage, and spreading/piling manure. Have a question you’d like Johnson... Read More
Similar to regulations introduced in Ontario in 2015, Quebec announced this week that farmers will require an agronomist's prescription before accessing any of the three neonicotinoid insecticides, chlorpyrifos (also an insecticide), and the herbicide atrazine. Isabelle Melançon, Quebec's Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and the Fight Against Climate Change, cited the risk to pollinators as... Read More
Farming is evolving into such a precise business, it only makes sense that soil, seed, and tissue testing and analysis all happen under one roof. That's the thinking behind SGS Biovision — a new company formed when SGS bought Biovision Seed Labs late in 2017. The lab offers farmers a one-stop-shop for testing and diagnostics.... Read More
When you want to learn about a new farming practice, where do you turn? Yes, there are conferences and field days, but many farmers have also had great success with social media platforms that easily connect farmers over large distances. We also know that some things are better discussed, explained, shared, and questioned in person,... Read More
Kinze has traditionally relied on suppliers to provide electronic interface and monitors for its planters, but that all changes with the introduction of the company's new Blue Vantage monitoring system. Kinze launched the monitor as well as the new Blue Drive row unit electric drive last week at the National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville,... Read More
You may notice some new information on canola seed bags this year — a label that lists what type of blackleg resistance the variety contains. We'll spare you all the quirky names and numbers for the actual genetic resistance, but Dilantha Fernando, with the University of Manitoba, says farmers can use the alphabetical designation of... Read More
For many producers on the prairies, moisture concerns are top of mind, as we inch closer to the growing season. And, according to some meteorologists, prairie producers may not see respite, at least not in the near future. "I think we're going to start out...definitely on a drier side," says Bryce Anderson, ag meteorologist and... Read More