Although canola's calcium requirements are relatively high (about double the level of sulphur and phosphorous, according to the Canola Council of Canada), deficiencies are rarely seen in western Canada. When deficiencies do occur, it is often as a result of highly saturated soils, which do not allow the plant to take up adequate nutrients. That... Read More
Category: Crop Production
Farmers fought hard (sometimes through deep snow that disappeared soon after) to get the 2014 Ontario corn crop off, but there's as much as 5% of the crop still standing. There's really nothing you can do about the crop being out until the snow finally melts, but farmers who have been keeping eye on their... Read More
Major commodity groups in Ontario have joined forces to make high-profile public pronouncements against the swelling tide of sentiment over their use of pesticides. But at least one organization is not in lock step with the rest Members of some of the largest farm organizations in the province, such as Grain Farmers of Ontario, Ontario... Read More
Moving UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) out of the military and industrial industries and into agriculture has piqued more than a few farmers' attentions. And for good reason — the ability to get a bird's-eye view of thousands of acres in a short time frame has nearly endless potential for field applications, but how do farmers... Read More
Depending on where you farm, between 10% and 21% of Ontario's winter wheat acres went in during the seven day extension granted by AgriCorp last fall. Seeing as the earlier the crop goes in, the higher the yield potential, don't be surprised if 2015 yields aren't stellar. That late planting may also impact stand survivalbility,... Read More
You’ve likely heard it said that we’ve got to stop treating soil like dirt. To take it a step further, Ray Archuleta wants farmers to start thinking about soil as much more than a growing medium and instead consider it a living partner of the farm. Archuleta, a soil-focused agronomist, presented at this year’s SoilSmart... Read More
Crop rotation remains the most powerful tool in the fight against clubroot disease in Western Canadian canola fields, even with new resistant varieties being brought to market. As part of this episode of the Agronomy Geeks West podcast, host Lyndsey Smith caught up with Dr. Stephen Strelkov of the University of Alberta. His work documenting... Read More
If you've noticed increasing levels of northern corn leaf blight in some of your fields, it could be that the hybrids you're planting don't have the right gene to resist infection. That's because the pathogen has evolved to bypass some of the older sources of resistance, says Albert Tenuta, field crop pathologist with the Ontario... Read More
In the cattle industry, interest in new corn varieties stems from a desire to increase efficiency and production, whether utilized as a grain source, ensiled or left standing for winter grazing. Ensiled, corn offers high energy, a key to high milk production. And, although much of a silage's quality is determined by in-field management, harvest... Read More
How can a producer make their farm more resilient and less vulnerable to both economic and climatic stresses? Focus on the health of the soil, says Ray Archuleta, a conservation agronomist with USDA-NRCS in North Carolina (and also known as the “The Soil Guy.”) Archuleta spoke about the “journey to soil health” during his keynote... Read More