Despite efforts to explain pesticides’ role in modern agriculture, confusion still reigns supreme in the eyes of the public. And no wonder. Pesticides get blamed for a lot of things; most recently, for wiping out bees. That accusation caught the Province of Ontario's attention last summer and fall, when wildly fluctuating accounts of bee mortality... Read More
Category: Crop Production
If you're overwhelmed by trying to keep track of every new crop protection product, formulation, tank-mix and re-cropping restriction, you're not alone. While many farmers and agronomists have a well-marked-up copy of the Guide to Crop Protection, could there be a place for technology to make selecting crop production products easier? Absolutely! Enter Ag-Chem Expert.... Read More
UAP’s new Focus herbicide is now registered for soybeans. The surface-applied pre-plant/pre-emerge product was first registered for corn in late 2013. Focus is a co-pack of carfentrazone (Group 14) and pyroxasulfone (Group 15) that delivers up to 60 days of residual control, says UAP territory sales representative Chris Renwick. Focus controls tough weeds like barnyard... Read More
Are you seeding your canola at 5lb/ac? Unless your seed rate was calculated based on that seed lot's thousand kernel weight (TKW), you may be losing yield potential, as plant numbers decline with increasing seed size. Angela Brackenreed, agronomy specialist with the Canola Council of Canada, suggests re-calibrating when the TKW of a seed lot... Read More
Whether you've recently purchased a planter, or you're bringing it out of hibernation, making sure it's in good working order is essential to good establishment. Besides greasing, checking hydraulic hoses and vacuuming mouse-made nests, you should also check that the planter is running level, and with the correct amount of down pressure. Related: The Pros... Read More
As the snow finally melts in Ontario, cash crop farmers have a lot to do in a short window. There's still plenty of corn out there and lots of unfinished tillage work. In this episode of the Ontario Agronomy Geeks podcast, Bernard Tobin talks strategy with agronomist Mervyn Erb of Agri-Solve Inc. — what should... Read More
I had the very fortunate opportunity this week to travel to the United Kingdom and have a visit with the people at Warburtons. Warburtons is the largest bakery in the United Kingdom and has a special connection with not only the consumers of its premium bread, but also UK and Canadian farmers. Yes, I said... Read More
This is your friendly neighbourhood public service announcement: go check your bins. For those of you not in Manitoba, spring is arriving...and for those of us in Manitoba, it may arrive soon, I've heard. The warmer (ahem) daytime temps and longer hours of spring sunlight can get bins warming up and, if higher moisture pockets... Read More
As Ontario cereal specialist Peter Johnson says, farmers aren't satisfied 'til they've (mentally) killed the winter wheat crop three times. So, it's no surprise then, that as the earliest fields are appearing from under the snow (sigh, alas, not yet in all areas), many farmers are concerned with how the crop looks and whether or... Read More
Adopting warm season crops, like corn, in cool season areas, like Western Canada, takes time, patience and adaptation. The first crucial step is access to shorter season varieties, which we've got, but from there the nutrient/pest/harvest management trial and error learning has to follow. Hear & download more Agronomy Geeks podcasts by clicking here Grain... Read More