Ever since I was a kid, everything "futuristic", in books and TV pointed to automation as the pinnacle of what the future would hold. From the Jetsons and their automatic sidewalks and dishwashers to my personal favourite, the old "Science International - What Will They Think of Next" tv show, automation was the future of... Read More
Category: Crops
It's important, when you're going about the business of farming that you really think about it not as a series of distinct and separate seasons, but as a series of interconnected processes. Not just in an obvious "seeding naturally leads to harvest" kind of route, it's more like, "how I set my machine at harvest... Read More
The federal government has announced a commitment of $7 million under the Growing Forward 2 framework for the Canadian Field Crop Research Alliance to lead a research cluster to help producers better compete in global markets. The funding will be matched with another $3.3 million by industry. The “Canadian Field Crop Genetics Improvement Cluster”, a... Read More
Is there a strong business case for another grain co-operative in Canada? Carl Casale thinks so, and as CEO of CHS, the largest co-operative in the United States, it's probably an opinion worth some weight. In this episode of the RealLeaders series, Kim McConnell, founder of AdFarm, sits down with Casale to discuss not just... Read More
Seeding winter wheat while you're busy with harvest can take some time to wrap your head around. At the same time, there are several advantages to breaking out the seeder after the canola comes off the field. While the weather and soil conditions may be significantly different for September seeding than May, the importance of... Read More
There's no one fusarium management tool that will effectively do the job. The best control possible on the wheat crop is going to happen through layering of several management practices together. But which ones have the greatest impact? Phil Needham, of of Needham Ag Technologies, says there are a few "musts" in every fusarium management... Read More
Owen Roberts is currently in Argentina, attending the IFAJ 2013 Congress. The photo above is courtesy Chuck Zimmerman. View the Flickr account here. Any export-intensive country for agriculture needs to be constantly tuned into global developments that influence what happens inside our own borders. Today, the search for those developments takes us to the backroads... Read More
Harvest is a great time to choose next year's canola variety, and not just because the seed booking season seems to start earlier and earlier each year. The yield monitor is one way to evaluate how varieties perform on your farm, and being wowed or disappointed might be the first step in selecting next year's... Read More
Is blackleg resistance breaking down in current canola varieties? The only way to really know is to first scout (swath-timing, harvest and post-harvest are all great times to scout) for the disease and confirm infection. Resistant varieties may still become infected, so seeing infected plants in your crop isn't necessarily cause for alarm, but if... Read More
Farmers tend to get itchy in the spring and fall when it comes to tillage. Some joke about needless recreational tillage that just occupies a farm's boredom. Below is acute video addressing the serious disease called "restless tillage syndrome." Enjoy and happy harvest!!! If you cannot see the above embedded video, CLICK HERE