A frost in mid-September isn't unexpected, but the damage caused varies widely, depending on a number of factors. Just because the temperatures dip doesn’t mean that your immature crop is a write-off. Crop type, maturity and length of time the temp sat below freezing all play a role in the final damage done. The first... Read More
Category: Crop Production
If you're a farmer who didn't do much forward selling in the last two years, you've likely been very happy with the outcome. If you haven't priced crop for 2013-14 yet, however, it may not end up not having been such a wise plan. Many farmers are harvesting a big crop right now, and, at... Read More
What's tall and showy and a new silage option for Alberta ranchers? Sorghum Sudan grass! The crop is a warm season, fast growing, high nitrogen user that, as silage, is capturing the attention of silage users in Alberta, now that varieties are coming along to better fit the growing area. As Vern Turchyn, of Viterra,... Read More
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
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