Top-dressing nitrogen (N) is on the rise across Western Canada for a number of reasons. Farmers are constantly trying to attain higher yields, and applying N after the crop has emerged allows a farmer to put down what he couldn’t with his seeder and manipulate yield or protein (in cereals) accordingly. It is also used... Read More
Category: Crop Production
Editor's note: Welcome to a new series from RealAgriculture.com — In the Dirt with Salford Machinery. This 10-part series will look at crop production from the ground up, focusing on soil management and the role tillage plays in managing this resource. Many farmers have their favorite tools in their crop scouting kit, but how many... Read More
Here's a little tidbit for you: if you're scouting canola at the 2- to 4-leaf stage and spot blackleg lesions it's already likely too late to spray. What's more, a fungicide application later in the season is also likely a waste of money and time, even if symptoms are severe, because the yield loss has... Read More
Regardless of the disease pressure mix on your farm, maintaining a disease-free flag and penultimate leaf is a key means of ensuring max wheat yield. Early season leaf disease can seem benign enough, but in the right conditions diseases like tan spot and septoria can move up through the canopy quickly and eventually begin compromising... Read More
You've gone out to check fields. Last week's herbicide application should be in full force, but when you get out to the field, targeted weeds aren't showing the signs they should, or the crop looks sickly or both. Was this product failure or human error? Both or neither? Spraying pesticides — be they insecticides, fungicides... Read More
Whether you're using commercial blends or manure, shortly after first cut is a great time to fertilize forage fields. But, wait, aren't perennial crops low-input? Top notch hay producers will tell you that fertility is paramount to getting top production out of a hay corp and to ensure maximum persistence of that stand. In this... Read More
I'm likely the only mum of two young kids that you'll see taking pictures of weed seedlings on the way to the park. I do it for a few reasons. One, I work in farm media, you never know when you're going to need a really great shot of a lamb's quarters seedling (trust me,... Read More
There are two things you're always going to have with livestock — deadstock and manure. Both byproducts, if you will, present their own type of challenges. And then there are rules and regulations to contend with. Unlike some other byproducts of beef production, however, manure is a truly valuable resource if handled, stored and used... Read More
Editor’s note: This is Owen Roberts’ Real Talk, Real Action column. Each week, Owen will offer his insight into how farmers and the agricultural industry can participate in the rural- and ag-related discussions going on around them. Contact Owen at owen@uoguelph.ca or on Twitter at @TheUrbanCowboy. Score one for agriculture. In Ontario, the province is... Read More
There are times, in my wanderings on the Internet, that I really do wonder — how did I miss this? Earlier this week, Dr. Tom Wolf, former Ag Canada researcher and current nozzle/spraying expert extraordinaire, alerted me to a certain three minute video featuring his colleague Steve Shirtliffe. Shirtliffe is a professor with the University... Read More