A valuable tool for managing insect pests, such as flea beetles and grasshoppers, is back in the toolbox for 2025. As reported earlier this month, Health Canada's Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) has effectively lifted a two-year ban on spraying insecticides containing lambda-cyhalothrin on crops that could be destined for livestock feed. Lambda-cy products, sold... Read More
Category: Crop Production
Nothing ventured, nothing gained, but how do you manage to tip the chance of gain in your favour? In agriculture there are many variables that are well out of our control — whether it be ranching, farming or anywhere in between, producers deal with volatile input prices, commodity price fluctuations, and, of course, the weather.... Read More
Capacity and flexibility are both important when it comes to choosing an auger that will help speed up moving grain at harvest. The Brandt 1345 B Series U-Trough, featuring a 13-inch U-trough, nearly doubles the capacity of a standard round-tube auger. In this interview at Crop Production Show at Saskatoon, Sask., Trevor Feicht of Brandt... Read More
Canada has experienced some economic growth since coming out of COVID, but our pace of growth and productivity is nothing to write home about. J.P. Gervais, chief economist for Farm Credit Canada, says that there is always low hanging fruit when it comes to improving productivity, such as adding efficiency, economies of scale, and producing... Read More
A high-quality wheat crop starts before the seed is even planted, by choosing the best seed lot possible. A seed with excellent germination, strong vigour, and freedom from and protection against key pathogens is more likely to achieve strong emergence and a healthy plant establishment. This year's seed quality reflects the growing conditions of the... Read More
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times — that pretty much tells the tale of the 2024 edible bean season in the Ontario and Manitoba growing areas. With a cool, windy spring, Manitoba Ag pulse and soybean specialist Dennis Lange says he never expected to see record edible crops in... Read More
Commodity markets have been digesting a tidal wave of What if? questions: What if China is buying? What if Trump imposes tariffs? What if acreage falls? What if China isn't buying? Ed Broshinski, market analyst with Cargill MarketSense, says that managed money has been working its way through these scenarios, and that canola, specifically may... Read More
In 10 years of answering your questions, observing farm changes, and navigating agronomy, what has changed for Peter "Wheat Pete" Johnson? Well, he's got a few more grey hairs and perhaps an extra wrinkle or two, but the fundamentals of growing high-yielding crops haven't changed much from episode 1 to 500 of The Word, says... Read More
Manure has been used as fertilizer for a very long time; however, with the advent of fewer mixed farms and access to commercial fertilizer, which is easier to transport and often easier to apply, nearly all farmers have moved away from using manure as the primary source of fertilizer on their operations. That being said,... Read More
Understanding the prevalence of flea beetles in a canola field can make a big difference when it comes to management decisions in that field. This number-one insect pest of canola can quickly multiply in number and — with the right environmental conditions — move from below to well-above an economic threshold in a single day.... Read More