Farms are workplaces where interaction with several classes of chemicals is inevitable. Chemicals can enter the body in different ways: through inhalation, absorption, ingestion and injection, so it's important for farmers and farm workers to understand the risk associated with each type of chemical and how to avoid exposure whenever possible. For this episode of... Read More
Category: Crops
Inoculants are an accepted and proven biological product that has been used for decades on farms. Other classes of biologicals — nitrogen fixers, biopesticides, and biostimulants, for example — are newer products that many farmers are exploring how to best integrate into their input plan. Stratus Ag Research has amassed data over the last few... Read More
Researchers have been collecting soil health data across the Prairies for almost a century. In that time we have learned a lot about agricultural best management practices (BMPs), the environment, and the ground beneath our feet. In all of this research we have, and continue to, accumulate an abundance of data, the majority of it... Read More
Farmers across Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba have access to a new risk mapping tool for assessing fusarium head blight (FHB), fusarium damaged kernels, and deoxynivalenol (DON) risk levels in spring wheat, winter wheat, barley and durum based on weather conditions. The weather-based risk is calculated using real-time weather data from more than 500 stations operated... Read More
Winter canola fields are popping up all over Ontario. Across the province, acreage for the entire oilseed crop typically checks in around 40,000 acres, with about one third of the crop being planted in the fall, the rest being spring canola. Over the past five years, however, winter canola has been gaining momentum in the... Read More
As promised, Peter "Wheat Pete" Johnson is answering the very difficult question of when to swap out corn hybrids on this episode of Wheat Pete's Word. If the weather doesn't cooperate for eastern Ontario growers especially, farmers may have to move to shorter season hybrids as early as next week. But don't worry, this week's... Read More
The insect world is a fascinating mix of prey and predator. Wherever there are insects — pest or beneficial — there are dynamic interactions that can greatly impact behaviour and even population dynamics, even if insects are not being eaten or attacked. Understanding the stress of interaction and awareness of their enemies without actually being... Read More
Wet spring conditions across Ontario have some corn growers contemplating whether it's time to switch hybrids and plant shorter season corn hybrids. In Eastern Ontario, Pioneer Seeds Canada agronomist Paul Hermans is one of many agronomists fielding calls from growers looking for insight on when to make a swap. Planting progress varies from 15 percent... Read More
Even a small field has variability from one end to the next. With more variability or larger fields comes the opportunity to vary input levels to better match the yield potential of each unique part of the field. Deciding on how many zones to split a field into and what the deciding factor for each... Read More
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) has announced up to $5,733,852 for the Canadian Field Crop Research Alliance (CFCRA) through the AgriScience Program – Clusters Component, an initiative under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership, to promote more diverse crop rotations on farms. The Cropping Systems Cluster, led by CFCRA, will develop the characteristics and practices to... Read More