In an effort to raise awareness around feed testing, Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture, Central Testing Laboratories and Saskatchewan Peavey Mart has kicked off a province wide Hay Harvest Challenge for forage producers. “We essentially wanted to have kind of a fun and great way for forage producers to become more aware of the importance of... Read More
Category: Western Canada
A new seeder design that first caught farmers' attention in Western Canada several years ago is moving from the prototype stage into production. Vancouver-based Clean Seed Capital Group says it has started manufacturing and assembling its CX-6 SMART Seeder at WS Steel Manufacturing in Steinbach, Manitoba. "This is a major step forward for Clean Seed,”... Read More
Manitoba's largest John Deere dealer is expanding its presence in the southwest corner of the province. Enns Brothers Ltd. and D.B. Murray announced a purchase agreement today that will see Enns Brothers Ltd. acquire 100 percent of the operating assets of D.B. Murray Ltd in Melita. “After 37 years for D.B. Murray Ltd. and over... Read More
According to Statistics Canada, over half a million acres of productive (class 1-3) farmland was "settled" between 2000 and 2011. This "settled area" on dependable agricultural land grew by 19 percent in Canada, with the largest increase happening in southern Ontario and Quebec. The loss of farmland isn't a new phenomenon (the last time people... Read More
Tile drainage in North America has traditionally been installed with a single-leg plow that rips a vertical groove in the soil as it lays the pipe in the ground. Depending on soil type and moisture conditions, the single-shank will disturb the soil and leave a rut or soft spot that can take years to settle.... Read More
Coffee shop talk is often revered and repeated, but is it completely honest? What if, instead of comparing your farm and farm practices across the fence row, you instead sat down with farmers from one hundred kilometers away and compared notes? What could you learn? That's the concept behind formal peer advisory groups, explains Dr... Read More
Phosphorus deficiency is a common problem with corn planted into a rotation following canola. In its early stages, corn relies on mycorrhizae to help with the majority of phosphorus uptake. The trouble with corn following canola is that canola and other crucifer plants are not hosts for micorrhizae, so the beneficial fungi populations must be... Read More
Grain markets this week took a hard tumble as, on Wednesday, the USDA performed a dramatic leg sweep of the market with their August WASDE report. It completely blew most expectations out of the water as to where supply for the 2015/16 year sat. Instead of U.S. corn and soybean yields dropping to 164.5 and... Read More
Hot conditions can have an impact on both yield and quality in canola, making timing more important when swathing or straight-cutting the crop. Much of Western Canada has experienced a mid-August heat wave, with fields maturing rapidly in the heat. For canola, this means the time to cut can sneak up quickly. In this Canola... Read More
With new dicamba and 2,4-D herbicide options for corn and soybeans on the horizon, spray application specialist Tom Wolf notes there are some important management practices to consider. Both dicamba and 2,4-D are synthetic auxins, falling into the Group 4 classification of herbicides. Like others in the category, they induce abnormal and uncontrollable growth in... Read More