With five Canadian teams headed to the playoffs, the 2014-15 season has been an exciting one for Canadian hockey fans (apologies to Edmonton and Toronto fans), including the 360 people who participated in the inaugural RealAg Hockey Pool. With the regular season ending this weekend, we have a winner that needs crowning, but first, some... Read More
Category: Western Canada
Do you manage your corn crop differently, based on whether or not you'll be using a fungicide or topped-up nitrogen rates? That may end up being a new recommendation, as research is beginning to offer clues on how each input works with the other — sometimes providing not just additive benefits, but synergistic ones (think:…Read More
As expected with lower crop prices, new data from Farm Credit Canada shows the red-hot market for farmland cooled off in 2014. According to FCC's annual Farmland Values Report released April 13th, the average value of agricultural land in Canada rose by 14.3 percent in 2014 — down from an increase of 22.1 percent in... Read More
Farm auction season is winding down, but not before things get really heated — there are certainly no shortage of sales to attend, but hot deals have been in short supply. That phenomenon has inspired this latest Kickin' Tires podcast with co-hosts Shaun Haney and Jim Hale. That's right, we're talking online vs. in-person and... Read More
How good is your weed identification? If you had to answer if a weed was a "late flushing" weed or a winter annual, could you answer? While no weed specialist expects every farmer to be a weed expert, knowing a few specific details about your enemy is actually quite helpful in the war on resistance.... Read More
A shortage of low-fusarium feed wheat and the decreased value of the Canadian dollar are supporting the cash price for corn on the eastern side of the prairies. Old crop Chicago futures have been trading in the US$3.65 to US$3.95 range since early January, while cash bids in southern Manitoba have risen to between C$4.50... Read More
Update — April 12th, 2015: The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on April 12th announced that a 10km radius control zone has been established around the single farm where H5N2 avian influenza was confirmed last week. 29 poultry farms within this zone are now under quarantine, although so far, the virus has only been found at... Read More
Five, ten and fifteen day weather forecasts are all the rage these days as mathematical models built by market players (hedge funds and commercials) start to calculate the effects of rain, soil temperatures, and any other data point that you can think of. Some cooler, wetter weather is being forecasted for the American Midwest this... Read More
Ergot (often refered to as “Ergot of Rye”) is a disease caused by the plant fungus Claviceps pururea. It’s history with humans is rich and painful, believed to be a contributing factor in the Salem Witch Trials, and the diagnoses of “Holy Fire,” later termed “St. Anthony’s Fire.” Today, it is regarded as a highly... Read More
Soil moisture conditions across Western Canada are "in reasonably good shape" heading into the 2015 growing season, but there are areas where farmers who might not be accustomed to farming in dry conditions are preparing for a dry start to the year. As Bruce Burnett, weather and crops specialist with CWB, explains in the audio... Read More