Milk, in North America at least, is very much a commodity. There is little distinction between brands or types — a 4 litre jug is a 4 litre jug and not many have a preference as to what label it carries. This is changing, however, as family size shrinks and food trends increase the push... Read More
Category: Western Canada
Pulses are well-known for their nitrogen-fixing capacity but not for their competitiveness. Weed pressure can really knock back yield, a situation made worse by a thin stand or early-season disease. Two key seeding management strategies for pulses are seeding rates based on an optimal plant stand count and disease control planning. Achieving the best established... Read More
If you cannot see the above embedded audio player, Click Here Sometimes the challenges are right in front of you. Since no company has invented the "no-shell wind resistant canola trait" yet, the massive amount of wind in the fall across the west has planted a major challenge of canola volunteers for this spring. Volunteer... Read More
Developing a full understanding of antimicrobial resistance is imperative to managing its occurrence. Canada's beef industry has been studying the incidence of antimicrobial resistance in cattle for some time, but there is more work to be done. Building off this introduction on antimicrobial resistance by Dr. Reynold Bergen, this episode of the Beef Research School... Read More
On Tuesday, April 9th, a widespread day of protest will be held against – of all things troubling our country – GM alfalfa. Activists will be gathering at about 20 locales, including 12 in Ontario, to show their opposition to its pending arrival. The Canadian Biotechnology Action Network, a relatively benign group with agricultural ties... Read More
Want to try something new to burndown weeds before you plant cereals? Nufarm just registered GlyKamba herbicide, a premix of glyphosate and dicamba (hence the clever name). GlyKamba can be used in summerfallow or before planting wheat, barley, oats, or field corn. There is a pretty impressive list of weeds on the label, but if... Read More
The new marketing environment around wheat in Western Canada offers producers a much greater level of involvement than they've ever had when it comes to managing price risk. Should producers choose to step out of the contract environment provided by their local grain companies and buyers and go directly to the futures and options market... Read More
What does Canada's participation in the Trans Pacific Partnership really mean to supply management? Will Canada give up some or all of the supply management pillars in the face of trade opportunities for other agricultural products? While there are no clear cut answers as of yet, TPP negotiations are most certainly a topic of interest... Read More
What, indeed. If you just read the title and aren't sure, the short answer is nothing. The longer answer, however, is that tram lines may make scouting for insects easier and more thorough, and thus beneficial. Not convinced? Read on. Some insects are predictably found on the edge of the field — like flea beetles,... Read More
Dr. Robert T. Fraley is the executive vice president and chief technology officer of Monsanto. He is also considered by many to be one of the fathers of modern agricultural biotechnology. Dr. Fraley's farm background and his passion for research combined early in his career and moved the Monsanto Company from an industrial chemical company... Read More