Why do some individual plants live longer in the field after others died off? Why do some individual plants yield better? Why do some naturally resist disease that destroys others? These types of questions are best exemplified by the history of rust-resistant Selkirk wheat. In 1930, Moseph McMurachy found two heads of rust-free wheat while […] Read more
Flax
CN to appeal Ottawa’s freight embargo ruling
The CTA’s Vancouver investigation makes it clear that freight embargoes are to be used only as a tool of last resort
The Canadian Transportation Agency has ruled that Canadian National Railway breached service obligations to shippers in the Canadian pulp industry when it announced plans to impose rail freight embargoes on pulp and paper shippers last September. The CTA’s findings were the result of an investigation launched by the agency in January — the first such […] Read more
CTA investigation report cites traffic volumes
Review of rail freight service issues in Vancouver finds increased car volumes last fall could have been a possible factor
A federal investigation into rail freight service issues in Vancouver last year has identified increased traffic as a potential contributing factor behind service delays and congestion. In a second inquiry report released last month, the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) said car volumes arriving at Canadian National Railway’s Thornton Railway Yard in Surrey during October and […] Read more
Wide-row versus narrow-row spacing drives tighter toolbar
Is wider row spacing better or is narrow row spacing better? It’s always an interesting topic, whether you grow corn, soybeans, pulses, cereals or oilseeds such as canola and flax. During the past two decades, the trend in most crops has been toward wider spacing. However, a counter trend has recently emerged with excellent corn […] Read more
Less canola, more wheat expected from Statistics Canada
Winnipeg – Canadian farmers will likely seed less canola and more spring wheat in 2019, but the extent of any acreage shifts remains to be seen as market participants await Statistics Canada’s first seeded area estimates of the year on April 24. Canola prices in Western Canada have dropped over the past few months, as […] Read more
Choosing seeding date can be tricky; early has advantages
Crops can tolerate spring frost better than early fall frost. To offset the cold stress associated with early seeding, follow these best management practices: Seed as early as possible Weather changes at this time of year make it difficult to predict when growers will be on the land. Growers are starting to seed as I […] Read more
Potash should be applied to fields where it counts
The third instalment of my series on nutrient back-to-the-basics is about potassium. Also known as potash, it is second only to nitrogen in the amount of our applied nutrients used by plants. Crops contain about the same amount of nitrogen and potash. However, most of the potash is contained in the vegetative (leaves and stems) […] Read more
Prairie producers need wider range of profitable crops
Our trade troubles with China and India highlight the need not only to diversify markets but to also diversify the prairie portfolio of profitable crops. Canola is celebrated as the bill payer in Western Canada, the one major crop that usually generates a healthy profit while others are grown only as a necessary part of […] Read more
Cereal grain exports to China unaffected … so far
The top executive at Cereals Canada is reassuring the country’s growers that exports of Canadian wheat and barley to China have not been affected by the recent diplomatic and trade issues that have hit canola. However, Cam Dahl, executive director with Cereals Canada, said March 27 that situation could change quickly. “I think the most […] Read more
Phosphorus shortages not OK
I fear phosphate is the nutrient that is most deficient on farms across the Canadian Prairies and the northern U.S. Great Plains. It doesn’t act like nitrogen, which shows visual deficiency symptoms across the field when missed. Instead, phosphate deficiencies are more subtle and usually not noticed. In fact, I have seen what I would […] Read more
