Chloride is a micronutrient that is needed in small amounts to grow a good crop. Generally, chloride deficiencies are not common in Western Canada, but recent soil testing statistics suggest that most soils tested for chloride are either marginal or deficient. Are these results accurate, and if so, is chloride limiting crop production in Saskatchewan? […] Read more
Stories by Agricore United
Timing key to saving nitrogen
Fall fertilizer applications can make things run more smoothly in the spring, especially in years where spring seeding is delayed and time is precious. Urea and anhydrous ammonia are perfect forms of nitrogen fertilizer for fall banding, but timing is critical to minimize nitrogen loss, said Trish Meyers, crop enhancement specialist with Agricore United. Urea […] Read more
Soil testing can increase profits
Soil testing can improve a farm’s bottom line. It can prevent a grower from underfertilizing, which leads to lower yields, or it might suggest less fertilizer use and so reduce the cost of production. Yet a recent poll shows only 51 percent of Saskatchewan farmers do some testing every year. The number is higher in […] Read more
More time required in fields scouting crops
According to research by Ipsos-Reid on behalf of Agricore United, many western Canadian grain producers may not be spending enough time scouting their fields during the growing season. The research also suggests that when growers do scout, they look primarily for weeds and do not pay enough attention to other yield robbers such as insects […] Read more
Base saturation not best indicator of soil fertility
Soil testing labs generally follow recommended analytical procedures to test soil for nutrients, but the way they recommend fertilizer can be quite variable. Some labs have a set of crop response data to generate their fertilizer recommendations. Others include nutrient removal, which is the amount of nutrients it takes for a given target crop yield. […] Read more
Maximizing crop yields on high potassium soils
If your soil test finds high potassium, should you add additional potassium fertilizer? This is a question that Adrian Johnston of the Potash & Phosphate Institute tackled in a recent paper, Potassium Responses Ñ Managing High Potassium Testing Soils. The following is a summary of his paper. The answer is generally no, but there are […] Read more
