Flea beetles may be throwing a hairy fit in the not so distant future. Unlike adding a gene that creates insecticidal properties in the plant, as is done in corn for the European corn borer, Agriculture Canada researchers at the University of Saskatchewan have found that a physical boundary can be added to canola that […] Read more
Stories by Michael Raine
The big debate: does precision ag work?
Springfield, Illinois – Fifteen years into precision agriculture, the industry still can’t say precisely what it means. Is it all about driving straighter? Is it about lower costs associated with input savings and reduced crop damage? What about yield monitoring? Is improved record keeping making life better for those who intensively manage? Some might say […] Read more
Farmers eager to improve technology
REGINA – Kyrat Ebryan was a long way from home, but looking out at the Canadian prairie made him feel like he’d just stepped out his back door. The Kazakhstani farmer, along with eight others, made the trip to Canada this spring to harvest ideas about Canadian agriculture. “We have very similar farm types. The […] Read more
Hydrogen on the horizon
Paul Trella of New Holland has watched his industry shift its fuel research focus from energy pumped from the earth to energy grown in the earth and now to energy from what surrounds the earth. “Farmers have a long history of running their machinery on what they could afford and what was available to them,” […] Read more
Nozzle selection easier with new research tool
Choosing a new set of nozzles for a sprayer can cause anxiety for producers. Making the right nozzle choice is more than an investment in hardware, it’s an investment in the success of the crop. “Over the years I’ve gotten lots of calls from farmers about choosing nozzles. Let’s face it, there are a lot […] Read more
Weeds versus buds
If farmers have buds, should they spray for weeds? It’s a good questions for canola growers this year. The difficult weather conditions have left growers with a choice they don’t often have, later season weed control in their soon to be blooming crops. Crops thinned out by frost and insects have failed to canopy over […] Read more
Proper insect counts critical
Determining whether an insect is a threat of economic consequence is more important than a pest’s presence in the field. Will it do more damage than it costs to control it with insecticide? In a year when commodity prices are high, the numbers of insects or the amount of damage they are allowed to inflict […] Read more
Watch for midge
Midge populations may be down, but don’t count them out. In fact, just count them. That is the message that entomologists are delivering to farmers in areas where the insect pest was a threat last season. “While there isn’t the threat there was last year, the problem is still out there, especially in some specific […] Read more
Stainless cart low maintenance
REGINA – Big drill carts stand out on the frontier of seeding efficiency. The ability to remain in the tractor seat when others would be calling for seed and fertilizer refills is one advantage of investing in a larger air cart. But size isn’t everything when it comes to carts, said Jack Oberlander of Amity […] Read more
Organic fungicide gets green light
REGINA – Organic and fungicide are two terms that usually aren’t used together. But since last month, it’s OK to use the term in Canada, says the Pest Management Regulatory Agency in its recent label expansion of Serenade or bacillus subtilis strain QST 713. The label now includes canola and pulse crops for sclerotinia and […] Read more
