The reduced tillage that comes with direct seeding has cut production costs and returned to society more than half a billion dollars annually in Saskatchewan and $200 million in Alberta. Peter Gamache of Alberta Reduced Tillage Linkages (ARTL) analyzed the Alberta case based on Statistics Canada 2006 census data and adjusted it to reflect 2008 […] Read more
Stories by Michael Raine
New grasshopper handbook separates good from evil
You know you’re a pest species of grasshopper if you don’t fly around the field until June and you draw attention to yourself with loud behaviour. If you have these attributes, then you won’t like entomologist Dan Johnson’s new book because it will help farmers and agrologists identify and make decisions about killing you and […] Read more
Waste material spun into cash
AGASSIZ, B.C. – Recovering energy and fertilizer from livestock has never made more sense or dollars. New research by Agriculture Canada and the University of British Columbia may create income opportunities for producers while reducing the environmental load of livestock operations. Don Mavinic and Victor Lo of UBC have developed systems that cost effectively transform […] Read more
Western bug watch focuses on key areas
Insects don’t pay attention to borders so entomologists have been given more funding to also breach those boundaries to monitor and research pests in Western Canada. Owen Olfert of Agriculture Canada’s Saskatoon Research Centre said the addition of $10,000 of producer contributions to funding and support from federal and provincial sources has made the Insect […] Read more
Farmers’ blues strike positive note
ABBOTSFORD, B.C. – Blueberries have become a major agricultural crop in British Columbia and new research funding is expected to aid the industry. The federal government has allocated $185,000 in funding to the B.C. Blueberry Council for three projects. The funding will support two research projects that will prevent the introduction and spread of blueberry […] Read more
Large crop delayed across North America
Weather has delayed the North American 2008 crop by at least two weeks, and for some U.S. growers, a crop won’t be harvested this year. Cool, dry weather has delayed crop maturity in many parts of the American Midwest, while on the Canadian Prairies the same weather pattern delayed seeding and left many early-seeded crops […] Read more
Variable canola crops common
It’s time to swath that canola crop. But many prairie canola producers have a few different crops in the same field. Drought and cool spring temperatures led to poor germination and retarded development this year. When rain did come, it advanced those plants that got an early start, while causing germination in others. The result […] Read more
Readers identify Ro Ho
“It works as you walk,” proclaimed a 1929 rural newspaper ad for the Ro Ho. In the July 17 edition of The Western Producer, we asked for reader help in identifying an unidentified but useful gardening implement that has been a staple for market gardeners Bill and Jean King of Outlook, Sask., for many years. […] Read more
Camelina emerging as the other yellow gold
LETHBRIDGE – When it comes to crops, canola isn’t the only yellow gold flowering in prairie fields these days. Camelina’s tiny yellow flowers look similar to those of canola, but they are different plants. Camelina is fall or winter seeded. There are no hybrid varieties and no registered pesticides for the crop. Crop promoters have […] Read more
Canola flocks to southern Alta.
LETHBRIDGE – There’s a bit of canola magic around Alberta’s feedlot alley. And that magic has resulted in an estimated 40,000 acres of hybrid seed production in the region and drawn the attention of the world’s largest seed company. Pioneer Hi-Bred recently expanded its canola operations in the region with a new $12 million, 30,000 […] Read more
