Not since the spring of 1998 has ammonium sulfate been in such short supply, and the problem has left canola producers with hard choices. If they haven’t planted their canola yet, should they do so without the usual seed row or sidebanded sulfur application? If they have planted already and shifted to elemental product, what […] Read more
Stories by Michael Raine
Soybeans need phosphorus
Fertilizer sticker shock is persuading more farmers to grow soybeans this year, but they can’t forget about phosphorus. With nitrogen prices through the roof, prairie producers who haven’t grown soybeans before are choosing them in hopes of finding a new profitable crop and avoiding a high fertilizer bill. “If you have the moisture, and you […] Read more
Yield takes hit when growth uneven
Recent research has found that even stands are key to successfully growing canola. Doug Moisey of the Canola Council of Canada says an even stand of four plants per sq. foot yields as much as another even one of eight. Agronomists have also found that in average seasonal conditions, an uneven plant stand of four […] Read more
On the wireworm trail
Bob Vernon is tracking the not-so-elusive wireworm. The Agriculture Canada entomologist and researcher from Agassiz, B.C., has started a national survey of the crop pest. “We’re trying to find something that kills wireworm,” said Vernon. He said available insecticides only stun wireworms until the crop has a chance to advance. Lindane, which was banned in […] Read more
Wireworm appetite takes heavy toll
Wireworms could be a significant problem this spring – partly because of population increases and partly because of economics. The immature click beetles are attracted to carbon dioxide produced by seedling germination. In the past, producers often controlled the insects only on cereal grain and perennial grass, but the prairie grain wireworm is now known […] Read more
Schmeiser in hot water over illegal drainage
Percy Schmeiser has played a farming David to international crop protection giant Monsanto for more that a decade. However, Schmeiser has become the giant to a small landholder a few kilometres south of Bruno, Sask. Gord Bender has complained for years that drainage cut into fields near his home, allegedly by Schmeiser, threatened his house […] Read more
Alfalfa out, annual crops in
Shifting from alfalfa to a spring seeded annual requires careful management and some rain. “Replacing alfalfa with a spring crop using spray and direct seeding? It’s the only call I get these days,” said Calvin Yoder, an Alberta provincial forage specialist talking about spring inquiries from farmers. Yoder said the low price of cattle and […] Read more
Sow cull will benefit hungry: producers
The federal sow cull program is expected to benefit Saskatchewan’s hungry. A national breeding cull program designed to reduce Canada’s swine herd is being used by the industry to deliver scarce protein to Saskatchewan’s food banks. Food Banks of Saskatchewan executive director Bill Hall said the province’s $440,000 support for the Sask Pork initiative will […] Read more
Know when enough is enough
Craig Shaw knew he needed to get the most from every dollar he spent on inputs, but in some cases, the more he spent, the more trouble he bought. An emphasis on maximum fertilizer use was helping the grain farmer from Lacombe, Alta., achieve bin-busting yields, but the parts of his farm that had higher […] Read more
Additional fertilizer application will reap returns
Fertilizer is expensive, but cutting rates might prove more costly. Rigas Karamanos of Westco Fertilizers in Calgary says it was only two years ago that 50 cent per pound nitrogen costs and $6 per bushel canola made cutting nitrogen rates the right thing to do. However, with canola now selling for $12 per bu., he […] Read more
