Michael Raine

Flax producer Allen Kuhlmann of Rouleau, Sask., said there are choices of oilseed flax varieties that will produce shorter flax with less fibre. Crop trials at the University of Saskatchewan indicate CDC Mons and CDC Gold fall into this category. Some older varieties such as Vimy are taller with greater fibre content. Research at the […] Read more

Windy? How windy? What direction, exactly? Barometer falling or rising? What was the dew point? Those are the kinds of questions that help producers and custom pesticide applicators make their operating decisions. The weather information is also an important risk management component for limiting liability through agricultural record keeping. Documenting the elements of weather, maintaining […] Read more

Manitoba producers in several areas should expect to scout and in some cases treat for grasshoppers in 2008. In that province’s most recent grasshopper forecast, the insects are shown to be a potential economic threat in the black soil zone, stretching from the Red River Valley in the east to Russell in the west. The […] Read more

Pea leaf weevil is on the march. Known in southern Alberta since 1997, the weevil has grown from a minor pest to a major pain for Alberta pea growers south of the Trans-Canada Highway. Worse, the insect is spreading rapidly. Adults in their most extreme concentrations can damage plant growing points through feeding, but this […] Read more

EDMONTON – Winter annuals are forget-me-nots. This weed type has been ignored with the move to crops seeded directly into stubble. Most producers do a simple spring burnoff ahead of the seed drill and the problem is solved. Or is it? Plant researcher Ken Sapsford of the University of Saskatchewan found that winter annuals need […] Read more

Group 2 resistant-kochia has widened its range from the red dirt in the U.S. Midwest to the outer reaches of the Prairies’ black soil zone. In the 1970s, prairie weed surveys showed kochia was a weed found mainly in south-central Saskatchewan. In the 1980s, the persistent tumbleweed spread to Alberta and then expanded its range […] Read more

LETHBRIDGE – Spring servicing of air seeder carts and drills has become more complex and important with each new model and its new technology. However, barring any leftover fertilizer hardened to the consistency of concrete in the tanks, most air carts have become easier to service, say the companies that build and sell them. Don […] Read more

EDMONTON – Ken Sapsford says weed control has never been more challenging, nor have producers had better tools to deal with unwanted plants. The plant science researcher from the University of Saskatchewan told producers attending the Farm Tech Conference in Edmonton last month that new herbicides and more awareness of weed control strategies are helping […] Read more

LETHBRIDGE – The sins of the fall will be felt by the seedlings of spring. Tough harvest conditions in many parts of the Prairies last fall are creating challenges for producers this spring, say seed labs and seed growers. Bob Mastin of Mastin Seeds in Sundre, Alta., said producers should treat their seed this year. […] Read more