REGINA — Canada’s Farm Progress Show had a new feature this year called Farmyard Inventions, in which contestants entered farm-made agriculture tools and show visitors voted for their favorite product. Three contestants entered the competition, which had a first place prize provided by Peavey Mart valued at $5,000. Ryan Dennis from Holdfast, Sask., took the […] Read more
Robin Booker
Stories by Robin Booker
Poor prices discourage Indian pulse seeding
REGINA — A market opportunity may be brewing for Canadian pulse producers as Indian pulse acreage might contract considerably be-cause of poor returns in that country. “Right now, with the prices that are available to growers in India, it’s not attractive to grow pulses. We’re seeing them go into things like cotton and corn,” Chad […] Read more
Durum rally potential limited by large carry-in stocks
REGINA — There might be a strong rally in spring wheat, but durum prices have not followed as high because plenty of durum is available, said Marty Langton, senior trader at Viterra. “We’ve come off of record production pretty much everywhere around the world,” Langton said at the FCC Farm Progress Forum during Canada’s Farm […] Read more
Rain on its way but dry fall to come: forecaster
REGINA — World Weather Inc.’s Drew Lerner predicts a slightly wetter bias for much of the Prairies in July, followed by a warmer and drier than normal fall. Lerner provided his summer-to-fall forecast to a crowd of hundreds at Canada’s Farm Progress Show in Regina last week. He said two flow patterns are driving prairie […] Read more
Urea depth may not be critical if soil is properly packed
For 40 years, soil scientists have recommended that farmers apply urea by banding two to three inches deep, to reduce losses to the atmosphere. But when shallow-seeded crops like canola are planted on the same toolbar used to apply urea, the depth disparity can be tricky to achieve. As well, the extra power and time […] Read more
Big company offers small-sized solution
Can-Seed Equipment is the distributer for USC Seed Treaters in Canada and it has a product designed for an average-sized grain farm. “This unit is a small drum treater. It will do approximately 750 bushels per hour. It’s a very manual system for the average farmer. It’s very comparable to an auger style treater,” said […] Read more
Seed treating units can pay off for some farmers
Heavy-duty disease pressure over the past few seasons has agronomy experts stressing the need for seed treatments. Farmers who buy certified seed every year usually have the seed grower treat the seed. Those farmers may not need a seed treater. But producers who keep and clean their own seed could likely save money by having […] Read more
Tips for measuring nitrogen losses using dositubes
A protocol on how to use dositubes to measure nitrogen losses in cropland was developed by the University of Guelph, and has been used extensively by agronomists in Ontario. The method uses a gastec passive dosimeter tube (dositube) to measure NH3 losses. “They’ve used this in Ontario for some time, and we have just de-veloped […] Read more
Continuous canola not as profitable as farmers might think
LACOMBE, Alta. — A new Agriculture Canada study suggests tight canola rotations do not provide better returns than longer and more diverse rotations. “People say they have to grow continuous canola because they are getting the highest net returns,” Neil Harker, an Agriculture Canada research scientist said during a presentation at Murray Hartman’s ScienceOrama in […] Read more
Stay safe on the farm
Farmers no longer have any reason to leave themselves unprotected without at least a rudimentary security system on their farm. A quick search on Amazon.ca provides hundreds of camera options, video recorders, wi-fi boosters and alerts that producers can set up and monitor from a station inside the home or on a smartphone when they […] Read more
