Information from weather monitoring centres, as well as data on past precipitation and disease events, will be used in the app
Calls for better sclerotinia stem rot forecasting tools for canola growers may soon be answered with the development of a new sclerotinia risk assessment app. Lone Buchwaldt of Agriculture Canada is leading the app’s development and is collaborating with the Weather Innovation Network (WIN), the Canola Council of Canada, Sask Canola, extension staff and growers. […] Read more
Robin Booker
Stories by Robin Booker
Grower angered by sliced grain bags
A rash of grain bag slashings have occurred near Rouleau, Sask., this winter. “There have been 13 bags of seven different farmers cut in the area,” said Trevor Bjarnarson, manager of Bean and Company Farm near Rouleau. He said the most recent incident occurred last week with a grain bag containing durum that the farm […] Read more
Grain bag slashing angers farmer
There’s been a rash of grain bag slashing in the Rouleau, Sk. area this winter. “There has been 13 bags of seven different farmers cut in the area,” said Trevor Bjarnarson, manager of Bean and Company farm in Rouleau, Sk. Last night vandals cut a grain bag holding durum the farm was going to use […] Read more
Where has all the phosphorus gone?
Phosphorus levels in Saskatchewan soil have taken a shellacking by the big yields made possible by contemporary crop varieties. “We have been mining this nutrient out of our soils ever since we started breaking the land; we are continuing to do it today,” Stewart Brandt from the Northeast Agricultural Research Foundation said during his Agri-ARM […] Read more
Seeding cover crops just got easier, cheaper
There are benefits to seeding a cover crop after combining in the fall, then chemical burning and direct seeding into it in the spring. Cover crops can reduce erosion, increase the concentration of potassium at the soil surface, tie up nitrogen in the spring that may become available to the following crop, provide biomass and […] Read more
Canola contest leader’s recipe for success
The leader of Agri-Trend’s Canola 100 challenge says extra nutrients and fungicide paid off on his 140-acre field
Mike Nelson entered Agri-Trend’s Canola 100 challenge because he wanted to determine the maximum yield he could pull out of a canola crop on his farm. “It’s good to see what you can do and what the crop can do by pushing it to the limit on one field,” said Nelson. The Canola 100 contest […] Read moreMultiple modes of action kills weeds, prevents resistance
Growers have long been told they need to rotate herbicide modes of action and even use multiple modes of action at the same time to slow the development of herbicide resistant weeds in their fields. “In terms of reducing your risk of resistance development, it’s an exponential decrease from your risk of having a weed […] Read more
Farmers may seek help from above for spraying advice
Andrew Pylypchuk of Planet explained how the company’s Dove satellite works during the Bayer Agronomy Summit in Banff, Alta. | Robin Booker photo BANFF, Alta. — A satellite system that takes high-resolution pictures of the entire planet every day will soon help growers make in-season spraying decisions. Planet’s Dove satellites make up the world’s largest […] Read more
Know your costs zone by zone to stay profitable
Lacklustre crop prices have many growers looking to reduce costs, but they need to be careful not to trim areas that keep their cost of unit production down, says Markus Braaten of AgriTrend. “If we’re changing our fertility program in such a way that we are actually reducing our yields in parts of these fields […] Read more
Change is in the air for food sustainability
There are many innovative products and services available to Canadian crop producers that could help improve sustainability. However, the global food sector is struggling to find ways to reward growers who adapt sustainable technologies and techniques. Big food companies have made public commitments to source ingredients that are better for the environment, and more opportunities […] Read more
