Saskatchewan Agriculture

Les Henry, one of Canada’s premier soil experts, has written a light-hearted book about his passion. Henry’s Handbook of Soil and Water begins with, “This is not a textbook ….” Retired in 1996, Henry is a professor emeritus at the University of Saskatchewan, a private consultant, and farmer. The first three chapters of his 218 […] Read more

Aquaculture is one of the fastest growing food production industries in the world, climbing to 37.9 million tonnes in 2001 from 13 million tonnes in 1990. Murray Drew of the University of Saskatchewan’s Prairie Feed Resource Centre thinks prairie farmers and processors can benefit from this growth. “The typical farmed-salmon diet is composed of 50 […] Read more

Prairie lentil production has been centred in the dark brown soil zone because the growing season is too short in the black and grey soils, and the soil is often too wet for production of high quality seed. A recent project, however, has developed lentil agronomic packages that could extend lentil production beyond the traditional […] Read more

Manure applied to grey soils can make dramatic crop yield increases without leaching problems if applied at the proper rate. That is one finding from a three-year study called Demonstrating Opportunities for Hog Manure Fertilizer in the Grey Soil Zone by the Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute in Humboldt and the Department of Soil Sciences at […] Read more

Litter, the leftover vegetation often known as “carryover,” is one of the most important tools when managing native grassland on the southern Prairies. The phrase “take half, leave half” is a traditional guideline for ranchers whose goal is sustainable native rangeland. “Litter is important because, from a productivity standpoint, moisture is the most limiting factor,” […] Read more

One of the advantages of a mixed farm is the opportunity to use crop byproducts as livestock feed. Livestock producers without cropland, however, can often get these same byproducts by working with a grain-farming neighbour. With uncertain markets and the likelihood of more calves being fed this fall, this kind of co-operation is particularly advantageous. […] Read more

An early start on the 2003 fall weed control program may be tempting. However, the temptation should be resisted because the timing of fall applications is critical to the success of fall weed control. “September is not the best time to control winter annual weeds because many more will germinate before freeze up,” says Clark […] Read more

Sometimes, as in the case of grasshoppers, it really isn’t over till it’s over. The effect of this year’s grasshopper infestation didn’t end at harvest time, but has continued on into the harvested grain, where their body parts can cause downgrading. “The Canadian Grain Commission has a 0.02 percent tolerance for grasshopper parts in all […] Read more

Powdery mildew may be a problem on dry pea crops again this year, especially in areas where seeding was delayed, said Penny Pearse, Saskatchewan Agriculture plant disease specialist. Symptoms usually appear in fields near the end of July, so scouting should begin during the last two weeks of July to identify the disease early. “Late […] Read more

Timing is key when using glyphosate to dry greenfeed before cutting and baling. Two rangeland and forage agrologists with Saskatchewan Agriculture have conducted demonstration projects in two areas of the province since 2001 with different weather. Their results were different and they may reveal the most important part of the process: timing. “The objective of […] Read more