Crop Management
Two Saskatchewan oilseed commissions are seeking feedback from growers on a possible amalgamation. The Saskatchewan Canola Development Commission and the Saskatchewan Flax Development Commission sent notices in the mail to farmers asking them to participate in an online survey. “Mostly, we want to find out if there’s any major concerns that maybe our boards haven’t […] Read more
Crop Management
Grading changes coming for 2023-24 crop year
Grain commission says harvest sample data shows that the higher standards will affect only a small number of farmers
Changes to Canada’s official grain grading guide are coming Aug. 1, and will align primary and export test weights for wheat. Canadian Grain Commission chief inspector Derek Bunkowsky said updates for the 2023-24 crop year are based on science. “The test weight alignment to the export test weight, that’s all based on scientific research, extensive […] Read more
Fungal infections pose increasing risk to crops
Scientists at the University of Exeter, U.K., authored a commentary published recently in the journal Nature, highlighting the threats of fungal infection to crops. Growers worldwide lose between 10 and 23 percent of their crops to infection annually, despite widespread use of fungicides. Another 10 to 20 percent is lost to problems post-harvest.
Precision sprayer easy on crop
Ecorobotix recently sold its first Canadian sprayers to two major Quebec vegetable growers who each crop more than 1,000 acres. They deliver fresh produce daily direct to New York and Boston. One of those growers is Guillaume Cloutier. “We use it every day,” he says. “I think we’ve sprayed about 700 acres with it so […] Read more
Precision sprayer cuts chemical use
Makers of the Ecorobotix ARA claim their sprayer can apply chemical to a crop using one nozzle per row and that it is individually triggered to turn on and off using instructions from a single sensor dedicated solely to reading that specific crop row, on a 20-foot sprayer at 4.7 m.p.h. Not only that, the […] Read more
Molecular mechanism links roots to phosphorus
Researchers discover the gene that regulates when roots stop growing, which occurs within hours of a lack of phosphorus
Researchers at Michigan State University have discovered a specific gene that regulates when the roots of a plant stop growing and they have identified this reaction as happening within hours of a lack of phosphorus.
U.S. corn yield estimate questioned
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s latest U.S. corn yield estimate does not reflect reality, says an analyst. The USDA dropped its national average corn yield for 2023-24 to 177.5 bushels per acre, down from its forecast of 181.5 bu. a month ago. DTN lead analyst Todd Hultman thinks that is still too high and expects […] Read more
Canadian chickpeas face Russian headwinds
Russia accounts for about one-quarter of total global supply of the crop from the world's major origins, so it is a very large player. Canada is expected to produce 256,000 tonnes of chickpeas by comparison.
Sask. farmers can move poor crops to livestock feed
Low-yielding cereal and pulse crops can be diverted for livestock feed, the Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corp. and Agriculture Canada announced July 12. The corporation is doubling low-yield appraisal values so that farmers can make decisions about their poor crops and support livestock producers who need feed. Pockets of the province are again experiencing severe drought […] Read more
Nutrien cuts output as Canada port strike drags on
(Reuters) – The world’s biggest fertilizer producer Nutrien Ltd. cut production on Tuesday, citing the impact of an 11-day-old strike in Canada’s Pacific ports whose cost has now ballooned to an estimated $5.5 billion. Some 7,500 dock workers represented by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) walked off on July 1 after failing to […] Read more
