Crop Management
Canada’s cranberry industry is surprisingly large. In 2020, the farmgate value of cranberries (grown mostly in Quebec and British Columbia) was $155 million. That’s bigger than the farmgate value of strawberries ($127 million) and not far behind grapes ($187 million) An Agriculture Canada scientist is convinced that another red berry, which is extremely healthy and […] Read more
Crop Management
Combine sensor gives harvest maps a boost
Growers can use the maps to reduce their nitrogen inputs by not over-applying in areas where it won’t provide a response
John Deere’s HarvestLab 3000 sensor is now available as a retrofit for 2018 and newer John Deere S700 series combines. The system uses near-infrared-reflectance technology, and it’s already available in Deer’s forage harvesters, for manure sensing on liquid manure applicators, and as a standalone product. For combines, HarvestLab will monitor harvested grain and allow growers […] Read more
Cameras and artificial intelligence spot harvest losses
A system that identifies harvest losses from the combine and header can be used to make on-the-fly adjustments. Farmwave’s Harvest Vision system has three cameras, a network switch and the Farmbook computer, which are powered by artificial intelligence (AI) models. The system is designed to detect header and combine harvest loss in real time, and […] Read more
Grade farmers’ nutrition efforts on nitrogen curve
Commodity prices continue to stay strong, but input prices such as seed and fertilizer are also at record levels. While the two should have a moderating effect when it comes to over-applying an input such as nitrogen, in many cases this doesn’t seem to be the case. For years I was a strong advocate of […] Read more
Food inflation sees increasing consumer demand for pasta
Grocery buyers seeking an affordable way to feed their families are looking toward pasta as an “inflation-proof” meal idea, says a durum wheat merchandiser with pasta maker Barilla. “The high inflation rate is actually causing greater demand for pasta,” said Greg Viers, Barilla’s durum wheat and semolina purchasing manager for the United States and Canada. […] Read more
Pulses’ impact measured
Pulse Canada directors are in Ottawa this week discussing a new report that benchmarks how pulses impact sustainability. Chair Kevin Auch said they are meeting with government officials and others about the benefits of pulses and how governments can help farmers grow even more of them. Governments have a role in easing marketing and transportation […] Read more
Crop-based biofuel ban talk unsettles canola industry
The sector expects that Canadian exports would be affected if the German government goes ahead and bans biofuel made from crops
Germany may ban crop-based biofuels by 2030, which would be a blow to the Canadian canola sector, says an analyst. “It’s not good news,” said John Duvenaud, publisher of the Wild Oats Grain Market Advisory. The European Union is a top customer for Canadian canola. It crushes the crop and uses the oil to make […] Read more
Big drone is a capable spot sprayer
BRANDON — Ag drones took a big leap forward (and upward) with the recent introduction of winged UAVs carrying 45 litres of product that can be precisely applied to a target. Don Campbell had his demo drone suspended from the ceiling above his booth at Manitoba Ag Days. He said the ability to carry and […] Read more
Deere picks companies for collaboration program
Two Canadian companies are among the eight selected by John Deere for its 2023 Startup Collaborators program. Deere started the program in 2019 to help it find innovative agricultural and construction technologies. “We don’t have the market cornered on all the good ideas and we’re always innovating and always listening to what our customers’ needs […] Read more
Protect your crop from tire tracks
BRANDON — It’s a dilemma: protect that perfect crop from an invasion of blight, insects or weeds or protect it from the trampling of sprayer tires? Sometimes it comes down to a flip of the coin. Other times, aerial application is the best option. But there isn’t much time to ponder the question. That’s why […] Read more
