Crop Management
Rocky Mountain Equipment in Vegreville, Alta., has carried the Magnation Rainbolt for two years, said Vegreville store manager David Sen, adding that they tested the equipment for a year before committing to selling the unusual devices. “The main unit for farmers around here is the Rainbolt for seed treatment. We’ve probably sold ten or more […] Read more
Crop Management
Turbulated seed gives three pound bushel weight benefit
Check-off protest erupts over fusarium
Some producers in Alberta’s northern rural municipalities are requesting refunds of wheat and barley check-off payments as a way to protest the removal of fusarium from the Alberta Pests Act. The crop disease has been slowly spreading westward for decades and until a change in May to the Pest Nuisance Control Regulation, Alberta had a […] Read more
Canola prices show surprising strength
Canola cash prices will likely drift higher than $11 per bushel this fall and winter based on current market fundamentals, says an analyst. Brennan Turner, chief executive officer of FarmLead, said the strength prices are displaying just before harvest is remarkable for this time of year and bodes well for the coming months. Cash spot […] Read more
Researchers solve brome mosaic virus puzzle
Shedding light on the different components of this crop disease was key to scientists figuring out how to prevent infection
The brome mosaic virus has baffled scientists for decades. It is a genetic puzzle that, unlike many other viruses, is divided into three particles that have been impossible to tell apart. Until now. BMV affects grasses such as wheat and barley and, in 2016, the infection was recorded in soybeans in Manitoba. Mosaic symptoms include […] Read more
Clip the tops over the heads of the crops
Removing weed seeds and stems from standing crop might not impact yields but does affect the seed bank
When you see a wild oat patch sticking up above a crop canopy, you have to wonder if trimming off the tops would reduce the weed pressure in the field. This is what Breanne Tidemann is analyzing, with the first of her trials recently published in Canadian Agronomist. “We’ve had questions from farmers, the idea […] Read more
New snowplow puts task tractor to work
The return on investment for any implement depends on how it’s used on your farm. For example, putting a snowplow on a chore tractor increases its value to your farm. That was the thinking at SnowEx when they began developing their new Automatixx attachment kit for tractors in the 30 to 50 horsepower range. Rather […] Read more
Biologicals may boost bushels in Canadian winter wheat
In third party winter wheat comparison plots seeded last fall and harvested last month, the biological agent known as XiteBio Yield-plus created a 4.1 bushel yield benefit over control plots. At a cost ranging from $4 per acre up to $6.50 per acre, and using winter wheat at $5 a bu., that pencils out to […] Read more
New sequencing technique boosts gene editing potential
Gene editing has been touted as a revolutionary technology for plant breeding. It allows scientists to delete genes from a plant’s genomes or add genes from the same family of plants to achieve a desired crop trait. Maybe a canola with more resistance to a fungal disease. But there’s one problem. Much of the time, […] Read more
Plug buster arrests ‘killer grain bins’
Bin SumpPro neutralizes threat from sump plugs that block the grain-flow, causing farmers to venture inside
South Dakota grain grower Shawn Gengerke said a plugged bin sump three years ago tried killing him, not once, but twice. Adding insult to injury, the incident cost him US$15,000. “That was when I decided we had to put an end to this plugged auger problem that’s killing and maiming farmers every year,” said Gengerke […] Read more
New Fendt tractors receive major upgrades
The 1100 Vario MT is the highest h.p. two-track to offer a CVT transmission and is the company’s largest tractor
The paint, joystick and warranty are all that differentiates the newly branded Fendt 1100 Vario MT and 900 Vario MT tractor lines from the latest Challenger models, but there have been some significant upgrades to the tractors. The 1100 Vario MT is the highest horsepower two-track tractors to offer a CVT transmission and is the […] Read more
