Crop Management2013 crops | Specialist says problematic pests will include bertha armyworms, flea beetles and cabbage seedpod weevils
Potential insect threats in Alberta this year include bertha armyworms, wheat midge, flea beetles and the evil weevils — cabbage seedpod and pea leaf. Scott Meers, insect management specialist with Alberta Agriculture, gave his pest predictions at the Jan. 16 agronomy update in Lethbridge, along with an assessment of 2012 insect problems. Meers said 200,000 […] Read more
Crop Management
Combat weeds to help control insect population
All that moisture brings something else to fields: weeds
New weed survey Wet fields in 2012 kept Saskatchewan farmers out of fields and let weeds thrive, seeding issues for the 2013 canola crop
A survey conducted last year confirms what Saskatchewan farmers already knew: wet weather contributed to one of the weediest years on record. Agriculture Canada has conducted the canola weed survey five times: first in 1976 and more recently in 2003. In 2012, the department examined 464 canola fields and found the highest diversity of weeds […] Read more
Double disc drill leaves past in the dust
Older farmers remember the field downtime, perpetual greasing and bearing replacement and some swear they never want to see another disc drill as long as they live. However, Kim Hartman said it’s time to put the past behind us. The owner of K-Hart Industries in Elrose, Sask., thinks every bearing on a modern disc drill […] Read more
Bale wagon doesn’t get a bad rep for wrap
Hastier haylage Stop wrap damage and cut bale retrieval time in half with self-unloading wagon
Commercial hay producers might be interested in a new round bale wagon that gently retrieves 10, five-foot-wide wrapped bales in 10 minutes and deposits them at the side of the field without damaging the plastic wrap. “On my farm, the barn is beside the field, so it’s no problem picking and dropping 10 bales in […] Read more
Farmers urged to guard against Swede midge
Control and research | Sask. producers should closely monitor their canola fields as application thresholds rise with prices
Swede midge has been known in Saskatchewan for several years but made its first attack on producers’ bottom lines last year, says Scott Hartley of Saskatchewan Agriculture. The insect was first identified in 2007 in the province’s northeast but didn’t cause economic damage until last year, when the pest, from the same family as wheat […] Read moreScientists prepare to replace CDC Falcon
Plant breeders’ efforts to develop new winter wheat varieties similar to CDC Falcon are bearing fruit. Rob Graf, a winter wheat breeder from Agriculture Canada’s Lethbridge Research Centre, told cereal growers at Crop Production Week in Saskatoon that new varieties being touted as potential replacements for CDC Falcon will soon be available to commercial growers. […] Read more
New checkoffs loom in Sask.
Saskatchewan producers will soon be asked to pay checkoffs of 52 cents and 50 cents per tonne, respectively, on all wheat and barley grown in the province. If approved, the levies would be collected beginning Aug. 1 and would generate revenues of $4.5 million a year for wheat and $1 million a year for barley […] Read more
New cereal crop varieties registered in 2012 or supported for registration
Crop type: Wheat Variety/Line name(s): AAC Bailey (BW901) Class/Description: CWRS Developed: Agriculture Canada (SPARC) Swift Current, Sask. Status: Registered June 2012 Parentage: 9505-LP03A/Journey & Lillian Notes: Awnless, solid-stem variety with reduced sawfly cutting relative to other solid stemmed varieties. Yield potential is higher than Lillian with earlier maturity. Resistant to leaf rust, stem rust and […] Read more
New durum lines near approval
Approvals expected soon | Lines resist wheat stem sawfly and orange blossom wheat midge
Durum producers could soon have access to new varieties that offer resistance to the wheat stem sawfly and orange blossom wheat midge. The two tiny pests can have a huge impact on farm profits. Growers attending Crop Production Week in Saskatoon last week learned that two new solid-stemmed durum lines are nearing commercial registration. DT818 […] Read more
U.S. drought could spoil good weather in Western Canada
Watching the jet stream Meteorologist Drew Lerner has good and bad news for prairie farmers for this spring, summer and fall
What happens in the U.S. rarely stays in the U.S. Examples include low interest rates and difficult borrowing conditions, reduced Canadian exports because of American financial wrecks and high agricultural commodity prices caused by American corn-for-fuel policies and short U.S. grain supplies. But does it have to be the weather, too? This year’s predictions for […] Read more
