Crop Management
It is not often that Prairie farmers enjoy rising prices as they harvest their crop. Harvest usually pressures prices down as grain enters the handling system, but this year, rising worries about U.S. corn and soybean crops are lifting all crop prices. On Aug. 29, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s weekly crop condition report cut […] Read more
Crop Management
Harvest rally creates opportunities ahead of economic uncertainty
What’s bugging bees?
There is something wrong with bees, the pollinators responsible for adding billions of dollars of value to the world’s crops. An unusually large number of bee colonies are not surviving the winter, but it is not clear why. Some scientists believe the problem is linked to familiar pests and diseases. There is also new evidence […] Read more
Scientists aim to keep bees buzzing
At the end of each winter, beekeepers across Canada follow a common practice: they open their hives to see how many bees survived. Before 2007 Canadian beekeepers, on average, found that 15 percent of hives failed to make it through the winter. But over the last five years, beekeepers are coping with a new normal, […] Read more
Western Producer Crop Report – for Sep. 1, 2011
MANITOBA SOUTHWEST Pea quality good Producers have begun seeding winter wheat and fall rye on unseeded acres. Harvest of spring cereals has begun and desiccation of cereals is well underway. Pea harvest continues and yields are below average, but quality is good. Producers are swathing canola and crop is rated below average. Hay harvest is […] Read more
RapidProbe doubles soil sampling efficiency
SPRINGFIELD, Illinois — The new RapidProbe soil sampling machine pulls twice as many cores per hour as a man on a quad. RapidProbe is the latest high performance soil sampler from Ag-Robotics, the company that produces the tracked on-the-go AutoProbe soil sampler. “AutoProbe was developed for large input dealers and suppliers who have a big […] Read more
Manure rules force soil sampling regulations
SPRINGFIELD, Illinois – There’s a reason why advances in soil sampling technology are flying at us left and right: manure. There were a number of new soil sampling machines on display at the recent InfoAg conference in Illinois. When asked why these machines are now in such a competitive market, the consensus of the manufacturer […] Read more
Getting the sample right, over and over again
SPRINGFIELD, Illinois — The new Wintex 1000 Automatic uses a computer controlled probe to repeatedly hit the exact same depth for each soil sample. Built in Denmark and marketed by Precision Technologies in Iowa, the Wintex made its North American debut at InfoAg here last month. One big factor in sparking the plethora of new […] Read more
Bad rap for flax could soon see turnaround
VEGREVILLE, Alta. — Farmers in the northern half of the Prairies hate growing flax. If any moisture comes at harvest, the plant starts to reflower. If the plant is tough, the crop wraps around the cylinder and farmers spend hours hacking the woody stems out of the combine. “Farmers looked at flax as a poor […] Read more
Man. insect report lists pest, virus expectations
Weather and insect populations go together like soup and marriage, horse and sandwich, love and carriage. “The weather certainly has an impact on insect populations. It affects different insects in different ways,” said John Gavloski, Manitoba provincial entomologist. The cool wet spring followed by a hot dry summer affected the 2011 insect population and is […] Read more
Wheat board producer meetings called biased
The Canadian Wheat Board is under fire for the way it conducted a series of seven producer meetings. Some farmers attending the events said the CWB didn’t allow both sides of the debate to have their say. “The meeting in Regina was really self-promotional propaganda featuring just one side,” said Franck Groeneweg, a grower from […] Read more
