Crop Management
WINNIPEG – A dairy operation near Winkler, Man., could be producing electricity next winter from manure. Manitoba Hydro, the crown corporation that generates and distributes energy in the province, intends to build a biogas digester that will generate 50 kilowatts of electricity and heat from the manure of 200 cows at Sweetridge Farms. The digester, […] Read more
Crop Management
Manitoba set to turn manure into electricity
Western Producer Crop Report – for Jul. 21, 2011
MANITOBA SOUTHWEST Unseeded land drying Warm weather in July has dried up soaked fields that went unseeded this spring, allowing producers to spray weeds and plant greenfeed. Canola crops are under stress because of excess moisture in June and too much heat in July. Some canola fields are bolting and haven’t cabbaged out. Winter wheat […] Read more
Annual smartweed
The annual smartweed is a dicot that produces 3,000 seeds per plant and can grow up to a metre tall. Plant densities of 150 per sq. metre can reduce wheat yields by 35 percent and canola yields by 25 percent. Fifteen to 20 plants per sq. metre in canola will reduce yields by five percent. […] Read more
Canola roots struggle in wet, compacted soil
It has a reputation as a resilient crop, but canola is struggling to rebound from June’s wet growing conditions in southwestern Manitoba, southeastern Saskatchewan and southern Alberta. Many canola fields south of Manitoba’s Riding Mountain National Park are bolting prematurely because the crop was sitting in soaked soil this spring, said Elmer Kaskiw, a crop […] Read more
Canadian wheat unlikely to get warm reception at U.S. elevators
Hauling grain to U.S. elevators once the Canadian Wheat Board loses its monopoly might not be as easy as many prairie farmers hope, says a North Dakota farm leader. “I can’t imagine that there won’t be an almost-insurrection if guys at harvest time are waiting in line behind Canadian trucks,” said Eric Aasmundstad, president of […] Read more
CGC asks for major user fee increase
The Canadian Grain Commission is asking Ottawa to allow a sharp increase in cost-recovery fees to take effect April 1, 2012. If approved by government, it would cost farmers tens of millions of dollars in higher fees. In a July 8 interview, federal agriculture minister Gerry Ritz said he will wrestle with the question of […] Read more
Churchill port can survive monopoly end
The company that owns the Port of Churchill said the loss of the Canadian Wheat Board’s monopoly on western Canadian grain sales will present challenges but nothing that can’t be overcome through discussions between stakeholders. Mike Ogborn, managing director of OmniTrax, said his company is preparing for what it considers an inevitable end to single-desk […] Read more
Monitor for signs of midge
Timing is everything and that goes for wheat midge too. Starting now, prairie producers need to be on the lookout for the insect pest. Combine this year’s high moisture with a series of normal heat unit days, and midge numbers could be high. The potential for economically damaging infestations to wheat crops is highest in […] Read more
Manitoba buckwheat acres shrink but Sask. climbs aboard
Marc Durand should net a tidy profit from his 210 acres of buckwheat if the weather is just right this summer. Prices for the specialty crop are at “unprecedented levels” of around $15 per acre. Durand, who typically seeds 160 to 300 acres on his farm near Notre Dame, Man., knows he can reap profits […] Read more
Farmers need to act now on fall contract problems
Thousands of farmers might be caught exposed because of the sodden spring, but the recent market downturn is offering them a handy fig leaf to partially hide behind. Farmers in many areas will be unable to meet their existing new crop sales agreements because they won’t be able to harvest most of their crops. Others […] Read more
