Reducing fungi populations in a field is the oldest way of treating fungal-based plant disease. It is also time consuming and usually involves long-term crop rotations that force producers to avoid certain profitable crops, such as canola and sunflower. Contans WG has been popular for controlling sclerotinia in France for a decade. It might have […] Read more
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Treat the soil, treat the disease: a new approach
Varroa mite control closer to reality
LINDELL BEACH, B.C. – A new discovery could pave the way for more effective chemicals to protect honeybees from the deadly varroa parasite. Researchers at Michigan State University have figured out how to produce proteins in the laboratory that help channel sodium ions through cell membranes of the varroa mite. The findings, which could lead […] Read more
Ontario warming up to energy crops
LONDON, Ont. – Agricultural energy crops appear poised to change Ontario’s landscape. The supply of farm-grown biomass is small, but interest and production are growing. Ontario Federation of Agriculture policy analyst Ted Cowan told a recent Growing the Margins conference in London that energy crops can compete as a source of heat with propane and […] Read more
Energy project sets sail after temporary delay
A wind farm project six years in the making is going ahead in southeastern Saskatchewan. The $60 million Red Lily Wind Energy Project, a joint effort of Algonquin Power and Gaia Power, will erect 16 turbines in the Moosomin area. Two of the turbines will be located in the Rural Municipality of Moosomin and the […] Read more
Chicken manure seen in new light
LONDON, Ont. – Chicken producers may one day have a new perspective on the manure litter they remove from their barns. The smelly waste product could end up being more valuable than the meat. “There are more than 500 chemicals in chicken manure,” Agriculture Canada researcher Zakir Kazi told a recent Growing the Margins conference […] Read more
Hormone eases transplants’ move to fields
LINDELL BEACH, B.C. – Moving vegetables from the controlled environment of a greenhouse to variable weather conditions in an open field often results in stressed plants during the critical adjustment phase. Daniel Leskovar, a plant physiologist with Texas AgriLife Research, has been investigating ways to help plants make the transition more easily, which would improve […] Read more
Vancouver Island beekeepers seek answers to colony deaths
LONDON, Ont. – Chicken producers may one day have a new perspective on the manure litter they remove from their barns. The smelly waste product could end up being more valuable than the meat. “There are more than 500 chemicals in chicken manure,” Agriculture Canada researcher Zakir Kazi told a recent Growing the Margins conference […] Read more
Wheat survives frost in western EU
HAMBURG (Reuters) – Western European Union wheat plantings have emerged without major damage from the Arctic-style temperatures seen this winter and hopes of a good harvest are increasing, traders and analysts said last week. Wheat in France, Germany and Britain survived deep frosts under snow cover, they said. In its first forecast for the 2010 […] Read more
Higher prices keep prairie lambs at home
Record high Easter lamb prices have given sheep farmers a much needed boost. Miles Buswell, manager of sheep and goat sales at Beaver Hill Auction in Tofield, Alta., said prices for spring lamb at the Easter sale March 22 set record highs. The highlight of the sale was 65-pound lambs fetching $219 per hundredweight. Several […] Read more
Unique ways to enjoy pulses
EDMONTON – Bean caviar and pea-a-beef sausage may not be on the menu anytime soon, but organizers of a food competition hope the ideas spark a passion for pulses. The goal of Mission ImPulseible is to get the food industry thinking more creatively about how to use pulses, said Peter Watts, director of market innovation […] Read more
