Getting more malting barley selected is one of the surest ways to deliver more dollars into the pocketbooks of western Canadian grain growers. But this long-standing, value-added opportunity has been tough to bank on, with only 15 to 25 percent of malting barley production typically selected for malting. A key hurdle is the high level […] Read more
Production — page 100
Barley research brews profit for growers
Precision system allows fifth tank
An Alberta company has developed technology that South African farmers are using to control five separate tanks in their air cart. Minimum-till farmers Jannie and Kobus Baard control the five tanks on their air seeder cart with a Zynx Mini ECU developed by Kee Technologies of Alberta. The Baards grow wheat, barley, oats and canola […] Read more
New peat granules off limits in Canada
Peat granules: only in America you say? Pity. Tonnes of new Rhizobium bacteria and Penicillium bilaii fungi-infected peat moss granules are growing quietly on palates in a shiny new, 110,000 sq. foot warehouse and production facility in Saskatoon. But the new technology that will allow American producers of pulse crops to take advantage of the […] Read more
Inoculation good bet in bad year
Red ink will be hard to avoid this spring when pencilling out seeding choices, but some production investments could help make the best of it. Fran Walley, a professor and head of soil science at the University of Saskatchewan, said when it comes to pulse crops, inoculating them with Rhizobium bacteria “is the best bargain […] Read more
Four drills open the seeding window
BLACKIE, Alta. – James Palin says the window of opportunity is what it’s all about in farming. By fitting exactly into the seeding window, farmers can reduce weed problems through the growing season and reduce risk when harvest comes around. “A late seeded crop is a late maturing crop,” said Palin, who farms near Blackie. […] Read more
Dual drill investment pays off
Allan Rumpf and his family pay attention to the numbers when it comes to major decisions such as buying seed drills. He farms 9,400 acres at Battleford, Sask., with his brother Perry and father Henry. When they ran the numbers on the pair of ConservaPak ILS drills they bought in 2005, they received a pleasant […] Read more
Improper fertilizer impedes nodulation
Using a starter application of nitrogen fertilizer can reduce nodulation of pulse crops. Fran Walley of the University of Saskatchewan said the addition of extra nitrogen to pulse crops at the time of seeding is unnecessary in most cases. “Often it appears to impede the plant’s own ability to fix N from the air.” Walley […] Read more
New Products
Chainsaw sawmill The Norwood PortaMill, along with a chainsaw and household ladder, allows users to make dimensional lumber such as 2x4s or 6x6s in their back yard. The PortaMill operates with a hand-push feed system and uses a chainsaw as the sawhead. The cutting depth can be adjusted by turning the sawhead to adjust crank […] Read more
Disc drill mid-row bands ammonia
CARMANGAY, Alta. – At first glance, Dennis Benci’s John Deere 1860 looks like a standard three-row disc drill. Except John Deere didn’t make a three-row 1860 drill. In the late 1990s, Benci, a seed grower near Carmangay, Alta., was seeding with a New Noble Seedovator. “I would classify that as minimum till – it’s a […] Read more
Winter wheat acreage jumps
Despite the seemingly bad conditions for seeding winter wheat last fall, Statistics Canada reports that acreage in 2005 has increased dramatically to 750,000 acres across the prairie provinces. That represents the biggest winter wheat crop since the mid-1980s, when prairie farmers seeded 1.1 million acres. In 2005, Manitoba farmers led the way sowing 330,000 acres. […] Read more
