EDMONTON – Polish canola may soon become more attractive to farmers as plant breeders develop new varieties with improved traits, yields and competitive advantages over its Argentine cousins. “We have some hybrids that are doing really well,” says Kevin Falk, the plant breeder who is leading Canada’s Polish canola breeding program at Agriculture Canada’s research […] Read more
Production
Polish canola stages comeback
Study compares nitrogen rate, returns
WEYBURN, Sask. – Canola responded best to nitrogen fertilizer among four oilseeds at four different Saskatchewan locations, according to a three-year study. But that doesn’t mean applying more nitrogen is better, especially during these times of high fertilizer prices. Research agronomist Bill May told farmers attending the Indian Head Agricultural Research Foundation winter seminar here […] Read more
Trials show super urea delivers little benefit
WEYBURN, Sask. – Farmers who are banding their fertilizer and not at risk of excess fall moisture likely won’t find any advantages to using super urea on their spring wheat, one study has found. Don Flaten, from the University of Manitoba’s soil science department, said companies are marketing distinct products like super urea to farmers […] Read more
New rotation boosts yields
LETHBRIDGE – Researchers have been able to significantly increase potato yields by using an irrigated sustainable rotational program instead of conventional cropping systems. Frank Larney, a researcher with Agriculture Canada, told farmers attending a recent Irrigated Crop Production conference in Lethbridge that a trend toward better performance in sustainable versus conventional rotations is starting to […] Read more
New Products
New tractor models Case IH is extending its Puma line of tractors with four new models: the Puma 115 with 95 p.t.o. horsepower; the Puma 125 with 105 p.t.o. h.p., the Puma 140 with 120 p.t.o. h.p., and the Puma 155 with 135 p.t.o. h.p. The new models are built on a shorter wheelbase, making […] Read more
Zone tillage controls erosion
LETHBRIDGE – Watching topsoil blow off southern Alberta sugar beet fields was the inspiration behind a new tillage machine. Wayne Veenstra of Taber, Alta., turned an old cultivator into a 44 foot zone tillage machine to help protect tiny seedlings battered by southern Alberta’s strong wind. Some years farmers need to reseed hundreds of acres […] Read more
Farmers test canola harvest systems
Whether canola should be straight cut or not is a complex question. Some answers have been found through research by the Wheatland Conservation Area agricultural producers group based at Swift Current, Sask., said Bryan Nybo. “Canola is a difficult crop to straight cut due to shattering. And as the price increases along with input costs, […] Read more
Prairie insect experts watch grasshopper risk
It could be a bad year for grasshoppers in some pockets of Manitoba. John Gavloski of Manitoba Agriculture says that under the right weather conditions the high egg populations that were found in the 267 August surveys in Manitoba have the potential to produce more than 12 grasshoppers per sq. metre. Provincial entomologists are meeting […] Read more
What’s bugging Alberta farmers where
LETHBRIDGE – Cabbage seedpod and pea leaf weevil were the pests responsible for the greatest amount of crop damage in Alberta in 2007, but they aren’t the only pests plaguing Alberta farms, says Scott Meers, an insect management specialist with Alberta Agriculture. He advised farmers attending an Irrigated Crop Production Update meeting in Lethbridge to […] Read more
Alta. discovers wheat midge in ‘extreme numbers’
LETHBRIDGE – Wheat midge, which is responsible for millions of dollars of wheat damage in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, is set to become a serious problem in Alberta for the first time. “It has never looked like this in Alberta,” Alberta Agriculture insect specialist Scott Meers told producers attending an Irrigated Crop Production Update meeting in […] Read more
