The 919 moisture meter has been a common sight in prairie grain elevators for more than half a century. Anyone who has sold grain has likely had their product pass through the cup of the venerable 919. Producers also buy the 919 to check grain moisture on the farm before loading the truck. Although the […] Read more
Production — page 92
Grain moisture reader stands test of time
Weigh risks of bin-run hybrid canola
RED DEER – With hybrid canola seed costing as much as $5 a pound or more, some growers may be considering bin-run seed this spring to keep their input costs down. “Certainly the most controversial topic I’ve dealt with this winter has been farm-saved hybrid canola seed, or bin vigour. The interest in bin-run seed […] Read more
Assessing frost damage takes patience
Assessing spring frost damage is an art as well as a science, agrologists say. Although frosts can come in any month, those that arrive shortly after seeding create difficult assessments and choices for producers. Frost injury to plant tissue occurs when ice forms inside the tissues and threatens cellular structures. At 0 C, water surrounding […] Read more
New Products
Silo unloader The new Harvestore XL silo unloader is more powerful than its predecessors. The XL is capable of moving 400 pounds per minute of 55 percent moisture hay silage through chain and arm force. Force at the end of the arm is 1,150 lb. Conveyor and cutter chains are tested for up to 71,000 […] Read more
Nitrogen fertilizer speeds chickpea maturity
Chickpeas are notorious for not maturing in Western Canada’s restricted growing season. Yantai Gan, researcher with Agriculture Canada in Swift Current, Sask., has been working on shortening the chickpea maturation period to help farmers get crops in the bin dry and with fewer green seeds. Field experiments were conducted at Swift Current and Shaunavon, Sask., […] Read more
Legumes ideal for pastures
Inputs comprise such a large share of farm production costs that producers are starting to rethink their approaches to production, says Saskatchewan Agriculture forage development specialist Trevor Lennox. “One of the tools cattle producers have is legumes,” he said. “I work with cattle producers and alfalfa is by far the best resource we can work […] Read more
Polymer coat extends rhizobia life
Farmers normally have a 24 to 48 hour window to get their pulse seed into the ground after inoculating it with nitrogen-fixing bacteria. Wait too long and the bacteria start to die off. But coating the inoculated seed with a polymer can extend the life of those bacteria up to 30 days, allowing growers to […] Read more
Mobile unit coats seed on the farm
Pat Michetti and Ken Getty have 10 dealers coating pulse seed for western Canadian farmers. Five of their machines are mobile, which Michetti said they build for dealers at cost. Farmers prefer the mobile machines, she added. “The mobiles are set up to accommodate if he’s coming out of a bin, a semi or a […] Read more
Coating service debuts
CHURCHBRIDGE, Sask. – In 2002, Warren Kaeding was looking for a better seed treater. Around that time, a seed company from Delisle, Sask., had secured the rights to a polymer coating called Protec. The company had designed a treater for the coating and was looking for interested dealers. “They called us, we looked at it, […] Read more
Polymer coating protects urea granules
Polymer coating has jumped from seed to fertilizer. Agrium’s new environmentally sensitive nitrogen granular urea is now registered for Canadian non-food products such as forages and timothy, which do not go directly into the human food chain. In the United States, where environmental legislation affecting agriculture is much stricter, some states now pay farmers an […] Read more
