Solid commodity prices are being undercut by higher fertilizer prices, but the right plan will preserve margins
If you haven’t talked with your fertilizer dealer for a while, you may want to be seated when you ask about prices. They have been moving up quickly since fall. For those of you who haven’t been able to put your fertilizer down last fall, take it into storage on-farm or pre-price it, this year […] Read moreTag Archives Agronomy Precisely — page 2
Cereals, yield and the 13.5 percent solution
Whether you know it or not, you will go through a nutrient plan; either on paper or in your mind. You will have just completed the harvest phase of your nutrient plan. A plan may look something like this. The evaluation phase may be confusing and difficult, because, as every farmer knows, every year is […] Read more
This is what I’ve learned from the last 12 months
This is the time of year when there is time to reflect back on the season that just wrapped up and try to take some lessons from what we did and what happened. Here are a few notes that I made. Wheat planted early, followed by three weeks of cold weather, will successfully germinate and […] Read more
This year’s harvest the most challenging in recent memory
Farmers will be confronted with a lot of decisions this fall when it comes to harvest management. We all recognize the curveballs that mother nature threw this spring. The soil was dry in many areas. This, along with some management decisions around soil preparation and fertilizer applications, resulted in many producers planting into extremely dry […] Read more
Retain your alfalfa by sparing it a later, second cut in August
This year’s abnormally cool and dry spring has resulted in feed shortages across much of Western Canada. This will result in many producers trying to get a second cut of alfalfa off. To ensure that your alfalfa goes into winter in the best condition, it is recommended that you observe a hiatus from cutting during […] Read more
Nitrogen most important of crop nutrients
This is the fourth column on macro-nutrients. This is part one of a two-part column on nitrogen. Nitrogen is by far the most important, the most complicated, the most controversial and possibly the least understood nutrient commonly used by farmers. Nitrogen is critical to making crops grow, mature and produce grain. A crop lacking nitrogen […] Read more
Sulfur can hold the limit on a crop’s potential
This week, the “nutrient back to the basics” series will discuss the secondary nutrient — sulfur. For much of the world, sulfur has been considered of secondary interest compared to nitrogen, phosphate and potassium. However, as organic matter was depleted and canola, which is a very heavy user of sulfur, grew in popularity, sulfur deficiencies […] Read more
Choosing seeding date can be tricky; early has advantages
Crops can tolerate spring frost better than early fall frost. To offset the cold stress associated with early seeding, follow these best management practices: Seed as early as possible Weather changes at this time of year make it difficult to predict when growers will be on the land. Growers are starting to seed as I […] Read more
Soil microbes more important than once assumed
There are more living organisms in one handful of healthy soil than there are humans on Earth. Their impact on soil fertility may soon change soil testing forever. Soil testing already plays an important role in nutrient management decisions. Standard soil tests reveal levels of particular forms of macro and micro nutrients, pH, salinity and […] Read more
