Most canola growers don’t want to hear lectures about three-year or four-year rotations. However, it’s not because they don’t want three-year rotations; it’s because they can’t. “The message of extend your canola rotation is on deaf ears because there aren’t many other (crop) options,” said Brett Halstead, president of the Canadian Canola Growers Association and […] Read more
Tag Archives Agronomy
Durum acres fall prey to fusarium
Winter cereals gain in popularity as durum production grinds to a halt in areas once considered safe from fusarium head blight
Fields that once grew profitable durum no longer do so because of fusarium, leaving some to speculate that prairie durum may go the way of the dodo bird and the dinosaur. Plant breeding and fungicide application can do only so much in the war on fusarium. As a result, strategic rotation has become an increasingly […] Read more
Major setback or minor disruption?
It is clear that heavy rains have caused yield and quality damage to this year’s lentil crop but it’s too early to assess the extent of the damage, say experts. Much of the prime lentil growing region of Saskatchewan has received excess summer rainfall. A wide swath, stretching from the southwestern corner of the province […] Read more
Telemetry; wireless data transfer key to precision ag
It seems that I have a greater appreciation for history as I age. What I’ve found is that many instances in history can be applied to these current times of advancing technology. Data communication is one of those technologies that have evolved as precision agriculture has advanced. As a favourite quote says, “there is always […] Read more
Herbicides keep costs down, help feed world
If farmers stopped using herbicides many environmental groups would be pleased, but consumers may not rejoice because food would be much, much more expensive. A Weed Science Society of America study has concluded that corn yields would drop by 52 percent and soybean yields by 49.5 percent in the U.S. and Canada, if producers didn’t […] Read more
VIDEO: Auxin research may hold key to heat resistance
EDMONTON — When canola crops begin to bloom and the summer heat cranks up to around 30 C, there is nothing growers can do to protect their crops from heat-induced flower and fruit abortion. But that may change as Jocelyn Ozga’s plant auxin research advances at the University of Alberta. Auxins are a class of […] Read more
Spray early for maximum margins
It is a dilemma faced by most growers at one time or another: spray early and get ahead by killing the first weed flush — those that can compete against the newly seeded crop. Or spray later and control more weeds with one pass. Do the yield losses add up for later season spraying or […] Read more
If you think rocket science is tough, try farming
Agriculture’s complexity means that agronomic advice with solid science behind it is invaluable to producers
Farming isn’t rocket science. It’s much more difficult than that. Understanding the complex workings of soil and plant requires time, effort and an understanding that conditions are constantly changing. Senior adviser Tim Eyrich of Agri-Trend put it this way at a March 2 regional meeting in Lethbridge. “What we do is harder than rocket science. […] Read more
Forage legumes excel at managing phosphorus
Farmers can add phosphorus mobilization to the list of benefits they reap from growing forage legumes, according to research at the University of Saskatchewan. Jeff Schoenau, who leads the research project, said the soil legume crops he tested removed more phosphorus from soil then the annual crops he included in the study. In an effort […] Read more
Canola group wants to improve input data
Program to include crop protection data from large-scale prairie farmers to expand scope of evaluations
REGINA — Farmers are now able to add results from their on-farm trials to the Canola Council of Canada’s research program. The council’s Ultimate Canola Challenge has evaluated crop protection products in small research plots since 2013, but this year it has also incorporated data from larger-scale on-farm trials. “We wanted to develop a protocol […] Read more
