VANCOY, Sask. – Fusarium head blight will likely need special attention this year. Mike Bakker, BASF’s brand manager for fungicides and agriculture products, told a recent field day that this year’s wet conditions have created ideal conditions for fungal diseases such as fusarium. The disease could be seen in areas that haven’t been previously affected, […] Read more
Tag Archives Production — page 5
Fusarium, sclerotinia risk high in wet areas
Manitoba set to turn manure into electricity
WINNIPEG – A dairy operation near Winkler, Man., could be producing electricity next winter from manure. Manitoba Hydro, the crown corporation that generates and distributes energy in the province, intends to build a biogas digester that will generate 50 kilowatts of electricity and heat from the manure of 200 cows at Sweetridge Farms. The digester, […] Read more
New pulse inoculant fixes N fixing
FORT MACLEOD, Alta. – Pea and lentil growers are getting a new set of bugs. But these they are going to pay for. They are tiny rhizobial bacteria that need to populate pea and lentil roots to flourish, reproduce and fix nitrogen. It is the last part that is important to pulse growers, and Becker […] Read more
How sweet it is to be new wheat on the block
LINDELL BEACH, B.C. – First there was sweet corn. Now there’s sweet wheat. Sweet corn emerged naturally as a result of a spontaneous mutation in field corn, and sweet wheat has followed the same path. Japanese researchers say it could become a healthy part of human diets. Writing in the American Chemical Society’sJournal of Agricultural […] Read more
Tissue tests can pay by revealing true crop needs
Tissue tests are money well spent for growers who are unsure if their crop needs more nutrients, says John Heard, a soil fertility specialist with Manitoba Agriculture. “If (it) looks like there’s some ailment, you should do a complete diagnostic evaluation, which generally includes a tissue test and a soil test,” he said. Farmers Edge, […] Read more
Is the small, mixed farm a model for safer food production?
The farm in a toddler’s storybook has a few chickens, cattle and sheep, rolling green fields and a garden. For many city folks, this is the vision of the ideal farm, the place they think their food comes from, if they think of it at all beyond the grocery store shelf. But in agriculture, we […] Read more
Japanese brome grass
Japanese brome grass, a cool season annual, is native to the eastern region of Japan, as the name bromus japonicus implies, and central Europe. It is considered an invasive alien species and competes with native perennials for resources in pastures and where reclamation is taking place on oil and gas sites, roadsides and where water […] Read more
Ag manufacturers eyeing Saskatchewan tractor design team
Engineering students from the University of Saskatchewan continue to get high marks in competition while attracting attention from U.S. Midwest implement manufacturers. The Sled Dogs team put in its best showing at the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers’ annual quarter scale tractor international student design competition, held this year in Peoria, Illinois, June […] Read more
Late planting tips
THE CANOLA COUNCIL OF CANADA SAYS FARMERS WHO PLANT LATE CAN TAKE FIVE STEPS TO SPEED MATURITY. Shallow seeding •Seeding canola at a depth of half an inch with good soil-to-seed contact can improve overall maturity by three to four days, compared to seed placed at an inch or more. Increase seeding rate •A higher […] Read more
Weed of the Week: dandelion
The demise of tillage sparked the rise of dandelions. The tap-rooted pest has become a problem for producers in regions where it was once found in pastures, alfalfa fields and roadside ditches. The weed, formally known as taraxacum officinale, survives cursory cultivation by discers and usually succumbs only to a deeply set sweep followed by […] Read more
