Half of prairie rye acres are now hybrids, which has increased yields by more than 20 percent in good growing conditions
This is part of an ongoing series of stories exploring rye, the crop, as it becomes Rye, the whisky. Rye has been grown as long as there have been farmers on the Prairies, but little of that experience and history means much when it comes to today’s hybrid varieties. The rye varieties that are seeing […] Read moreTag Archives rye — page 2
Rye’s agricultural journey set over thousands of years
This is part of an ongoing series of stories exploring rye, the crop, as it becomes Rye, the whisky. Rye as a crop is older than the pyramids. It might have filled the bellies of the very first farmers as the last ice age was melting. Other stories in this series: More producers start growing […] Read more
Growing rye for seed is quirky but fun
This is part of an ongoing series of stories exploring rye, the crop, as it becomes Rye, the whisky. There’s a problem when a niche crop catches on with farmers. “It causes you to add more bins and keep growing capacity,” said Enchant, Alta., seed grower Greg Stamp in an interview this spring, as he […] Read more
Farmer finds new uses for old crop of rye
This is part of an ongoing series of stories exploring rye, the crop, as it becomes Rye, the whisky. ROCKWOOD, Man. — It was a grey, misty, late September 2022 day in the dankest land on Curtis McRae’s farm. He didn’t seed it in the spring. He couldn’t. It was too wet. That isn’t as […] Read more
Hybrid rye silage offers crop options
Fall-seeded crop is good at making the most of seasonal moisture and then leaves the field available for planting barley
Livestock producers chasing moisture for their forage crops could benefit from taking a look at hybrid fall rye, according to researchers at the University of Saskatchewan. “It seems to me that we are seeing different weather patterns,” said Greg Penner. “I can’t say they’re predictable, but in some years we get a fall moisture event […] Read more
Successful year for hybrid rye growers on the prairies
Hybrid rye acres may hit 25,000 to 30,000 acres this fall, which is about 10 percent of all rye acres in Western Canada. Statistics Canada says prairie farmers seeded 300,000 acres of rye last fall. Rain and wet soil conditions this fall probably cut into acreage, but hybrid rye acres are on the rise. “We […] Read more
The catch is in the rye
Once a popular prairie crop, rye has taken a backseat to more profitable crops in recent decades. But factors are coming into play to put fall rye back in our vocabulary: KWS hybrid rye varieties are now available through a Regina-based farmer-owned company called FP Genetics. About 20,000 acres of those hybrids are growing on […] Read more
A guide to big rye
Hybrid rye variety yields 100 bushels per acre in bad conditions and double that number in Saskatchewan test plots
With a proven potential of 200 bushels per acre in prairie conditions, treating hybrid rye the same as conventional open rye varieties or winter wheat will guarantee you a disappointing harvest. “We’ve seen 200 bushels an acre in Western Canada. That was at Indian Head. It was just kissing 200 bushels in research plots,” says […] Read moreFarmers sing praises of hybrid rye
Morris, Man. — David Hamblin, an FP Genetics shareholder, has one Brasetto harvest under his belt. After getting hit with 25 percent hail damage in 2015, his 60-acre field still averaged 95 bushels per acre. “We would have been well over 100 (bushels) if we hadn’t gotten the hail. I wish we’d had 1,000 acres […] Read more
Canadian rye high in whiskey business
If award-winning Crown Royal doesn’t put the words ‘fall rye’ back in your mouth, potential yields of 200 bushels per acre might do the trick
Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye Whiskey from Seagram’s Gimli distillery grabbed Canada’s attention by winning the Jim Murray’s Whiskey Bible 2016 World Whisky of the Year Award. The fact that Northern Harvest is distilled with 95 percent real rye no doubt drew the attention of some prairie farmers. After all, rye whiskey seems to be […] Read more
