Integrating pulses into a cropping rotation can be a great way to break pest and disease cycles, improve soil fertility, and diversify farm income while reducing fertilizer costs. Peas and lentils are a common sight in the western Canadian Prairie pulse growing regions, however the smaller-acreage faba beans and even lupins offer farmers new options... Read More
Category: Crop Schools
As farmers across the country are eager to see their hard-earned canola crop augered into bins, it is already time to start planning for the next growing season. Ordering seed is often where next year's management decisions begin, and the decisions around which resistance package to choose can seem daunting. A large part of deciding... Read More
New herbicide tolerant technology such as Enlist and Xtend soybean systems have helped solve significant management challenges, especially when it comes to tackling glyphosate resistant Canada fleabane and waterhemp. But Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness weed specialist Mike Cowbrough says farmers need to be vigilant when scouting their crops because "nature abhors a... Read More
With an average of over 20 million seeded acres, canola is one of Canada's most widely grown crops. Used for cooking oil, processing foods, biofuel and protein for both animal feed and human consumption, it's safe to say that it's important to keep this vital crop protected from diseases such as clubroot, a disease that... Read More
One of the most common sources of conversation among farmers is the weather. This makes sense, as growers' livelihoods often depend on the balance between too hot or cold, too wet or too dry. Monitoring environmental conditions throughout the growing season can help growers the necessary decisions that impact final yield. Weather stations are one... Read More
After a mild winter, many growers and agronomists had to tackle some very large dandelions during the 2024 growing season. On this episode of the RealAgriculture Corn School, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Farming and Agribusiness weed management specialist Mike Cowbrough shares best practices to control the pesky perennial broadleaf weed. "First of all, it's always... Read More
The list of herbicides that are losing their effectiveness against kochia is growing, leaving fewer tools to control the rapidly-evolving tumbleweed in soybeans. As of 2024, kochia populations in the Canadian Prairies/Northern U.S. Plains region have shown resistance to herbicides in Groups 2, 4, 5, 9, and 14, with some plants showing combined resistance to... Read More
In 1996, fusarium devastated the Ontario wheat crop. More than 90 percent of the crop was downgraded to feed, or sample, or simply dumped in the bush thanks to high deoxynivalenol (DON) levels. In 2024, fusarium was back in Ontario fields, but the crop, with help from improved genetic resistance and improved fungicides, was much... Read More
There's no denying when a spray clean out has gone wrong — the streaky start to a spray pass with injured plants never seems to happen at the back of the farm, either. There are a few things at play, says Tom Wolf, co-founder of AgriMetrix and Sprayers 101. There's the possibility of active ingredient... Read More
RealAgriculture agronomist Peter Johnson says there's no better time to talk about soil health than during wheat harvest. Johnson says all things wheat, including the straw, give growers a tremendous opportunity to increase soil health. Ontario research shows that by adding wheat to the rotation, growers see a five percent increase in corn yield and... Read More