Category: Crop Schools

Winter wheat can yield up to 45 percent more than spring wheat, so why don’t more Western Canadian growers crank up the seeder and get more in the ground before the snow flies?Winter wheat is grown across the Prairies, but unless there is a large amount of a certain class grown, it’s difficult for the… Read More

Relatively few cases of clubroot have been confirmed in Saskatchewan, but with many documented cases just to the west in Alberta an obvious question emerges – has Saskatchewan been good or has it been lucky?In this episode of Real Agriculture’s Canola School, Errin Willenborg, research director with SaskCanola, discusses the status of the clubroot monitoring… Read More

Have you set your western bean cutworm (WBC) traps yet?Setting traps is the most effective means of determining whether the yield-robbing pest is setting up shop in your cornfields. In this episode of RealAgriculture Corn School, OMAFRA field entomologist Tracey Baute shows growers how to set traps and discusses the growing importance of the WBC Trap Network.In… Read More

Many Ontario farmers will remember when they routinely sprayed soybean crops to control bean leaf beetle. That changed 10 years ago with the introduction of neonicotinoid insecticide seed treatments, which helped suppress populations of the pest in Ontario and many U.S. states.But the pest is mounting a comeback as neonic use continues to decline and many… Read More

Is the clock ticking on the future of your ground sprayer? Could it eventually be replaced by a swarm of UAV sprayers that could better target weeds and deliver herbicide to exact locations in the field?These are questions we explore with AGRIS Co-operative agronomist Dale Cowan on this episode of RealAgriculture’s Corn School. Cowan recently watched ChiDa… Read More

Seeding rates are always a hot topic, and for good reason. The only thing more expensive than buying and planting too much canola seed is not having enough seed in the ground and losing yield potential.Canola Council of Canada agronomist Ian Epp is often asked, “Can I lower my seeding rate?” as farmers are sensitive… Read More

Hot days and warm nights have produced lots of head snag in Ontario winter wheat fields.RealAgriculture agronomist Peter Johnson explains that a string of 30-degree days and 20-degree nights earlierthis spring promoted rapid growth in wheat fields just as the wheat crop was heading out.Those are perfect conditions for head snag. “Some of the heads… Read More

Stripe rust is back again in Ontario wheat fields for the third consecutive year.The leaf disease first showed up in the province in 2016, and earlier this week Agromart agronomist Nicole Bloetjes reported 2018’s first stripe rust sighting in a field near St. Marys.Should wheat growers be concerned? What should you do? In this episode… Read More

The introduction of protein price discounts by at least one soybean buyer in Western Canada this past winter has left soybean growers wondering what can be done to ensure Prairie soybeans are high enough in protein content.Unfortunately, there’s no quick or easy management fix, says Dennis Lange, pulse and soybean production specialist with Manitoba Agriculture.“The… Read More

What’s the ideal depth for planting corn? What happens if you plant too shallow?In this episode of RealAgriculture’s Corn School, PRIDE Seeds agronomist Aaron Stevanus digs into a seeding depth trial to show how planting depth can impact early-season growth.We catch up with Stevanus at the company’s Elmira, ON, research site where he evaluates the early-season vigour… Read More