Food and conversations are two fundamental parts of holiday plans for many people, as we head out to Christmas dinners and New Year parties with family and friends.If you’re a farmer, chances are someone will ask “how was harvest?” or “how’d the weather impact your farm this year?” or the popular “how much is a combine these days?,” notes Ellen… Read More
Category: Crop Schools
The rain that helped Western Canadian farmers grow big wheat yields in 2016 also created some quality problems that are complicating the marketing of the 31.7 million tonne crop.Almost half (48.6 percent) of the Canada Western Red Spring wheat samples received by the Canadian Grain Commission in its voluntary harvest sample program were downgraded due… Read More
Preliminary results from a three-year research project in North Dakota show row spacings in many soybean fields are too wide to reach their maximum yield potential.A team of agronomists and extension agents at North Dakota State University are surveying growers to generate baseline data on soybean management practices in the state. Their goal is to identify… Read More
RealAgriculture agronomist Peter Johnson stirred up a hornet’s nest earlier this year when he suggested Ontario cash croppers grow shorter-season soybeans so they can plant winter wheat earlier to optimize cereal yield.In this episode of Soybean School, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs’ soybean specialist Horst Bohner weighs in on the debate. To… Read More
Growing soybeans in Ontario in 2016 was a real nail biter.Even Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs soybean specialist Horst Bohner admits to being pretty nervous as the soybean crop struggled through a dry July. Many farmers were lucky when rains arrived in August, but a good portion of the province – Niagara… Read More
Can you drive your combine – with the head – down a narrow road to the next farm? Are you tired of header trailers and the need for tow vehicles? John Deere says its new 608FC 8-row folding corn head is the answer to these challenges – just fold the head and go. Deere unveiled… Read More
Seed companies are turning to new sources of resistance to protect canola against blackleg disease, as the pathogen population in Western Canada has adapted over the years.Until recently, most of the varieties marketed as “blackleg resistant” relied on what’s known as the Rlm3 gene, explains Sakaria Liban, pathologist with DL Seeds, in this episode of Canola… Read More
Choosing the right genetics is the most important decision growers make when tackling leaf diseases such as northern corn leaf blight (NCLB).Fungicides applied in-season can provide both curative and preventative benefits, but the battle to fend off yield-robbing leaf diseases starts with your seed choice explains, OMAFRA field pathologist Albert Tenuta.In this episode of the… Read More
Update: The Canola Council of Canada has developed online calculators to determine your target plant density based on your individual field conditions, abilities and appetite for risk, as well as optimum seeding rate. You can find them at CanolaCalculator.ca.While the official industry recommendation for an optimal canola plant stand remains 7 to 10 plants per square foot,… Read More
You may vary inputs based on field history or soil type, but have you considered treating your wheat differently, based on variety?It turns out that there are significant differences between how varieties respond to nitrogen, fungicide, and plant growth regulators. How a variety performs depends not just on its age, but where the background genetic material… Read More