Category: Crop Schools

Fifteen years ago, University of Guelph’s Dr. Clarence Swanton helped revolutionize weed control with his pioneering research on the critical weed-free period for soybeans and corn.Essentially, Swanton helped usher in the thinking that weeds that emerge with or shortly after the crop cause irreversible yield loss. He defined the critical weed-free period as 1st to… Read More

Editor’s note: The Canadian verticillium stakeholders committee has decided to call the disease caused by Verticillium longisporum “verticillium stripe” instead of “verticillium wilt.” This story has been updated to reflect the new terminology.The canola industry is in the early stages of understanding what it’s up against with a new fungal disease. Verticillium stripe (previously called… Read More

Consistent planting depth and even emergence — it’s every corn grower’s goal, but it can be difficult to achieve.In this Corn School episode, AGRIS Co-operative agronomist Dale Cowan takes a close look at the impact planter down force can play in helping (or hindering) growers in their quest for an evenly spaced, picket fence stand.“With… Read More

Are you paying enough attention to your soil? That’s the first question Iowa crop consultant Michael McNeill asks farmers when they want to talk about how to increase soybean yields.“Soil health is vital to optimizing profits in any crop we try to grow. Without good soil health we don’t have a chance,” says McNeill. He’s… Read More

Do you grow wheat in a high-yield or low-yield part of the world?A farmer in the UK set the new record for world wheat yield in 2015, growing 16.52 tonnes per hectare or 246 bushels per acre. He broke the previous record of 233 bushels per acre set in New Zealand in 2010.In this Wheat… Read More

In this episode of the Corn School, Real Agriculture resident agronomist Peter Johnson goes cover crop crazy.Standing in a residue-covered cornfield, Johnson sounds off on growers who insist on chopping corn stalks: “What a labour intensive, fuel expensive, ridiculous thing to do – it makes no sense whatsoever.”What makes better sense for growers, says Johnson,… Read More

As soybeans are introduced and grown more frequently in rotations that already include canola in Western Canada, growers may find their soil bank accounts for phosphorus and potassium running low.Both canola and soybeans are heavy users/removers of P and K, explains Laryssa Grenkow of Manitoba Pulse and Soybean Growers in this Canola School episode, filmed… Read More

What a difference a year makes. Back in spring 2015, Ontario farmers were scrambling to manage an abundance of corn stalk residue and grappling with questions about tillage and how to fix fields full of ruts caused by a challenging harvest.Fast forward to spring 2016 and farmers are facing a much more favourable planting environment,… Read More

How confident are you that your pea and lentil seed is not limiting yield potential before you even put it in the ground?With rising acres leading to a shortage of certified seed, there are serious concerns about the quality of the seed that will be used this spring.Sarah Foster of 20/20 Seed Labs joins our own Kelvin Heppner for this… Read More

Is your planter ready to go?In this episode of Real Agriculture Corn School, Kearney Planters Service Tech Lead Shaun Dilliott gives you a short course in how to prep your planter for the coming season.Dilliott’s clinic starts with inspecting the row unit and the need to a take close look at the parallel linkages, one… Read More