Category: Crop Schools

Harvest weed seed control is one option when it comes to managing some of our resistant weeds across the prairies. However, when it comes to wild oats, they shed their weed seeds before harvest time comes around. Breanne Tidemann, research scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), has published a paper on some of the... Read More

Should you go ground or air? That's the question many growers struggle with as they try to determine the best method of applying disease-fighting fungicide to their growing corn crops. On this episode of RealAgriculture Corn School we tackle that question with two of North America's leading plant pathologists — University of Kentucky's Kiersten Wise... Read More

Many farmers are familiar with consulting economic threshold charts when it comes time to control insects, but many may be surprised to learn that there are economic thresholds for other pests, too. Gregory Sekulic, agronomy specialist with the Canola Council of Canada, explains in this Canola School episode that although spraying is an important tool,... Read More

Are Ontario farmers doing a better job of getting phosphorus to stay put on their farms? Over the past decade, farmers, agronomists, researchers and governments have ramped up efforts to reduce the amount of phosphorus leaving farm fields and creating environmental challenges in areas such as the Lake Erie and Sainte-Claire watersheds. University of Waterloo... Read More

When it comes to stress on a canola crop, there are two 'buckets' that it can fall into: abiotic stress and biotic stress. Biotic stressors can include things such as harmful insects — flea beetles, for example — and abiotic stressors have to do with factors dealing with the environment, such as frost. This time... Read More

How many crop heat units (CHU) does corn need to emerge? That's a question many growers are asking as their corn seed shivers through the cold spring 2020 growing conditions. On this episode of RealAgriculture's Corn School, we put that question to Dale Cowan, AGRIS Co-operative agronomist. He says that corn seed typically requires 165... Read More

When it comes to emergence of the wheat crop, producers often have many hopes of what that should look like — without necessarily knowing how to manage those expectations. Often, stand emergence is judged on seedling vigour. However, as Jeremy Boychyn, agronomy research extension specialist with the Alberta Wheat and Barley Commissions explains in this... Read More

Soybeans can handle cold, dry conditions at planting, but growers need to be careful when a cold, wet forecast is bearing down on their farm. Planting is proceeding quickly across Ontario, but many growers are asking if they should park the planter as an early-May polar vortex approaches the province — daytime highs of 3... Read More

Drier weather over the last few years has taken some of the wind out of soybeans' sails in Western Canada, but there's a case to be made that fundamental climate trends on the Prairies still support good soybeans yields in the longer term. Especially if growers are on the ball with planting when the soil... Read More

Before any crops go in the ground, many producers are already thinking, "How can I make my harvest go smoothly?" When it comes to growing pulse crops — especially peas and lentils — one of the ways you can get ahead is by land rolling. This is done to ensure uniformity in the field, by... Read More