The microbiomes of animals, on and in crops, and in soil and water are incredibly complex that are intricately interconnected, with each influencing the others in various ways. Dr. Tim McAllister, principal research scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, has spent nearly a decade studying microbiomes, referring to them as the one health microbiome or... Read More
Category: Crop Production
This week is all about bone-chilling cold in Ontario and many parts of Western Canada, but does that mean fall seeded crops are in trouble? It depends. On this week's episode of Wheat Pete's Word host Peter Johnson explains why growing point location, air temp, and snow cover all matter when expecting survival of winter... Read More
Harvesting pulse crops that are low to the ground, whether through lodging or because of a dry season, can lead to shatter losses, reducing yield, grain quality and complicating harvest. The concept behind the S3 AWS Airbar is to have an air assist system attached to the combine header that directs what would otherwise be... Read More
The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness (OMAFA) is getting ready to update its soil management recommendations for farmers in the province. That job will be in the hands of the Ontario Soil Management Committee (OSMC), a group that's been around since the late 1980s, and has acted as a gatekeeper of guidelines published... Read More
Phosphorus plays a critical role in early seedling development and is needed throughout the growing season to achieve top yields. Phosphorus is also not mobile in the soil, as it gets held tightly to soil particles. Roots do their best to seek out and mineralize phosphorus, but managing P requires long-term planning. To dive in... Read More
When he started soil sampling fields in Walkerton, Ont., during high school, a career in agronomy wasn't on the radar for Jonathan Zettler. But after working with agronomists and farm retail staff it didn't take long for him take a shine to the idea of working with crops and calling the field his office. Fast... Read More
Grazing corn is becoming increasingly more common. So is grazing cover crops. But what happens when you put the two together? How wide should the corn rows be in order to make space for the cover crop? And is this a profitable way of farming? Byron Long of Long Family Farm at Barrhead County, Alberta... Read More
Could everyday consumer waste be an effective soil amendment that promotes a healthy microbial soil community and contribute to productive and profitable crops? There's a growing body of scientific evidence that supports the practice and research being conducted by the University of Alberta's Dr. Derek MacKenzie is poised to share new understanding of how waste... Read More
Without new demand for corn and soybeans, producers are facing a sideways market plateau that could last 10 years. Over the next decade, corn could be anchored in a $4.30 to $4.40 trading range and soybeans could be stuck in the same mud at $10.30 to $10.40, says University of Illinois farm management professor Gary... Read More
The Saskatchewan government has released the 2024 Clubroot Distribution Map, identifying the rural municipalities (RMs) where clubroot has been identified since its first occurrence in the province in 2008. The map reflects findings from last year's permission-based survey. No new cases of canola plants with visible symptoms of clubroot were identified in the province in... Read More