Category: Crop Production

Phosphorus is essential for growing crops, but it becomes a pollutant when too much of it moves into waterways, including major water bodies like Lake Erie. How climate and management practices, such as tile drainage and tillage, impact the movement of nutrients from farm fields into the water system is the focus of much of... Read More

From seeding rates, to seeding date, crop rotation and more, managing herbicide resistant weeds is about so much more than just what you decide to spray your fields with. That's because each decision that impacts weed pressure, also impacts weed control, and every time you go over your crops with a herbicide, you're putting selection... Read More

Responding to demands from both the Canadian wheat industry and international customers, the Canadian Grain Commission has proposed creating a new class of milling wheat for Western Canada. As part of this Wheat School West episode, Daryl Beswitherick, program manager for quality assurance with the CGC, explains they believe the creation of a new milling... Read More

A&L Biologicals Inc. will receive funding of nearly $1.2 million to help develop a diagnostic test aimed at providing corn producers information to "increase their productivity through improved plant and soil health," says an Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada press release. A&L Biologicals will use molecular technologies to detect and diagnose microorganisms that impact corn output.... Read More

Kurtis Peeters, an organic corn grower from Kawartha Lakes has been named as the winner of the "Most Profitable Acre Challenge," a competition put on by the Agri-food Management Institute and presented in partnership with Grain Farmers of Ontario. The business skills competition looks at input costs, production practices, yield, marketing tactics, and business management... Read More

DuPont Crop Protection has announced the registration of new DuPont Express FX herbicide for pre-seed weed control before planting spring wheat, durum or barley. Express FX delivers two modes of action, Group 2 and Group 4, as an add-in to glyphosate. Tank-mixed with Group 9 glyphosate, that makes three modes of action for "an additional... Read More

The Ontario government released today its draft regulation concerning the sale and use of neonicotinoid treated corn and soybean seed as of July 1, 2015. The draft regulation is open for comments until May 7, 2015. The stated goal of the regulations is to reduce neonic-treated corn and soy acres by 80% by 2017. In... Read More

Brassicogethes aeneus, commonly referred to as the pollen beetle and formerly known as Meligethes aeneus, is a major pest of canola in countries like Scandinavia, and, is now present in eastern Canada. And, though they are not yet a problem in western Canada, entomologists are suggesting we become familiar with what to look for. "One... Read More

Are you flying blind when it comes to starting your crop? An untested seed lot is exactly that, untested — you don't know what diseases may be lurking in the bin that could contribute to pathogen load in the field or choke off seedlings before they get a chance to grow. What's more, variable seed... Read More

While soybean breeders have focused on boosting top-end yield, they've also made the crop more resilient in situations with thin plant stands. Speaking at the CropConnect Conference in Winnipeg last month, Shaun Conley of the University of Wisconsin discussed the "phenotypic plasticity" of soybeans, or the crop's ability to compensate for lower plant populations. "It's... Read More