The Pulse Promoter of the Year is an award given annually to celebrate the contributions of an individual in Canada’s pulse industry. On Monday, at Saskatoon’s CropSphere, the Saskatchewan Pulse Growers (SPG) and BASF Canada announced Ed Seidle as the 2014 recipient. “With more than 60 years of successful pedigreed seed production and 25 years... Read More
Category: Crop Production
It's too early to say how big a problem verticillium wilt could become for the Canadian canola industry, but it should be on the radar for growers, says the crop pathologist taking the lead on the new disease issue within Manitoba Agriculture. As reported by Real Ag last week, the first known case of Verticillium... Read More
There could soon be new demand for the oilseed crop camelina as a feed ingredient for poultry. Camelina seed company Smart Earth Seeds is welcoming the Canadian Food Inspection Agency's approval of feeding cold-pressed non-solvent extracted camelina meal to broiler chickens at up to 12 percent inclusion. "This is a major step forward for camelina... Read More
The Ontario Corn Committee (OCC) is well known for its hybrid trials, which compare hybrids for yield potential in various regions across the province, but, thanks to grower input, this year might look a little different. 2011-2014 OCC Hybrid Corn Performance Database "The Ontario Corn Committee has decided that in 2015, we will begin a... Read More
Want to do a health check up on your topsoil, but not a soil expert? Easy! Get digging in the fence row or nearby woodlot for a good gauge on how different the fields are from what they were before being farmed. Anne Verhallen, soil management specialist with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and... Read More
Low oil prices should translate into reduced input prices for farmers, but don't expect to see major declines in fertilizer prices before the 2015 growing season, according to a lending institution consultant speaking at St. Jean Farm Days in Manitoba this week. "I think in the long run we will see our cost of production... Read More
Start clean, stay clean is a smart motto when it comes to corn and soybean fields, but what's the right amount of "clean" in relation to weed cover and yield potential? Dr. Peter Sikkema, professor of plant science with the University of Guelph — Ridgetown Campus, took to the field to answer that question. If,... Read More
It's rare to find a western Canadian farmer who doesn't have a tale to tell of the roaring comebacks canola has made in a growing season. Sure, there have been some wrecks — wicked windstorms that flip swaths or hail that leaves nothing but sticks — but the "Cinderella crop" (you've heard the song, right?)... Read More
To some, animal agriculture is no more than the exploitation of innocent lives, often likened to human slavery, rape and torture. The animals didn't ask to be confined to cages, separated from their mothers or artificially inseminated, opponents argue. Thus, humans should take on a vegan diet, void of any animal products or by-products. Instead,... Read More
"Neonicotinoids," "Colony Collapse Disorder," "Varroa," "Nosema"... Defining those colloquialisms (and others) was just one of the goals the Canola Council of Canada's Gregory Sekulic had in mind when he presented "Buzzwords about Bees" at the Farming Smarter Conference in Medicine Hat. Sekulic wanted to clear the air on jargon that so often exacerbates misunderstanding "We... Read More