Soybean growers in Western Canada and the Northern U.S. have been up early over the last few mornings checking how low temperatures dropped overnight. The thermometer has dipped below the freezing mark in some areas, with damage to soybeans depending on a number of factors, including maturity. As part of this Soybean School West episode,... Read More

Snow and freezing temperatures arrived earlier than welcomed in parts of Western Canada this week. We also saw a bearish market report from the USDA and some new developments surrounding the privatization of the Canadian Wheat Board. It was also a week on the road for the RealAg team, as Shaun, Lyndsey and Bern attended... Read More

The possible arrival of the first widespread killing frost in Western Canada this week has implications for livestock producers looking to maximize feed quality for their animals. Freezing temperatures can cause nitrates to accumulate in cereal species grown for greenfeed, which can be toxic to cattle (more info here on the SaskAg website.) However, management... Read More

A Manitoba farm group is concerned harvested grain could spoil due to rules preventing producers from using new grain dryers until they have been inspected. Wet weather over the last few weeks has forced farmers across much of Western Canada to harvest their crops at moisture levels that are higher than ideal for storage. As... Read More

In this Wheat School episode, Phil Needham, of Needham Ag Technologies, shows how farmers can use a heavy duty rubber mat and some math calculations to calibrate a box drill. This procedure is really good for double disk drills because they do an excellent job of confining the seeds as they are delivered between two... Read More

While the majority of the Western Canadian crop is no longer vulnerable to frost, there are still areas where wheat and canola, as well as longer-season soybeans and corn, are not ready for the freezing temperatures that are expected over the next few nights. According to Bruce Burnett, weather and crop specialist with CWB, between... Read More

Here's a fun question: what nitrogen recommendations do you follow? Do you vary it by crop type or by field, ie. do you have a "canola blend"? Do you use tried-and-true removal rates compared against a current soil sample analysis? Or do you work backwards from a target yield? No matter which way you currently... Read More