The debate about Canada finally adopting UPOV 91 has transpired all winter. For some in the seed industry the inclusion of UPOV 91 being included in the Canadian Federal Government's Agricultural Growth Act (Bill C-18) has been a long time coming. The NFU has been strongly trying to convince farmers and the general public that... Read More
Category: Crop Production
Seed size can vary significantly, making planting by weight or volume alone a rather untrustworthy endeavour. So it's no wonder calculating seeding rates based on the thousand kernel weight (TKW) of the desired crop is advised by so many researchers and agronomists. In this Wheat School, Richard Marsh of Syngenta re-joins Lyndsey Smith to compare... Read More
Producers are starting to see fields of green, as we roll into the middle of June. This means it's time for those boots to hit the field (again/still), as scouting for disease and insect pressure, nutrient deficiencies and undesirable plants is crucial to understanding the health of plant populations and maximizing yields through subsequent management... Read More
The Saskatchewan Barley Development Commission (SBDC) recently announced it has hired Jill McDonald as the new executive director. McDonald has extensive and diverse experience in agriculture, having worked with the Saskatchewan Trade and Export Partnership (STEP), as a lecturer and researcher at the University of Saskatchewan's College of Agriculture and having operated a private consulting... Read More
The pea leaf weevil can cause devastating economic losses to both peas and faba beans. Though the adult beetles feed on these crops after overwintering in perennial legumes, it is actually the larvae that cause the greatest damage. Larval feeding occurs on Rhizobium nodules for roughly six weeks. This may limit or completely inhibit nitrogen-fixation... Read More
Double nozzles are necessary to get the best possible coverage of a vertical target, true or false? Turns out, the answer is more likely that third option — the dreaded "it depends." In this Soybean School episode, Real Agriculture's Bernard Tobin is joined by Jason Deveau, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food spray specialist to... Read More
It looks like Ontario's corn crop will not see the shrinking acreage that many predicted as planting drags into June. That's the word from Brian Hall, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food's canola and edible bean specialist. Hall reports that the consensus coming out of a meeting of agronomists from across central Ontario this week... Read More
How close did you get to achieving the soybean plant density you were aiming for? What's the yield potential of the stand you have? The only way to get a bead on those answers is to get out and scout the soybean stand early in the season — at about the first trifoliate stage. How... Read More
A drawn out start to the growing season doesn't necessarily mean a drawn out growing season. Warm days with plenty of sun and mean growing degree days accumulate quickly, sending crops through their growth stages quickly, if the moisture is there. Wheat, and in this case winter wheat, can at times throw a curve ball... Read More
The first few weeks' of crop growth are critical for two things — one, evaluating your seeding or planting pass; and, two, providing timely protection for the crop at its most vulnerable stage. In this special version of the Agronomy Geeks podcast, I'm joined by Brunel Sabourin, agronomic advisor with Cargill based at Morris, Man.... Read More