Category: Crop Production

As May ticks away, farmers in Ontario continue to wrestle with difficult planting conditions. In this episode of the Agronomy Geeks Ontario podcast, Bernard Tobin and Syngenta agronomic sales manager Shawn Brenneman discuss the pace of #plant14 and the decisions farmers are facing. As of May 21, Brenneman estimates that 40 to 50 percent of... Read More

In a perfect world, the soybean plant would pop up out of the ground, grow some leaves and then really stretch a bit before setting where that first pod will form. The reality for many western Canadian farmers, however, is that even in a decent year, our Prairie springs are quite cool — first pod... Read More

Have you walked your canola fields shortly after emergence only to find several seedlings struggling and dying off or found seeds rotting in the furrow? Even treated seed can't fully overcome the pressure of the seedling disease complex endemic to all of Western Canada's canola growing region, especially if canola is seeded too deep or... Read More

For people with celiac disease, avoiding gluten — a protein complex found in wheat, barley, rye and triticale — is a medical necessity. Even small amounts of the protein can trigger bloating, gas and diarrhea, and can lead to eventual weight-loss and fatigue. Yet diagnosed celiac disease accounts for only roughly 1% of the population.... Read More

Grains have traded relatively lower this week as a relatively bearish outlook from the U.S.D.A. last Friday but a bit of a damper on the market. Corn and wheat prices have taken the biggest hit week-over-week as positive planting progress across the border in the U.S. pulled back some of the premium built into the... Read More

Poor spring weather inevitably leads to rushed planting and shorter spray windows. Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food application technology specialist Jason Deveau says there are three keys to minimizing drift and getting the best return on your spraying dollar. In this video, Deveau and summer research student Tara Wiederman set up a spray trial... Read More

Soybeans are a relatively new crop for many farmers in Western Canada. For many farmers, this brings a second RoundUp Ready crop (or possibly third) into rotation. Because of this, controlling volunteer canola ahead of the soybean crop is crucial, as high canola populations can have a significant yield impact, and more costly, as a... Read More

To ensure preservation of unique traits, maintaining purity is essential in seeding Identity Preserved (IP) crops such as IP soybeans. Once certified seed is purchased, it's up to the grower to keep it clean and separate from other seed sources. This means thoroughly cleaning everything from your seeder to the tractor cab and the cuffs... Read More

The Alberta Wheat Commission (AWC) announced today its plans of investing $1.5 million across ten agronomic and breeding/genetic research projects. This funding commitment is part of the Agriculture Funding Consortium (AFC), a group of 14 funding organizations that have partnered to collaborate on agriculture research funding. Kent Erickson, chair of AWC's board of directors, says... Read More

Grain and oilseed growers in Western Canada often look down south at the amazing job that U.S. farmers do with planting the corn crop and wonder, "Should we be using a planter for our crops, too?" While it's absolutely possible to seed a great stand of canola and even soybeans without converting to a planter-based... Read More