The potential benefits of cover crops are vast: improved soil tilth and nutrient availability, interruption of disease/pest cycles and improved soil biological activity is just the tip of the iceberg. Cover cropping is not all roses, though, and like any cropping endeavour, it comes with management challenges and re-cropping considerations of its own. But, once... Read More
Category: Crops
If you're looking for a new fungicide option in corn and soybeans, BASF's Priaxor has expanded to include both crops in Eastern Canada, starting this year. The fungicide boasts two modes of action with active ingredients fluxapryoxad and pyraclostrobin, of the carboxamides (group 7) and strobilurins (group 11), respectively. Priaxor affects multiple stages of fungal... Read More
The number of acres committed to identity-preserved (IP) soybean production in Ontario has dwindled in recent years, but 2014 will likely reverse that trend, as lower commodity prices make the IP premium more attractive. But where will IP soybean acres end up? How big of a jump could Ontario see? What's seed supply and contract... Read More
The Pest Management Regulatory Agency has approved the registration of a 12 month recrop interval for canola and a 24 month recrop interval for lentils after use of Authority. This means growers who used Authority in the spring of 2013 can plant canola in 2014 and lentils in 2015 on that land. “This label change... Read More
By Bernard Tobin With just over a week to go before spring (officially), Shawn Brenneman is lamenting the fact that his tractor spent more hours pushing snow this winter than 2013 spring field work and planting combined. With the end of Ontario's long, cold winter finally within sight, Brenneman, Agronomic Sales Manager for Syngenta Canada,... Read More
No two farmers manage their corn crop the same way, yet can achieve top yields. This is great news, because it means that no matter what your goals are for the farm, from decreasing tillage, to using more cover crops, there's a way to produce more corn per acre. That's one of the take-home messages... Read More
The impact of a frost on the canola crop is not likely to impact a field the same way twice. There are just too many variables at play — the temperature of the frost, the duration, the topography of the field, the growth stage of the plant, the soil moisture, trash cover and, perhaps most... Read More
Should you double up on soybean inoculant? Do you go full rates of both or half? Should you worry about some sort of extender if the soybeans sit for three weeks before popping up? For farmers (and ground!) new to growing soybeans, there are several things to consider when inoculating soybeans ahead of the growing... Read More
Flax — it's beautiful to look at in the field, healthy to eat in your cereal but a pain in the butt to coax real production out of. Or is it? Dr. Paul Dribnenki, a former flax breeder and current consultant, challenges farmers to begin really understanding and managing this crop to get the most... Read More
What costs the canola crop the most in yield each year? Lack of fertility? Harvest losses? Spoilage in storage? Swath timing? The question isn't actually entirely fair, as we can't necessarily answer this question precisely, but we can most certainly start to stack up the evidence to support or refute each of these management areas'... Read More