You may have heard once or twice the terms “C3” or “C4” plants. Generally speaking, most of our crops and plants in Western Canada are C3. C3 plants are usually what you see growing in our fields, including wheat, canola, lentils, peas and barley. These plants are known as cool season crops and will yield... Read More
Category: Crop Production
The s-tine field cultivator isn't the most complicated piece of equipment you'll have on the farm, but it sure can prove handy, especially in a less than ideal spring planting season. As Jim Boak, with Salford Machinery, explains in this Corn School video, the s-tine unit's unique vibration pattern means it's well suited to working... Read More
The drought of 2012 is still fresh in the mind of many American farmers. As many get closer to the beginning of plant 2013, everyone has their fingers crossed that another drought does not wreak havoc on this year's corn and soybean crop. Recent cool wet weather (in some cases snow) has pushed back planting,... Read More
Will Western Canada's winter ever end? Well, yes, of course it will, it's just taking its jolly sweet time moving on out and letting spring begin in earnest. While current conditions seem very dire, somehow Drew Lerner manages to turn all this snow and cool weather into a positive, as you'll hear in this RealWeatherWatch... Read More
Patience is the name of the game for plant '13 it would seem. That's according to Drew Lerner, founder of World Weather, Inc. In this RealWeatherWatch episode, Lerner cautions that Ontario farmers hoping for a straight-forward, dry planting season are likely to be disappointed. Cool, wet and unsettled weather is likely the norm for much... Read More
Just when you think you're getting somewhere on disease management, the disease population shifts just enough to stay competitive. Fusarium, with its many strains and staying power on residue, is a constant thorn in the side of many Manitoba farmers, but it's also increasingly an issue for Alberta and Saskatchewan farmers as well. What's more,... Read More
Developing an opinion on crop prices and the direction they're headed is not an exact science. Once you can move beyond expecting to be right all the time, it's time to start putting some fundamental analysis to work for you. While many farmers are familiar with that term and supply and demand discussions, understanding how... Read More
Last week's ice storm most certainly didn't help to get planting season going. Worse still was the two days of rain prior to the storm. A small glimmer of warmer weather earlier this week has faded to more rain for much of the Ontario farming heartland. While there are certainly some tactics to planting in... Read More
The Barley Council of Canada (BCC) was formally incorporated today, according to a press release. The first of its kind in Canada, the council will speak on behalf of barley industry members and farmers. "This is the first time in history the entire value chain has been brought together from coast to coast on a... Read More
Only a few months ago, soybeans were the darling crop of nearly every farmer from Manitoba to Alberta. The crop could do no wrong, it seemed, and everyone wanted a piece of this nitrogen-fixing pie. Acres in Manitoba were set to surpass a million if you asked someone in January, but here we are in... Read More