Hot on the heels of Alberta rolling out its own wheat commission, farmers and politicians alike were on hand at Canada's Farm Progress Show to announce the launch of the Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission and the Saskatchewan Barley Development Commission. RealAgriculture.com's editor, Lyndsey Smith, sat down with Gerrid Gust, who farms at Davidson, Sask., and... Read More
Category: Research
I’m wondering how federal research scientists and agriculture department personnel feel about Ottawa doing a drum roll to officially open the new $10-million state-of-the-art greenhouse facility at the federal Southern Crop Protection and Food Research Centre in London, Ontario. In the big picture, I imagine they feel some sense of pride in the facility. The... Read More
The government of Canada and the government of Saskatchewan have announced a joint funding agreement that earmarks $1.25 million over five years for the creation of a forage research chair at the University of Saskatchewan. The forage research chair will focus on forage breeding with an emphasis on developing new forage varieties with improved yields,... Read More
You've gone out to check fields. Last week's herbicide application should be in full force, but when you get out to the field, targeted weeds aren't showing the signs they should, or the crop looks sickly or both. Was this product failure or human error? Both or neither? Spraying pesticides — be they insecticides, fungicides... Read More
According to Neil Harker, research assistant with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, wild oat management through herbicide application costs western Canadian producers around $500 million annually. Herbicide resistance in many weed biotypes is cropping up — resistance within wild oat populations has been nagging at farmers' fields for years and is spreading. How can we combat... Read More
The Canadian Wheat Alliance was announced on May 16 and will provide $97M worth of funding over five years for wheat research. The effort will combine expertise from each of: the National Research Council, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the province of Saskatchewan and the University of Saskatchewan. "Wheat research has lagged a bit," says Lyle... Read More
The Alberta Wheat Commission (AWC) has hired Lauren Comin as research manager, according to a recent press release. Comin has a PhD in bioresource and food engineering from the University of Alberta, and brings a wealth of research knowledge in advanced grain processing, strong project management skills and a keen interest in food science and... Read More
Ontario ginseng is the class of its field. The species grown here, called American ginseng (versus Asian ginseng, the other popular variety) is the apple of ginseng exporters’ eye. It now generates $130 million in export sales annually, and it’s growing every year. That’s great news for farmers who work the unique sandy soils in... Read More
Working with what nature gives you and spending a bit of time with pen and paper can boost your pasture and hay land productivity. Whether it's matching topography like floodplains to forage species that don't mind wet feet, or mapping out cattle movement or winter feeding needs, pasture planning is well worth the time. In... Read More
Recently I have seen several different press releases on competitive companies deciding to share corn traits. Most farmers look at these kinds of announcements and just flip the page to the next article without a second look. Really you should take that second look and think about the impact on your farm in the future.... Read More