It was just over a year ago that parts of Manitoba experienced major flooding as heavy rains caused rivers to overflow their banks and fields to become unworkable. In a few areas farmers are still dealing with the effects of those wet conditions, in other areas life is back to normal. We decided to turn… Read More
On most years seeding earlier provides opportunities for large reward in terms of yield. Now that many farmers are racing against the calendar to try and get seeded as soon as they can, there are some considerations being made. One of the main questions that many farmers are dealing with is whether they should seed… Read More
Richardson Pioneer Limited is continuing to grow, with the acquisition of two new crop input facilities in northeastern Alberta — Webb’s Crop Services Ltd. in Vermilion, AB and Agro Guys Inc. near Forestburg, AB. The employees will join the Richardson Pioneer team on September 1, providing customers with crop inputs products and services in local areas…. Read More
It’s a story that has impacted a nation, a world. Host Shaun Haney starts off the show with thoughts to the Humboldt Broncos family. Plans for new, directed scouting services and “smart farming,” with Richard Marsh, Farmers Edge. These tools include an expansion of crop staging models; and the release of insect and disease risk… Read More
It’s a busy Tuesday! Host Shaun Haney starts off the show with some feedback from the audience, all the way from Colorado. Then, on the show: Top Ag News, with Kelvin Heppner. Crop health notification technology, with Richard Marsh of Farmers Edge. Announced surprise audits for the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, and an update on… Read More
Growing Degree Days (GDD) are an indicator of expected crop development based on weather conditions. GDDs are calculated by taking the mean temperature over a day and subtracting a base temperature. For most cereal grains, the base temperature is considered 5 degrees C, as they require around 1200 GDD to reach maturity. GDD = (Tmax + Tmin)… Read More
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 plant stands achieved… 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
Regardless of the disease pressure mix on your farm, maintaining a disease-free flag and penultimate leaf is a key means of ensuring max wheat yield. Early season leaf disease can seem benign enough, but in the right conditions diseases like tan spot and septoria can move up through the canopy quickly and eventually begin compromising… Read More
Over the last 10 years, the thoughts and the strategy behind fungicide application have changed dramatically. Whether it’s new information brought to light by research or changing external circumstances, the process behind how farmers make fungicide decisions has evolved. Over the short term, some of those external changes that have influenced decision making involve the… Read More
The decision to apply a fungicide to your wheat crop can be made a little easier if understand the return on your investment. Yield equals dollars and if you’re in an area that’s at risk for disease. Protecting your crops yield potential is benefit number 1. Fungicides first and foremost provide a preventative level of… Read More
The Alberta Government today announced details on the Enhancement of Protection of Farm and Ranch Workers Act (Bill 6) working groups, including that the members for those groups have been selected. “The nomination process to these working groups has identified a broad and diverse range of voices from the farm and ranch sector to provide… Read More