It’s true that most male calves won’t be members of a herd for long. Nonetheless, being in good health is vital for their success on the veal or dairy beef farm where they’re headed. And maintaining good health is becoming more of a challenge in the rapidly changing livestock industry. Consumer demands for more natural… Read More

After years of filming Under the Microscope over Skype, and in crowded trade show hallways, we are beyond excited to publish the next two episodes of our series with BioVision Seed Labs, filmed from their Sherwood Park laboratory. In this episode, Holly Gelech, business development manager, walks us through the company’s treasured herbarium. When most of us think… Read More

Dry summer conditions and a fall with off-and-on-again moisture have seed samples showing less disease than the past few years, overall, but perhaps a few extra issues with germination. “What (late season moisture) is causing is pre-sprouting,” says Holly Gelech with BioVision Seed Labs. “One of the critical factors that growers should be considering is… Read More

Testing for clubroot falls into an interesting classification — it’s a disease, yes, but it’s in soil. Do you send samples to a soil lab or a seed lab? In this edition of Under the Microscope, Holly Gelech, business development manager with Biovision Seed Labs, walks us through how labs test for clubroot and while… Read More

The hangover of 2014’s long, drawn out, wet harvest has already taken a toll on seed supplies of certain crop types for 2015, says Holly Gelech, Biovision Seed Lab’s business development manager. The full fallout, however, has likely not been realized. “Farmers did a great job this fall getting seed samples in early,” says Gelech,… Read More

Under the Microscope: Harvest Conditions Weigh on Late Winter Germination Rates

In farming, we want two very opposite things from seed — we want a seed that stores well, perhaps even long term, but also a seed that, the moment conditions are right, it speedily germinates and becomes a hardy seedling. You can’t always have it both ways, of course, and the inner workings of a… Read More

Seed labs, the services they offer and the role they play in crop production is changing. Within the year, changes to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) will shift certain roles and responsibilities to the private sector. Crop inspection services and some analytical services will move outside of the CFIA and seed testing labs are… Read More

Seed that looks mature and healthy but won’t sprout could be dormant. What does this mean for seed supplies, and is there anything special you should do before sending in seed samples for testing to try and break it? No, says Holly Gelech, business development manager with Biovision Seed Labs. Dormant seeds are still considered… Read More

 

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