My name is Kara Oosterhuis, and I’m RealAgriculture’s newest field editor, covering Alberta and Saskatchewan. You may recognize that mouthful of my last name as I spent some time with the team a couple summers back, chasing CanolaPaloozas, agronomic schools, field days, and everything in between. Most memorably, I put on over 3,500km on my… Read More
Over the past couple of decades, those who make a profit off of the environment — farmers, ranchers, miners, and loggers — have seen a fair amount of negative publicity. As people involved in some of these industries, we know the negativity isn’t always accurate, and Bruce Vincent with Environomics Incorporated more than agrees. “The… Read More
In this episode of Wheat Pete’s Word, RealAg Agronomist Peter Johnson expresses his confusion and concern for FROST! Oh man! It’s time to seed the “crop of all crops”, winter wheat! Find out what tips he has for you. He also adds a quick note about fusarium in wheat and gibberella in corn. Listen to… Read More
A Saskatchewan rancher has pleaded guilty to possession of stolen property after police seized $1.2 million worth of stolen farm equipment last year, including tractors, balers, and trucks. 39 year old Iain Stables was originally facing 29 charges, and as of Monday, has pleaded guilty to 18 of those. The charges stem from a search… Read More
When penciling out the cost of replacement heifers, it’s easy to think of all of the obvious costs, the cash costs. But Kathy Larson, research economist with the Western Beef Development Centre, encourages producers to consider the opportunity costs of raising animals as well. “Opportunity costs are essentially non-cash costs. The biggest one being the money… Read More
There are certain parts to a beef cow that consumers tend to migrate to, with most of them being the centre cuts — sirloin, prime rib, and others we see at restaurants and in stores. The Canadian Beef Centre of Excellence, located in Calgary, AB, is looking to show food service operators, chefs, and domestic/international… 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
Livestock producers in Western Canada now have access to a new medication system that will ensure accuracy, as well as help track medication given to their animals. The system, which was announced at the Canadian Beef Industry Conference last week, is made up of an auto-dosing tool that tracks and records what, when, and the… Read More
The canola pods are almost done filling, if not at full maturity, in many areas of the prairies, and harvest is beginning. We often think of scouting as something we have to do earlier in the season when there are still control options, but don’t always remember the importance of knowing what’s going on in… Read More
As many ranchers know – what we feed our cattle is in direct relation to what sort of performance they achieve. Within the last few years producers have found that soybean meal is a great option for cows, as it provides the proper nutrients they require. However, if you’re a canola grower, you may find… Read More
It’s the time of year when many producers are thinking about swathing, or looking forward to desiccating and straight cutting their canola crop. Two of the more common options for dry downs on your crop are glyphosate, a slower process but great for cleaning up fields; and diquat, the active ingredient in most registered desiccants…. Read More
Wheat! Yeeehaaaw! RealAg Agronomist Peter Johnson is so happy to be talking about his favourite crop in this weeks episode of Wheat Pete’s Word. He talks about the excellent yields he’s been hearing, along with some good stories with it. Johnson brings up some good thoughts about planting management as we are coming up to… Read More
In a year end grain report published today, CN reported that 21.8 million metric tonnes of grain was moved during the 2016-17 growing year, making it a record for the transportation company. “Through innovation, collaboration and improved communication with our supply chain partners, CN moved more grain in a single crop year than ever before,”… Read More
Lygus bugs are known for attacking canola, alfalfa and sunflowers (you can probably blame the lygus for that gross seed), but they can also be a significant pest in fababeans — especially after their canola food source is harvested. In general, lygus bug species like to feed on the reproductive parts of plants. “Similar to… Read More
Karen Schwartzkopf-Genswein, a senior research scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Lethbridge, received the Canadian Beef Industry Award for Outstanding Research and Innovation at the Canadian Beef Industry Conference in Calgary last night. Dr. Schwartzkopf-Genswein was honoured for her contributions to advancements in the competitiveness and sustainability of the Canadian beef industry through her… Read More