Category: Crop Schools

As we begin to look ahead to the rest of the canola growing season, many challenges continue to face the grower. This is being looked at as one of the most challenges seasons to date. Instead of looking backwards I thought that it would be fruitful to engage a discussion on the rest of the… Read More

The canola crop that has emerged is quite variable in height which is causing significant challenges in trying to control unwanted weeds. This year the ideal scenarios never seem to be playing out which requires farmers to weigh all the positives and negatives to all situations. This is a year where there is give and… Read More

Fusarium head blight continues to be a major concern for North American farmers. Yield loss can be high and the amount of vomotoxin infection in the grain can cause significant grade loss. Although there are wheat varieties available to minimize the impact of fusarium, the reality is there is no technology available to control it… Read More

It seems that the amount of pests that can have a negative impact on our wheat fields is never ending. In this weeks episode of the Wheat School we are going to discuss army worms. Army worms can cause significant yield loss in a wheat crop and also impact neighboring crops like corn or canola… Read More

In this episode of the Canola School, Troy Prosofsky discusses the impact that the flea beetle is having on the Western Canadian canola crop.  Troy also talks about the evaluation of flea beetle damage and when or when not to spray to control the pest. Flea Beetles can be terrible pests and if the damage… Read More

Whether you farm in Ontario or the west it is time to start thinking about spraying your winter wheat with fungicide to protect it from leaf diseases like septoria or powdery mildew. When spraying fungicides there are many considerations that need to be taken into account. Nozzle selection, nozzle position, water volume, and sprayer boom… Read More

Many people think that if farmers get moisture you are ensured success. Well this year is proving that moisture can also bring challenges. One of those challenges is crusting (see picture below). Canola has a hard time penetrating any crust. This year the crust in many areas seems to be worse than usual and growers… Read More

As we mentioned last week, we are dealing with abnormal rainfall and cool temps in Alberta and Saskatchewan and that has pushed canola seeding back further than desired. Now that the calendar has entered June, many farmers have started hiring floaters to broadcast seed the canola seed. This is not ideal but the unfortunate reality… Read More

We have no shortage of farmer led groups in Canada. Almost every crop has a growers association that represents their interests in Ottawa, tries to create demand for the commodity with end users and consumers, supports the agronomics of the crop and provides services to the members. Many times this can feel disjointed and does… Read More

Okay I will say it…..this spring has been a real challenge.  Crop staging is quite varied.  We have plants battling frosty conditions and there is thousands of acres that have not been planted yet. If have crop up it feels like it is standing still in the water or colder temperatures and if you are… Read More