If you’ve been regularly scouting soybeans and noticed some potassium deficiency symptoms — yellowing on leaves — now is a good time to check the number of pods in those spots. “What we often don’t do is compare the number of pods later on, and of course that’s what yield is made of — pod… Read More
We’re getting closer to that exciting time of year again: harvest. The southern areas may already be getting into it, but in the central and north parts of the Prairies, producers will be thinking about staging their pulse crops in the coming days or weeks. “Every year we kind of have to reeducate, even ourselves,… Read More
Due to a poor harvest in 2019, producers on the Prairies faced a lot of challenges. Then, with an extended spring in some parts for 2020, many acres went left unseeded. But there’s still hope to get a crop in, such as winter wheat, it will just take a bit of planning. “The first step… Read More
Grain corn acres in Western Canada this year might be down, but there’s potential for some big yields, assuming the crop can avoid late season pitfalls. “For growers who held onto those acres, they’re going to be rewarded, no doubt. Grain corn crops here in southern Manitoba look especially strong,” says Alana Serhan, market development… Read More
Finding soil fertility recommendations for different crops can be time-consuming and hard to pin down. A new app that is simple and quick to use provides tremendous value by bringing soil fertility recommendations for different crops — both field and vegetable — all to one place. “In terms of the Soil Test Manager app, it’s… Read More
A three-year trial conducted by Farming Smarter on grain corn production under dryland conditions in four Alberta locations is yielding some interesting results. The trial at Lethbridge, Vauxhall, Bow Island, and Medicine Hat, was conducted between 2015 and 2017, and included agronomic factors that may affect dryland grain corn production, including plant population, row spacing,… Read More
Corn fields across Ontario are full of variable plant development and that should be a concern for growers, says University of Guelph crop researcher Dr. David Hooker. Fields are littered with areas of yield-compromising backward and slow-to-develop plants. Hooker believes corn variability is even more apparent this year due to significant weather challenges; with cold… Read More
Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a big concern for wheat growers each season, but some years, like 2020, the risk is incredibly high for a huge portion of the Prairies. The provincial FHB risk maps were lit up red and yellow for much of the growing season until about now. For many, early August may… Read More
Tillers are a totally normal physiological process in corn — since it is a grass like wheat or barley — and they’re nothing to be concerned about. They’re also nothing to get excited about either, as unlike wheat or barley, tillers don’t contribute to yield. In this episode of Corn School (this time in the… Read More
Usually when a farmer considers using a planter in Western Canada, it’s to plant canola crops, not pulse crops. But there are those exploring that option in Alberta. Scott Gillespie, independent agronomist with Plants Dig Soil Consulting, has been working at scaling up plot trials he first saw at Farming Smarter. In this episode of… Read More
A certain caterpillar that blew in on the wind may be wreaking havoc in your cereal crops. John Gavloski, provincial entomologist for Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development, joined Kara Oosterhuis for this episode of Wheat School to talk all things armyworm. Armyworm is different from bertha armyworm in a few ways: their preferred food is… Read More
Grow great wheat! It’s a catchy slogan, sure, but HOW do you grow great wheat? In this episode of the Wheat School, Peter “Wheat Pete” Johnson is fired up about the synergistic relationship between wheat inputs. “As we add all these fungicides, we add more nitrogen, we add these plant growth regulators, how does that… Read More
Kochia is a big concern for farmers across the Prairies, primarily because it’s a tough weed to kill, and the population is rife with herbicide resistance. Most farmers are aware of Group 2 resistance — which is old news — but newer Group 9 resistance is cropping up, which further complicates control of this prolific… Read More
After a challenging spring that saw getting the crop planted take precedent over pre-seed weed control, soybean growers in Western Canada have had to be diligent in catching up with potentially yield-robbing kochia, lamb’s quarters, volunteer canola, and other weeds in-crop. To keep yield losses down to less than five per cent, most soybean varieties… Read More
There are well over 100 species of grasshoppers across Canada, but there are four that like cereal crops in particular. Of those four, certain species can dominate a certain region. All of them can make short work of a crop in no time, left unchecked. John Gavloski, provincial entomologist for Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development,… Read More
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