Seeding is well under way across the Prairies and as farmers start seeding canola, flea beetles are likely the biggest pest of concern. For this Canola School, correspondent Kara Oosterhuis sits down with Dr. John Gavloski, the provincial entomologist with Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development. Even if canola isn’t in the ground yet and as… Read More
Wireworms are a widespread concern across the prairies early in the growing season. Kara Oosterhuis recently caught up with John Gavloski, provincial entomologist with Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development, in this Canola School episode to talk about the insect pest that can impact your canola crop. Wireworms are the larval stage of the click beetle… Read More
Harvest weed seed control is one option when it comes to managing some of our resistant weeds across the prairies. However, when it comes to wild oats, they shed their weed seeds before harvest time comes around. Breanne Tidemann, research scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), has published a paper on some of the… Read More
Should you go ground or air? That’s the question many growers struggle with as they try to determine the best method of applying disease-fighting fungicide to their growing corn crops. On this episode of RealAgriculture Corn School we tackle that question with two of North America’s leading plant pathologists — University of Kentucky’s Kiersten Wise… Read More
Many farmers are familiar with consulting economic threshold charts when it comes time to control insects, but many may be surprised to learn that there are economic thresholds for other pests, too. Gregory Sekulic, agronomy specialist with the Canola Council of Canada, explains in this Canola School episode that although spraying is an important tool,… Read More
Are Ontario farmers doing a better job of getting phosphorus to stay put on their farms? Over the past decade, farmers, agronomists, researchers and governments have ramped up efforts to reduce the amount of phosphorus leaving farm fields and creating environmental challenges in areas such as the Lake Erie and Sainte-Claire watersheds. University of Waterloo… Read More
When it comes to stress on a canola crop, there are two ‘buckets’ that it can fall into: abiotic stress and biotic stress. Biotic stressors can include things such as harmful insects — flea beetles, for example — and abiotic stressors have to do with factors dealing with the environment, such as frost. This time… Read More
How many crop heat units (CHU) does corn need to emerge? That’s a question many growers are asking as their corn seed shivers through the cold spring 2020 growing conditions. On this episode of RealAgriculture’s Corn School, we put that question to Dale Cowan, AGRIS Co-operative agronomist. He says that corn seed typically requires 165… Read More
When it comes to emergence of the wheat crop, producers often have many hopes of what that should look like — without necessarily knowing how to manage those expectations. Often, stand emergence is judged on seedling vigour. However, as Jeremy Boychyn, agronomy research extension specialist with the Alberta Wheat and Barley Commissions explains in this… Read More
Soybeans can handle cold, dry conditions at planting, but growers need to be careful when a cold, wet forecast is bearing down on their farm. Planting is proceeding quickly across Ontario, but many growers are asking if they should park the planter as an early-May polar vortex approaches the province — daytime highs of 3… Read More
Drier weather over the last few years has taken some of the wind out of soybeans’ sails in Western Canada, but there’s a case to be made that fundamental climate trends on the Prairies still support good soybeans yields in the longer term. Especially if growers are on the ball with planting when the soil… Read More
Before any crops go in the ground, many producers are already thinking, “How can I make my harvest go smoothly?” When it comes to growing pulse crops — especially peas and lentils — one of the ways you can get ahead is by land rolling. This is done to ensure uniformity in the field, by… Read More
Producers across the country are beginning to get into the fields and getting that corn seed in the ground. When it comes to planting corn, getting that seedbed prepped is imperative to ensuring a steady start — whether you are growing silage or grain corn. A key to this is ensuring your soil temperature is… Read More
Cover crops, tillage and herbicides —they’re all tools growers can use to build an effective, integrated approach to controlling troublesome Canada fleabane. On this episode of RealAgriculture’s Soybean School, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs weed specialist Mike Cowbrough looks at the role tillage can play in controlling the weed. He notes mounting… Read More
Will it pay to park the drill and invest in precision planting technology for wheat? That’s a question Michigan State University researcher Dennis Pennington is tackling in an ongoing research project. Earlier this year, he shared some of his early results with growers attending the CerealSmart conference at Kitchener, Ont. On this episode of RealAgriculture’s… Read More