The stretch from spring seeding to winter wheat planting isn’t really that long, but a lot can happen over that period. During the time your equipment sits it’s subject to all kinds of weather variations from late spring snowstorms to summer heat waves. Those kind of swings can wreak havoc with your equipment in ways… Read more »
Category: Wheat School – West
Wheat School – Make Sure Your Air Cart is Ready for Seeding
Every farmer at some point in their career has to deal with gremlins. From the moment you park your machinery it’s a virtual free for all of loosening bolts, fraying belts and poking holes in things. That’s why every year at seeding, sure enough, as soon as you take that equipment out to use it,… Read more »
Wheat School – How Do I Know If It’s Stripe Rust?
Stripe rust is the new big bad disease on the block. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not “new” in the sense of just arriving on the scene, but it is new in the sense that it is making it’s presence known lately. As with anything that’s currently in the spotlight, there tends to be a… Read more »
Wheat School – Stripe Rust: “A Different Animal”
Last year proved to be a unique situation for producers in Southern Alberta with regard to stripe rust. An over-wintering of the disease exposed producers to it earlier than usual with damaging results. Given the particularly mild winter across the prairies this year, producers should be on the lookout for stripe rust a lot earlier…. Read more »
Wheat School – Multiple Applications of Fungicide In Wheat – Are We There Yet?
Managing fusarium has become a fact of life for wheat producers in areas of the west. The disease is a real challenge for producers living in regions that are intensely affected. While there is no one-step solution available to those producers, an integrated approach can provide producers with a high level of management, maintaining yields… Read more »
Wheat School – How Have Fungicide Decisions Evolved Over Time?
Over the last 10 years, the thoughts and the strategy behind fungicide application have changed dramatically. Whether it’s new information brought to light by research or changing external circumstances, the process behind how farmers make fungicide decisions has evolved. Over the short term, some of those external changes that have influenced decision making involve the… Read more »
Wheat School – Three Key Components of Fusarium Head Blight Management
There is no silver bullet solution when it comes to fusarium. The disease is widespread and can be devastating if it’s left unchecked or handled incorrectly. When it comes to management and control of the disease, the best bet any producer has involves an integrated approach. That approach involves three key steps that together give… Read more »
Wheat School – Maximizing the ROI of Fungicides
The decision to apply a fungicide to your wheat crop can be made a little easier if understand the return on your investment. Yield equals dollars and if you’re in an area that’s at risk for disease. Protecting your crops yield potential is benefit number 1. Fungicides first and foremost provide a preventative level of… Read more »
Wheat School – Is it Time to Prioritize a Fungicide Over Herbicide Application on Wheat?
With all of the cold weather in April keeping a large portion of winter wheat producers out of the field for that initial herbicide/fungicide pass, it’s natural to start wondering if you missed the boat on some yield potential. As worrisome as that may be to the roughly 50% of Ontario farmers that weren’t able… Read more »
Wheat School – Can We Close the Yield Gap Between Countries?
The difference in bushels per acre of wheat from country to country is larger than you might think. On the surface that may seem fairly obvious when we see a drastic difference between climates or access to technologies, but when we look to level the playing field in these areas it begs the question: Can… Read more »
Wheat School: Protecting the Flag Leaf is Critical to Achieve Yield
How important is protecting the flag leaf in the early stages of your wheat crop? The flag leaf is critically important in determining your yield. Any damage done to that leaf will have a direct and dramatic impact on your crops potential. Disease can be one of those damaging factors. Assessing your risk for disease… Read more »
Wheat School: The Importance of On-Farm Trials – Josh Fankhauser
On-farm trials are an exercise not widely pursued by farmers in general. What’s unfortunate about that is the fact that most farmers could stand to benefit greatly from adopting some type of on-farm trial. The reason being that a lot of manufacturer trials are limited in scope for financial reasons. They may perform fewer location… Read more »
Wheat School – Application is the Key to Seed Treatment Effectiveness
Applying seed treatment isn’t what it used to be. Long gone are the days when someone would yell “turn up the red!” as the seed came out of the treater. There is a lot more than just a visual O.K. that goes into treating your seed properly. Over application isn’t cost effective and under applying… Read more »
Wheat School: Managing Your Wheat Marketing in an Open Market
August 1, 2012 officially changes the way the wheat producers and industry members do business out west. With that date spelling the end of the single desk marketing system, farmers, buyers and processors have to look closely at their respective businesses and adapt to a whole new ball game. For some involved in the industry,… Read more »
Wheat School: How to Make Wireworm Bait Balls
Wireworms are one of the pests that come with a lot of speculation and misinformation for many farmers. Patchy stands are often blamed on poor seed or conditions when the blame should be placed on wire worms. Dr. Bob Vernon’s research shows that wire worms are not isolated to the light brown soil zone of… Read more »