Seed corn harvest in southern Ontario typically gets underway in early September. Why so early? It’s all about protecting seed quality, says PRIDE Seeds field production manager Mike Bechard. On this episode of the RealAgriculture Corn School, host Bernard Tobin returns to Chatham, Ont. for part three of our series on the critical points of… Read More
Category: Crop Production
The carbon tax, that “price on pollution,” as the Liberal government calls it, is supposed to encourage Canadians to move away from fossil fuel use by making diesel, gas, natural gas, and propane more expensive. What the government has done or plans to do with the tax proceeds is a post for another day, but… Read More
Hannah Stamp of Vauxhall, Alta., and Sarah MacDonald of Vanderhoof, B.C., have been selected as the Outstanding Young Farmers Memorial Scholarship winners for 2023. Each winner receives a $1,000 scholarship to support their post-secondary agricultural education. The award includes two annual scholarships — one to an individual who has completed at least one year of… Read More
The outlook for oilseeds like canola and soybeans remains uncertain as harvest gets into full swing across North America, according to Tyler Schau of AgMarket.Net. For canola — which obviously has a much smaller footprint across North America — Schau notes there has been good production in some areas of Canada and North Dakota, though… Read More
Farmers across Canada care deeply about their soil but Derek and Tannis Axten of Axten Farms take it to a whole other level. The Minton, Sask., farmers’ commitment is is even written into their company’s tagline — loyal to the soil. “The reason I like it is it kind of reminds us that everything we… Read More
Parliament is back in session, and that means it’s time to fire up the political pundit machine! For RealAgriculture, that means the return of RealAg Politics. In this episode, hear from: Debra Conlon, Grain Farmers of Ontario, on Bill C-234, currently under consideration by the Senate ag and forestry committee, and an update on fertilizer… Read More
There are some problems you just can’t avoid — like ending up with wheat roots in drainage tile after big yields — but every challenge has a solution and it comes down to making hay while the sun shines. No, not actual hay, as we are in the critical harvest period, but if the soil… Read More
Kubota showed off its new precision planters at Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show at Woodstock, Ont., earlier this month. The Kubota PP1641TF is an eight-row precision planter with 30-inch spacing designed mainly for corn growers. Kubota product specialist Jeff Fuller says it’s a good fit for small- to medium-sized farms, including smaller acreage corn and soybean… Read More
As the growing season winds down, fall provides a critical opportunity for weed management — especially in those soybean fields that are a bit behind in the maturity game. As Ken Currah of BASF explains in our latest episode of the Soybean School, this time of the year the focus is going to be on… Read More
Ontario farmers interested in participating in the Living Lab initiative are invited to complete a survey in order to begin the process. The Living Lab — Ontario project has been set up to bring together farmers, scientists, sector organizations, and other experts to co-develop, test, and evaluate Beneficial Management Practices (BMPs) that address climate change… Read More
Fall soil sampling is an integral part of planning nutrient application rates for the following crop. Knowing where to sample, how early is too early and why, and what to do about results is the topic of this episode of The Agronomists! Focusing on fall sampling of phosphorus and nitrogen, host Lyndsey Smith is joined… Read More
Pulse crops, for the most part, prefer drier conditions; however, the level of drought in some areas of the Prairies over the past few years has been too much for even them. Following multiple years of drought, it becomes more important for farmers to conduct soil tests ahead of planting pulse crops, such as lentils… Read More
Pests, such as corn rootworm, continue to evolve and so does the technology required to control these these yield-robbing insects. At Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show earlier this month, Bayer Crop Science launched SmartStax Pro with RNAi technology, a new mode of action to help defend corn plants against the pest. David Kikkert, Bayer Crop Science’s… Read More
The shouts to preserve farmland were not enough to reverse course on the breakup and development of southern Ontario’s Greenbelt, but it appears several scathing reports of misdoings and resignations of ministers was. Late last week, Ontario Premier Doug Ford held a press conference (CTV clip below) to not only announce a pull back on… Read More
About 600,000 tonnes of Canadian red lentils and about 60,000 tonnes of green lentils head to India each year as a daily staple for thousands of India’s citizens. It’s an incredibly important export destination for Canadian pulses, and one that could be in jeopardy as tensions build between the two countries following Canada’s accusation of… Read More