The Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO) continues to press the federal government to make good on its promise to return the approximately $34 million in tariffs it collected from farmers on Russian fertilizer imports in 2022. The Liberal government has pledged to return the money to the agriculture sector but Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food… Read More
Category: Fertility
Fertilizer products need to be able to meet the needs of a crop while supporting success of a grower’s operation and land stewardship. While there’s plenty of focus on nitrogen fertilizer management, phosphorus is also an incredibly important nutrient and also one that has environmental consequences if not managed well. Kerry Cebul, chief executive officer… Read More
Stratford, Ont., wheat grower Andy Timmermans says anyone who is half serious about growing wheat in Ontario should enrol in the Great Lakes Yield Enhancement Network (YEN). Timmermans has been involved in the Great Lakes YEN since it started two years years ago. In 2022, he finished second in both the yield and per cent… Read More
Is liquid fertilizer more or less available to the plant than granular? Is planting barley after potatoes a bad idea? Why would some soybean plants be green in a field of yellow plants? There are just a handful of the questions posed this week to the host of Wheat Pete’s Word, Peter Johnson. In the… Read More
The Canola Council of Canada is offering incentives to growers to improve 4R Nutrient Stewardship on canola acres. Shawn Senko, an agronomy specialist for the Canola Council of Canada, presented at Soils and Crops in Saskatoon, Sask., on the Canola 4R Advantage Program available to canola growers across the country. The purpose of the 4R advantage… Read More
March 1 marks a special occasion — it’s the first day of meteorological spring! What does that really mean? Not much for the day to day stuff, but is important for measuring and comparing weather parameters. That’s the kick off to this week’s Wheat Pete’s Word. Host Peter Johnson can feel the beginning of spring… Read More
Lucent Bio and Federated Co-operatives Limited (FCL) have teamed up to distribute Soileos Zinc, a new crop nutrition product, to western Canadian producers. According to the North American Soil Test Summary, zinc is deficient in 30 per cent of soil samples taken in Alberta, 66 per cent of those in Saskatchewan, and 61 per cent… Read More
Soil acidity is an issue that’s gaining attention in the Northern Plains, especially in areas where no-till practices have been paired with high surface-applied nitrogen rates. “They’re seeing this advancing a lot faster in parts of North Dakota and Montana, under traditional zero till conditions where they broadcast urea fertilizer. They find they’re acidifying the… Read More
Someone get the man a party hat — Peter Johnson has hosted 400 episodes of Wheat Pete’s Word! For anyone doing the math, Pete records 50 to 51 episodes a year (depending on if he takes any holidays), so this is a real milestone for Johnson. On this episode of the Word, Johnson doesn’t spend… Read More
It’s Canada’s Ag Day, and it’s time to celebrate the food and farmers you love. How are you celebrating? That’s how Peter “Wheat Pete” Johnson kicks off this week’s Wheat Pete’s Word before diving in to the topics and questions of the week, including if cover crops are really going to be dead come spring,… Read More
When people think of Atlantic Canada, they often think of the abundant potatoes grown in the area. While there’s a reason this comes to mind, as potatoes are a key crop, there are several other crops grown in rotation to ensure soil health and overall crop health. This is one of the messages the Atlantic… Read More
It seems any time is a good time for the Wheat Pete 15 — that’s taking 15 minutes out of your week to call someone you haven’t checked in with in a while. This week, that reminder is especially poignant, as you’ll hear in Wheat Pete’s Word, below. Also in this week’s podcast, host Peter… Read More
Nitrogen fertilizer applied to land can be lost a few ways — and every pound lost can hurt the pocket book, but some losses are far more of a risk than others, depending on where and how you farm. What’s more, some of those N losses occur in relatively benign losses to the environment. For… Read More
Manitoba Agriculture’s farm management extension team has developed a tool to help farmers determine how efficient they are with fertilizer, from both an economic and environmental perspective. Agriculture Minister Derek Johnson officially launched the fertilizer efficiency calculator tool at Manitoba Ag Days in Brandon. The calculator takes into account soil test results, fertilizer prices, product… Read More
Highly engaged wheat growers wanting to learn how to grow better wheat are driving expansion of the Great Lakes Yield Enhancement Network (YEN). Coordinated by the Grain Farmers of Ontario, Michigan State University, Michigan Wheat Program, the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and the University of Guelph, the Great Lakes YEN project… Read More