The drought conditions in Ontario this year squashed the potential of what was looking to be an exceptional corn crop. A number of producers suffered crop failures in some of the hardest hit areas. It wasn’t just corn that was affected. The extreme heat took it’s toll across a number of different crops. The damage… Read More
Category: Irrigation
This episode of AgriTreks brings us back to the Casa Grande area of Arizona for a look at the most valuable commodity in the desert. Managing the distribution of water is pivotal in such an extreme environment. In an area where water is so valuable because of its scarcity, an industry like agriculture stands or… Read More
Variable rate technology has huge implications for the efficiency and productivity on the farm. Data collection and monitoring are key components in the application of that technology. Knowing the composition of your fields, the structure of your fields as what went into those fields is the information that makes VRT technology benefit your farm by… Read More
By Ken Coles, FarmingSmarter.com In July I attended the Precision Ag Conference in Springfield, Illinois. I though in my first blog post I would cover my thoughts and observations at the conference. Day 1 Last week Brent Nicol and I attended the infoag, precision ag conference in Springfield, Illinois. (www.infoag.org). Not being a seasoned… Read More
This year it seems like water is really making it’s power known. From devastating us with floods and tsunamis, to crippling us by its absence in drought. As our population continues to grow, our management of that all important resource becomes essential. How we harness it, develop it store it and share it all have… Read More
As kids we used to laugh about people who bought bottled water. Who would pay for water! How about every nation on the planet. We need water on just about every level imaginable. It is a commodity that affects all other commodities. Droughts hurt crops, poor crops hurt supplies, demand for those supplies, in the… Read More
Precision agriculture has become a much more popular production management on many farms in Canada. One of the newer precision technologies in the marketplace is precision irrigation. The idea is very similar to other variable rate technologies which allow for the prescription applications of inputs. In this case its about applying water to your crop… Read More
There has been a lot of confusion amongst some people regarding Monsanto‘s application for GM drought tolerant corn for feed and food use in Canada and the United States. The application has been made and could be ready if approved fro commercialization in 2012 or 2013. This gene will provide farmers with the ability to… Read More
After visiting different fields across Chile, I really came to appreciate the differences in irrigation methods. On the larger fields, pivots are becoming more common but there is still many stationary guns and even flood irrigation. Most irrigation water is transported by dirt ditch while cement ditch infrastructure is underway. Chilean farmers are able to grow very… Read More