Five steps. Unlimited opportunities. Straight cutting has been a part of Kris and Bernie Klammer’s operation since the 80’s. And it’s clear why. After seeing success over several years, they decided to straight cut 100% of their acres in 2016 and plan to do the same in 2017. Hear their valuable advice on fertility, pre-harvest… Read More
Category: Agronomy
Haying is underway (with some phenomenal yields!), soybeans are struggling, and sprayers are rolling — there’s lots of ground to cover on this week’s Word with RealAg agronomist Peter Johnson. Peter discusses the replant decision facing soybean growers, rolling timing on beans, early weed control in wheat, drift reduction agents, fungicide rates, row spacing for… Read More
How much will that field yield? That’s a question RealAgriculture agronomist Peter Johnson is often asked when talking with growers. In this episode of Wheat School, he reviews the formula for estimating wheat yield. Johnson says it can be difficult to peg yield because testweight is a wildcard that can be tough to eyeball and… Read More
Harvest weed seed control has been widely adopted in Australia as a tool in fighting herbicide resistance. When it comes to North America, farmers in southern States, such as Arkansas, have started implementing these concepts, but the idea of destroying weed seed viability has yet to take off here in Canada. In this Wheat School episode,… Read More
For parts of Western Canada, the rain keeps on pouring. Early wet conditions could be conducive to root rot problems in pulses. Fortunately, for three of the four main culprits —rhyzoctonia, fusarium and pythium, the plants will generally grow through the vulnerable early seedling stage if a seed treatment has been applied, notes Robyne Bowness-Davidson, pulse… Read More
This spring has been a challenge for many growers in the northern tier of Alberta and Saskatchewan due to wet conditions continuing from last fall. As it feels like crop insurance deadlines are screaming by, growers have limited choices on what to do with these potentially unseeded acres. There are basically three options: seed a spring… Read More
2016 was likely the worst year on record for fusarium head blight (FHB) infection in Western Canada, as the disease has spread west and north since becoming a problem in southern Manitoba in the early 1990s. According to the Canada Grain Commission’s harvest sample survey, almost a quarter of cereal samples in Alberta tested positive for… Read More
In this episode of Wheat Pete’s Word, RealAg Agronomist Peter Johnson wonders why insects are such a problem already, seeing as it’s been a wet year, and that usually means the fields are full of disease, not bugs. He also dives into crop progress — what sort of advances have been made in Ontario, as… Read More
If above average moisture continues through June, growers should start scouting early for northern corn leaf blight (NCLB). Rob Miller, BASF’s technical development manager for eastern Canada, says NCLB can appear as early as the 8-10 leaf stage in a wet season. Lesions appear on the lower leaves and move upwards, as the infection often… Read More
What a difference a year makes. In 2016, Ontario’s cold and dry spring conditions produced plenty of available nitrogen for the emerging corn crop. But when you fast-forward to 2017, those cold soils are now waterlogged and the wet conditions mean there’s very little nitrogen available to the crop. The wet soil conditions have a… Read More