Rye is working hard to shed its reputation for lower yields, weak agronomics and poor standability when compared to other grain crops. With the arrival of new hybrid rye varieties in Ontario, it looks like rye’s days of being relegated to cover crop status in the province are over. Quite simply, growers, seed companies, agronomists… Read more »
Category: Research
Why invest in growing hemp?
Hemp is often seen as a new crop, and in retrospect, it still is. Only allowed to be grown in Canada since 1998, there haven’t been the decades of research and experience with hemp as with other crops. Jan Slaski, senior researcher with Alberta Innovates – Technology Futures, based in Vegreville Alberta, says that southern… Read more »
Canola School: The trouble with flea beetles…
Less than ideal conditions have slowed down canola development and left the crop vulnerable to tiny 2.5 millimetre beetles in some areas this spring. Flea beetles are the number one pest in canola on the Western Canadian Prairies. In this Canola School episode, we talk with Tyler Wist, entomologist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Saskatoon, about how… Read more »
Wheat School: How harvest weed seed control could fit in the fight against herbicide resistance
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 »
Wheat School: Taking an integrated strategy against fusarium head blight
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 »
Limagrain Cereals aims to develop high quality, high yielding wheat varieties
15 months ago, Jason Reinheimer flew with his family from Australia to Saskatoon to become the first employee and senior breeder for Limagrain Cereals Research Canada. Limagrain Cereals Research Canada, established in 2015, is a wheat breeding partnership between France-based Limagrain and Western Canada-based Canterra Seeds. In the video below, Reinheimer explains their breeding goals of developing wheat varieties that… Read more »
How Do I Choose Which Product To Use? – Darren Hefty, AgPhd
Deciding which product to use is not easy. Depending on the category, the plethora of products or services is extensive and noisy. Whether it is biologicals, precision agriculture, or seed enhancements, to name a few, it can be very difficult to try and figure out which products are the best fit for your farm. At… Read more »
Wheat School: Making a Case for Perennial Wheat
Are you tired of planting wheat every year? What if you only had to plant the crop every four years? If those questions spark your interest, you won’t want to miss this episode of Real Agriculture’s Wheat School featuring Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada research scientist Jamie Larsen. He’s working to develop perennial wheat that would grow… Read more »
Corn School: Making Your Precision Planter More Profitable
The marriage of agronomy and data really can deliver better profits for growers wedded to precision planting technology. That was the message from the A-Team – Pride Seeds agronomist Aaron Stevanus and Veritas agronomist Aaron Breimer – earlier this month when they spoke to growers at the Southwest Agricultural Conference at the University of Guelph’s… Read more »
Unlocking the Secrets to 180 Bushel Barley
Can we push feed and even malt barley varieties to sky-high yields? Steve Larocque, of Beyond Agronomy, has completed a four-year field trial that says yes, but there’s a catch. Inspired by what he saw on a 2010 trip to New Zealand, where feed barley averaged 207 to 210 bushels per acre, Larocque started digging… Read more »
Soybean School: These Aren’t Your Grandpa’s Varieties
How have soybeans changed over the past century, and what can growers learn from this evolution? Purdue University agronomy professor Shaun Casteel has some answers. Speaking at the recent Ontario Certified Crop Advisor annual conference, Casteel shared insights from his research comparing varieties from 1923 to those available in 2011. In this episode of Real… Read more »
Spend Your Fertilizer Dollars Wisely
As crop yields and nutrient removal rates continue to increase, many growers wonder whether it’s time to top up fertilizer rates. At the core of the discussion in Ontario is whether critical soil test values for corn and soybeans are still valid and whether they pack the nutrient punch needed to allow new hybrids and… Read more »
If You Give a Seed An Aspirin…
Clarence Swanton has worked for 16 years on a super cool project that takes about 40 minutes to explain properly, as he did at the recent Southwest Agricultural Conference. Perhaps more impactful, however, is the time-lapse video he showed whereby the mere presence of weedy surroundings actually killed a tobacco seedling. Perhaps this makes sense —… Read more »
Corn School: Who are the Most Profitable Corn Growers?
Who are the most profitable corn growers? The answer to this question is really quite simple, says Ken Ferrie, one of North America’s leading agronomists and crop consultants. The most profitable corn growers are those who most effectively manage the big three crop production variables: sunlight, water, and nutrients. An independent agronomist, the Illinois-based Ferrie… Read more »
Advanced Wheat and Barley Breeding Techniques Excite Montana Grain Growers
Wheat and barley growers across North America have been waiting for advancements in breeding techniques to make the crop types more competitive with corn, soybeans, and canola. At the recent Montana Grain Growers Association convention in Great Falls, Shaun talked to Dr. Hikmet Budak about a new advancement in plant breeding that really excited the crowd… Read more »