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
Category: Seed Treatment
Stating a “weight of evidence” that neonicotinoid imidacloprid poses too high a risk to aquatic insects, Health Canada announced today a proposed three-year phase out of the insecticide. In Canada, imidacloprid is used in some cereal and potato seed treatments, as well as within the horticulture industry. Health Canada says it drew on data submitted… Read More
Harvest is rocking and rolling for most corn and soybean growers in Ontario save for @WheatPete himself who took an equipment breakdown as a chance to get the Word done early this week. This week’s Wheat Pete’s Word covers a lot of ground, including the why behind high test weight corn, the nitrogen connection to high… Read More
Syngenta’s SeedCare Institute is officially setting up shop in Canada. The company’s Canadian facility, located at its Honeywood research facility in Plattsville, Ontario, is now part of a network of 12 centres of excellence around the globe, focusing on advancing seed treatment technology and innovation. At the official launch last week, Anja Pires, Syngenta Global… Read More
Ontario MPP for Huron-Bruce, Lisa Thompson, has launched an initiative aimed at addressing concerns that the next phase of Ontario’s neonicotinoid regulations will unfairly limit farmers’ choices and the professional reach of agriculture professionals. Last week, Thompson introduced to the provincial legislature Bill 4, the Supporting Agricultural Experts in Their Field Act, 2016, in counter to changes… Read More
The number of microbial products on the market has skyrocketed in the last few years, as companies invest in understanding interactions between soil bugs and crops. “There’s a lot of attention on microbials right now. All the big ag companies have a microbial division. It’s an exciting to be involved in biologicals,” notes Jon Treloar,… Read More
Soybean growers have a new tool in their fight to manage the impact of sudden death syndrome (SDS) and soybean cyst nematode (SCN). Earlier this month, Bayer CropScience received registration for Ilevo/Votivo, a new soybean seed treatment. At its recent Dead Weeds Tour, Bayer’s D&L Manager Luc Bourgeois told growers it will be the first… Read More
If agriculture wants to reduce the potential impact neonicotinoid seed treatments have on pollinators, it has to modify standard vacuum planters. That’s the verdict from Ridgetown College, University of Guelph researcher Dr. Art Schaafsma. “Essentially, what we’ve created is a drift problem,” says Schaafsma, who spoke publicly about his research for the first time last… Read More
A RealAgriculture reader poll suggests farmers and the agricultural industry want Grain Farmers of Ontario to continue the fight against the province’s new seed treatment regulations that restrict neonicotinoid use. Last week we asked readers: Should GFO Keep Fighting for Neonic Use? More than 75% of voters who cast ballots in the online poll indicated… Read More
For some growers, treating wheat seed is a no-brainer, while others still choose to forego a treatment and the input cost that comes with it. So how do you decide? With seeding ramping up for another spring, Pam de Rocquigny, cereal crop specialist with Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, joins us in the field… Read More