Following regulatory delays over several years, Monsanto Canada representatives say they’re confident the company will finally be able to introduce its soybeans with tolerance to both glyphosate and dicamba herbicides to the North American market for 2016. All the required biotech and herbicide approvals for the Roundup Ready 2 Xtend system are in place in Canada,… Read More
Category: Seed
While this growing season may have some pulse growers wishing Mother Nature would turn the water taps on, the past few seasons have been tough on pulse crops when it comes to root rots and seedling diseases. Particularly in 2013, farmers were stumped by pea fields hard-hit by “wet feet.” Turns out, there was a… Read More
Frost has taken a toll on the canola crop in Western Canada over the last few weeks. In some cases, where temperatures dropped well below -2 degrees for an extended period, the decision to reseed is easy. However, the replanting decision is more complicated in most instances. As part of this Canola School episode, Anastasia Kubinec of… Read More
We’re about to flip the calendar to May, and, perhaps surprisingly, soil moisture is becoming a bit of an issue for those rolling in the fields, says Peter Johnson, in this week’s Wheat Pete’s Word. What can you do about soil that’s drying out too quickly? Well, you’re doing to have to adjust planting depth… Read More
Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz has announced the government’s commitment to “streamline and modernize” the way crop varieties are registered in Canada. These proposed changes will now enter into a consultation period ahead of the actual regulatory changes being drafted. Most major field crops grown in Canada are subject to Variety Registration, such as wheat, canola,… Read More
Rotation is generally a critical part of mitigating any disease resistance problem. When it comes to preventing the breakdown of resistance in blackleg-resistant canola varieties, the first line of defence is an extended crop rotation with non-host crops. Beyond that, growers can also rotate the canola varieties they’re growing, suggests Anastasia Kubinec, oilseed specialist with Manitoba Agriculture,… Read More
With findings of clubroot disease in parts of Western Canada where it has not been a problem before, at what point should a farmer in these new clubroot areas switch to growing clubroot-resistant canola varieties? To make that decision, you must first assess and prioritize the risks to your canola, suggests Anastasia Kubinec, oilseed specialist with Manitoba Agriculture, in this Canola… Read More
You’re looking at yield data from last year trying to figure out which soybean varieties to grow in 2015 — how do you know when the yield difference between two varieties is meaningful? “That’s a question we get all the time when it comes to picking varieties and looking at single-year site data,” says Dennis… Read More
There’s no shortage of less than stellar wheat out there — the weather near the end of summer and early fall was not kind to harvest or the resulting grain (remember all that snow in September, Alberta?). While some quality parameters aren’t deal breakers and might be managed through bumping seeding rates, others can’t be… Read More
Federal legislation containing changes to plant breeders’ rights and farm cash advance programs became law on Wednesday, as Bill C-18 — also known as the Agricultural Growth Act — received royal assent. Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz will be holding a press conference at Canterra Seeds in Winnipeg on Friday morning to mark the passage of the bill…. Read More