Alberta has a unique part of the seed value chain in its Alberta Seed Processors organization. For many towns, the seed plant has been an integral part of the town’s economy and, in some cases, even helped build the town. As Monica Klaas, with the Alberta Seed Processors, explains, though, the role of the seed… Read more »
Category: Seed
The Seedpod — Ep.13: The move to season-long testing
Farming is evolving into such a precise business, it only makes sense that soil, seed, and tissue testing and analysis all happen under one roof. That’s the thinking behind SGS Biovision — a new company formed when SGS bought Biovision Seed Labs late in 2017. The lab offers farmers a one-stop-shop for testing and diagnostics…. Read more »
Get growin’ with SY Rowyn
Are you looking to push your wheat yields higher, while maintaining access to good milling wheat markets? Alliance Seed is excited to launch its new CPSR variety, SY Rowyn. With excellent milling quality and exciting market options, SY Rowyn is a win for grain producers and marketers alike. All Around Performer Released as a Dark… Read more »
Soybean School: Investment needed to fend off nematodes
Soybean cyst nematode (SCN) is the leading cause of yield loss for the oilseed crop across North America. And unless a new source of resistance is found to fend off the pest, growers can expect to see SCN gobble up an increasing percentage of their yield in the years ahead. That was the message delivered… Read more »
Familiar names top recommended malt barley list
Based on market demand and feedback from the malting industry, the Canadian Malting Barley Technical Centre (CMBTC) publishes a list every fall of recommended varieties for producers to grow the following year. And every year, for the last 11, the list has been topped by AC Metcalfe and CDC Copeland. (CDC Copeland joined AC Metcalfe… Read more »
Canola School: Determining the best variety to grow next year
Which clubroot-resistant canola variety with herbicide tolerance trait X is the earliest maturing in your area? What about the highest-yielding blackleg resistant variety with herbicide trait Y? Every year the Canola Council of Canada administers the Canola Performance Trials — a third-party small plot and field scale evaluation of current canola varieties. The program is… Read more »
SeCan and SeedNet to sell CDC pulse varieties outside Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan Pulse Growers (SPG) says it has licensed the distribution rights for select newer pea, lentil and chickpea varieties outside of Saskatchewan to SeCan and SeedNet. Since 1997, SPG has funded the pulse breeding program at the University of Saskatchewan’s Crop Development Centre (CDC) in exchange for commercial rights to pulse crop varieties developed at… Read more »
Growing farm leaders $1 at a time
How do you grow a farm leader? SeCan and their seed customers are doing it one dollar at a time. Entering its fifth year, the SeCan Grow A Leader program has now contributed more than $200,000 to 4-H in Canada. Last month, the company presented a cheque for $64,880 to 4-H, representing $1 from every… Read more »
Corn School: Profit strategies for fixed and flex ear hybrids
Not all corn fields are created equal. Some will produce higher profits when planted with a fixed ear hybrid, others will benefit from a flex ear hybrid, and some fields will perform best with a bit of both. In this episode of RealAgriculture Corn School, Pride Seeds market agronomist Aaron Stevanus explains the basic difference… Read more »
Enlist corn ready to go for 2018
After years of patiently waiting for market approvals, Dow AgroSciences’ Enlist corn hybrids are heading to farm fields in 2018. The company showed off eight of the 16 hybrids it will make available for 2018 planting at Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show in Woodstock, Ontario. Dow Seeds portfolio marketing leader Marty Vermey explains that the program… Read more »
Wheat School: ‘Real’ Wheat Farmers — Shawn Schill
Not often do you hear of wheat outyielding corn, but that’s the case in our latest episode in the ‘Real’ Wheat Farmers series. RealAgriculture resident agronomist Peter Johnson can barely contain himself when Arthur, Ontario farmer Shawn Schill of Shawridge Farms tells him that one 200-acre field yielded 154 bu/ac of wheat, beating the average corn… Read more »
Soybean School: Preventing those yellow patches next year
Most of the yellow patches in soybean fields in Western Canada and the northern U.S. have disappeared as the plants have recovered, or turned necrotic and died, but one of the big questions heading into harvest is: what toll did widespread issues with iron deficiency chlorosis (IDC) earlier in the season take on yields? The… Read more »
Wheat School: Stripe rust here to stay, but help is on the way
Stripe rust was back in Ontario wheat fields again in 2017. This year the presence of the disease was first confirmed in Essex County by AGRIS Co-operative. This marks the second consecutive year the disease has devastated farm fields in the province. But help is on the way. In this edition of RealAgriculture Wheat School,… Read more »
Wheat School: New FHB1 varieties offer better fusarium control, agronomics and yield
The FHB1 gene for fusarium head blight (FHB) resistance has been around for some time, but now it’s available in stronger agronomic varieties that deliver yield punch. That’s good news for North American wheat growers, says Bryan Gerard of Indiana-based Gerard Seed Solutions. In this episode of RealAgriculture Wheat School, Gerard explains that the FHB1… Read more »
Soybean School: Monitor seed size variation between varieties and seed lots
The race is on in many areas — and hopefully soon will be in others — to get this year’s soybean crop in the ground. It’s critical to make some pit-stops along the way to adjust the planter or drill for optimum performance, as covered in this Soybean School episode. Seed size can vary widely,… Read more »