As 2017 soybean planting gets rolling across Ontario, what management considerations should be top of mind for growers? In our planting edition of Real Agriculture Soybean School, we put that question to Pride Seeds market development agronomist Dan Foster. In this episode, Foster explains why he’s excited to see Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybeans going… Read More
Do I plant a workhorse or a racehorse hybrid? That’s a typical question corn growers contemplate when making seed choices. But with the growth of precision farming and advancing genetic progress, there’s now a new question to contemplate: should I plant a fixed, flex, or semi-flex hybrid? In this edition of Real Agriculture Corn School,… Read More
Peter Johnson wishes farmers managed wheat more like corn. He admits that corn’s bigger yields and higher profitability creates more interest in intensively managing the crop, but that does not excuse growers from making good, basic wheat management decisions. One thing that drives Real Agriculture’s resident agronomist crazy is wheat growers who seed based on… Read More
SeCan recently discovered that the majority of the soft white wheat varieties grown in western Canada naturally contain the Sm1 trait for midge tolerance. The trait has likely always been there, but only recently have we had the technology to test for it. The Sm1 gene was first identified as naturally occurring in soft red winter… Read More
Aphanomyces is a soil-borne water mold thatcauses devastating root rots in pulses, especially pea and lentil crops. Unfortunately for farmers, the aphanomyces spores can live in the soil for 10 years, and thrive under wet conditions. That means, not only has this root rot advanced rapidly across many areas of Saskatchewan and Alberta, but it’s… Read More
Not only are there legalities that need to be considered when purchasing and planting off-patent soybean seed, as we discussed in an earlier Soybean School feature, but there are also agronomic considerations. Due to the nature of the off-patent soybean seed market, assurances for the grower on maturity, germination, quality, and purity are often lacking… Read More
If you grew first-generation Roundup Ready soybeans under contract, saving and trading or re-planting that seed could result in a violation of their contract, says Lorne Hadley, executive director of the Canadian Plant Technology Agency. In 2011, Monsanto’s patent on the first Roundup Ready trait in soybeans expired. Some sellers may be selling or trading soybean… Read More
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
In Western Canada, we have few acre battles that get much attention, but one that intrigues our editorial staff every year is the battle of the canola herbicide tolerance trait race. It really is a three-way cage match that has swings in advantage every year. All three systems have unique characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses. So here… Read More
The seed growing season doesn’t really end at harvest. Once a seed crop is harvested the grower needs to condition and clean the seed to get the lot sample up to a certified grade. Seed cleaning plants have many shapes and sizes, but the overall process is the same — taking the harvested crop and sifting out… Read More
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
Canola seed in Canada could soon come with a label describing the variety’s blackleg disease resistance package, similar to the labeling system used in Australia. After around four years of discussions between seed companies, researchers, and growers, an agreement-in-principle has been reached on blackleg resistance labeling, says Clint Jurke, agronomy director with the Canola Council of Canada,… Read More
Agriculture is big business, but a small industry, if you think about the number of people involved. Within each sector, that number shrinks significantly, and, at times, trying to communicate the needs of one sector can be tough when you’re few in number. The seed industry has faced that challenge for quite some time, and,… Read More
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
As the calendar spins into 2017, we reflect that the 2016 harvest was one farmers will not soon forget. As spring gets closer, farmers need to consider ensuring they have the appropriate seed quality suitable for planting. Shaun Haney talks to Holly Gelech, Biovsion Seed Labs about the quality of the 2016 harvest from a… Read More