Farmers will notice a significant difference with DEKALB canola seed bags going forward. Bayer CropScience has announced it will move to number of seeds/bag versus weight, to help farmers more easily achieve target plant populations. For 2022, each bag of DEKALB canola will contain no fewer than 4.2 million seeds — enough for 10 acres… Read More
The Alberta government announced it will use $4.7 million from the TIER fund through Emissions Reduction Alberta to build a facility in Lethbridge to produce renewable fuel. The Canary Biofuels facility, with an estimated worth of $28.6 million, will produce approximately 70 million litres of high-value renewable fuel. The facility is slated to be the… Read More
Plot trials are a great way to gain preliminary research findings about a particular subject. Based just outside of Lethbridge, Alta., Farming Smarter’s primary focus is applied research that helps producers make informed choices around inputs, technology and management practices for their operations. Carlo Van Herk, research technician at Farming Smarter, walks Kara Oosterhuis through the… Read More
It doesn’t matter what the prices are if you have no crop to sell. That’s a hard truth that Neil Townsend of FarmLink Marketing Solutions shares in this week’s Wednesday edition of RealAg Radio on Rural Radio 147 Sirius XM. There’s going to be low numbers on canola, wheat, barley — you name it, he… Read More
It’s been dry, windy, and hot across most of the Prairies this year, and an insect pest that you don’t typically see attacking canola is thriving in these conditions. Lyle Jensen, agronomist at AgroPlus, joins Kara Oosterhuis for this Canola School episode where they discuss grasshopper pressures and options for control. “As we’ve basically been… Read More
Cabbage seedpod weevil can cause considerable yield loss to a canola and other brassica crops, such as mustard. As adults, the pest is three to four millimetres in length, is ash-grey in colour, and has a prominent curved snout, similar to other weevils. Meghan Vankosky, field crop entomologist at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Saskatoon, joins… Read More
It’s been dry in parts of Western Canada heading into canola flowering, but has it been dry enough to hold off on spraying for sclerotinia? That’s a question many growers and agronomists in drought-affected areas have been asking themselves over the last week or two. There are really two basic factors to consider in the… Read More
It’s well-known that canola does not like heat during flowering. As soon as daytime highs rise beyond 30 degrees C — as we’re seeing through the current heat wave in Western Canada — the plant can become heat stressed, which leads to blasting and aborted pods. High temperatures can essentially cause a breakdown in communication… Read More
Getting the right spray quality and the right water volume can be a bit tricky, and when it comes to nozzles, there are a few factors to consider when picking the right one. When it comes to nozzle size and spray pattern, there are two important questions our expert for this Canola School episode asks:… Read More
Herbicide strategy for in-crop applications in canola first requires knowing what weeds are out there, and keeping in mind that two applications is an option. In this Canola School episode, Jaeda Hoppe, field crop agronomist with UYMI Agronomy at Biggar, Sask., says that two in-crop herbicide applications is likely if the weeds are there and… Read More
Doing a stand establishment assessment might not be the most glamorous part of scouting, but it’s a really important piece of information to know how many canola seeds were put in the ground, how many have emerged, and why. “We know that canola seed is a premium input; it’s not a cheap thing to buy,… Read More
Winter canola isn’t actually that new of a crop to Ontario — there were certainly some acres produced in the 80s and 90s — but there’s been a resurgence in the last five years with increased availability of a new variety. Meghan Moran, OMAFRA canola and dry edible bean specialist, joins Bernard Tobin in a… Read More
Canola is an adaptable crop, but stressors such as frost or wind shear can make flea beetle damage more serious or staging the crop more difficult. Ken Wall, grow team advisor with Federated Co-operatives Ltd., joins Kara Oosterhuis in the field for this episode of the Canola School to talk about the impact of the… Read More
Protein Industries Canada (PIC) announced a co-investment into pea, canola, and blended pea-canola protein ingredients in new plant-based products. Merit Functional Foods, TWC Nutrition, Daiya Foods, and Grand River Foods are partnering to product the new plant-based products, which could include alternative meat products, alternative dairy products, or other beverages. “Adding value to our crops… Read More
Early spring can mean risky temperatures, especially for earlier seeded crops; and if canola has emerged already, there’s a risk of frost. If your field has had a touch of frost, the first piece of advice from Autumn Barnes, agronomy specialist with the Canola Council of Canada (CCC), is to pump the brakes. “There were… Read More