Citing the lack of moisture over the past few months, the Manitoba Government has announced it will be allowing livestock producers to temporarily let their livestock graze, and cut hay on Crown land not typically used for agriculture. “Under certain circumstances, Crown land can be made available for agricultural use,” the statement reads. According to… Read More
Retiring alfalfa fields used to be a simple process. Conventional tillage farmers would just drop the mouldboard plow in the fall, while those under a minimum tillage system would rely on a glyphosate burndown before planting a new crop the following spring. With the introduction of glyphosate tolerant (GT) alfalfa, however, glyphosate is no longer… Read More
While some rainfall has returned to very dry areas of the Prairies, many ranchers have already made some tough calls on downsizing herds and flocks to conserve what grass is available for grazing and winter feed. Taking the pressure off existing pasture and hay ground is a smart move to make early. Janice Bruynooghe, of… Read More
While Ontario struggles to dry out, the lucky ones in Western Canada are rejoicing in some meaningful rainfall. It’s been a week of planting, watching weeds grow, and haying in some parts of Ontario, too. What does a little rain mean for Western Canada? Possibly more nitrogen. What do cool temperatures mean for corn in… Read More
Alert! Alert! Alert! It’s May — time to panic! Wait, no, not yet. Yes, weather conditions in both eastern and western Canada have been less than ideal for different reasons, but while farmers are absolutely itching to get rolling in the field, it’s not late…yet. That said, Wheat Pete’s Word host Peter Johnson knows that… Read More
What does your swimming pool and seedbed have in common? Very little! So why is one farmer worried about potassium chloride’s impact on soil bugs? It’s all about the form of nutrients, says Wheat Pete’s Word host, Peter Johnson. In this week’s episode, Johnson wants to hear from you on your top spring wheat yields… Read More
On day two of the Saskatchewan Beef Industry Conference being held at Regina, Sask, provincial agriculture minister David Marit, announced more than $5.5 million will be going towards 34 livestock and forage-related research projects through Saskatchewan’s Agriculture Development Fund (ADF) and the Strategic Field Program (SFP). Both programs are supported through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP),… Read More
More than 20 per cent of Manitoba producers who had select hay or basic hay insurance have claimed they harvested less than 50 per cent of their long-term average hay yield. That significant number has triggered the Hay Disaster Benefit (HDB) to roll out. The HDB was first introduced in 2014 as part of a… Read More
The Canadian Prairies are exactly that — prairie. Rich soil supports incredible crop production now, but the climate, soil, and plants that have mingled and grown here long before agriculture moved in were all about permanent ground cover. Annual cropping leaves soil exposed or even bare if tillage is part of the equation, and while… Read More
It’s nearly Christmas and finally — finally! — corn harvest is done for many, but there are actually many acres of soybeans still yet to be harvested in Ontario. Could soybean seeding be impacted? It’s quite possible given some fields that are still left out are seed crops. Peter Johnson, host of Wheat Pete’s Word, is… Read More
If you’re looking to build soil nutrient levels in pasture, do you order fertilizer or do you buy sheep? If you’re Mike Swidersky and family, you buy sheep as a complement to raising cattle. How does it work? You run the sheep after the cattle (they utilize pasture differently and aren’t susceptible to the other… Read More
Dairy and cattle producers need high palatability and digestibility in the forage ration for top production, but it’s also very important that forages persist and thrive even after tough Canadian winters. For 2019, Nutrien Ag Solutions is offering two new alfalfa lines —Halo 2 and PV Parlour HG — that fit the bill. Sheldon Hains, forage… Read More
Looking to cut your hay close, clean, and quick while conditioning it for faster dry down and nutrient preservation? If that’s the plan, it may be time to take a closer look at New Hollands’s new Discbine 209 and 210 disc mower-conditioners. The side-pull mowers were rolled out at the recent Farm Progress Show at Boone, Iowa…. Read More
Unwanted snow that blanketed parts of Alberta and Saskatchewan in the month of September has left many farmers at a standstill near the more-than-halfway point of harvest for the year. According to Karin Lindquist, forage and beef specialist with Alberta Agriculture, the frost could be also be a concern for nitrate accumulation. “What happens is,… Read More
Harvest is rolling, rolling, rolling, and the rush is on perhaps more than most years as the Ontario crop is rushing towards dry and even too-dry at an incredible rate. In this week’s Wheat Pete’s Word, host Peter Johnson rounds up some pretty impressive soybean and dry bean yields, while silage yields disappoint, though that’s… Read More