Precision agriculture company Farmers Edge has plans to disrupt the crop insurance industry, announcing an agreement with global reinsurer PartnerRe on Tuesday. The four-year deal will see Farmers Edge and PartnerRe jointly develop new agriculture insurance products based on field data that Farmers Edge already collects for agronomic reasons. “For the longest time we’ve been… Read More
Category: Crop Production
Will the growth of cover crops lead to an explosion of plugged tile drains? According to Ohio State professor and farm drainage specialist Dr. Larry Brown, there’s little evidence to suggest that cover crops are going to cause drainage headaches for farmers. At the recent Ontario Certified Crop Advisors annual meeting, Brown says he often gets… Read More
Mole drainage is a concept for reducing waterlogging in heavy clay soils by creating underground tunnels for water, similar to tile drainage, but without the cost of pipe. The subsurface drains are created using a single-shank plow with a cylindrical “torpedo” attached at the bottom, leaving a channel for water to flow along, generally at… Read More
The Saskatchewan Water Security Agency’s preliminary forecast for spring runoff underlines the concerns about dryness in the heart of the prairie region. Soils in southern areas were dry at freeze up with ample storage available in wetlands after a record dry summer in parts of southern Saskatchewan and below normal fall precipitation. “With dry fall… Read More
Many Ontario corn fields have high levels of variability; soil profiles can change from sand to highly productive loam in a matter of footsteps. One way to tackle this variability is to identify management zones in the field and plant multiple hybrids at variable rates. In this episode of RealAgriculture Corn School, we catch up… Read More
Pulses will likely be on the menu as Prime Minister Trudeau meets with his Indian counterpart, Prime Minister Modi, later this month, but Canada’s pulse sector is counting on them also being on the business agenda. There’s no mention of pulse crops or India’s steep tariffs on Canadian pulse exports in the notice from the… Read More
Every year the planning committee behind Edmonton’s renowned FarmTech conference recognizes someone who has made “an outstanding contribution to Alberta’s cropping industry.” This year’s award recipient is well-known to the agriculture community for his commitment to extension, people, and the industry he loves. Scott Meers graduated from the University of Alberta with a Bachelor’s Degree… Read More
Timing a white mould fungicide application in soybeans can be tricky business. The typical recommendation is to spray a first-pass fungicide at the R2 to R2.5 stage. Most Ontario soybean fields, however, are highly variable and can contain plants progressing at different growth rates within the stand. How can you tackle this challenge? BASF technical… Read More
Regulations, by their nature, are country or region specific, but they can have spillover effects into other markets. This is the case with many crop protection products between trading partners — a ban or restriction in one region can have trickle-down impacts on use and even access in another. Many North American farmers have been… Read More
Switch to longer rotations, reduce soil movement, grow resistant varieties — the list of keys to managing against clubroot disease has become familiar for many canola growers in Western Canada, but an Alberta farmer with years of experience farming with high clubroot concentrations has another piece of advice: don’t be afraid to talk about it…. Read More
India’s government has made it even more expensive to export products — including pulse crops — into the country. On Tuesday, India announced a 10 percent increase to its duty on chickpeas, raising the import tariff from 30 to 40 percent. The move comes days after the India’s finance minister introduced a new surcharge to… Read More
The price of wheat is down, yes, but there are premiums for protein, and RealAgriculture agronomist Peter Johnson thinks there’s an opportunity to cash in. In this episode of the Wheat School, Johnson looks at new nitrogen research from University of Manitoba researcher Amy Mangin. It provides evidence of how growers can pump up their protein… Read More
by Greg Porozni, Alberta farmer and Cereals Canada director As part of the 2017 New Crop Missions, “Team Canadian Wheat” visited Canada’s top customers and provided them with technical data and support. Who are Canada’s top customers? Some of the answers, like Japan, will be no surprise to anyone, but many would not expect to… Read More
I wrote a column last week that caused quite a stir, as was the intention. My tongue-in-cheek title did what it was intended to do: it sparked conversation and some lively debate, but it also got some tempers flaring over the increased regulatory burden farmers not just endure, but must also pay for. Read Top… Read More
Cargill is looking at downsizing its crop input and grain handling presence in Ontario. The company is in talks to potentially sell its crop input and grain handling facilities in the province. “After an in-depth evaluation of its crop inputs and grain facilities in Ontario, Canada, Cargill has begun the process of assessing crop inputs… Read More