When using inoculants, time is one of the most critical factors affecting your products performance. The reason for that is the fact that those inoculants contain living organisms that can only survive outside the soil for a limited time. Depending on the formulation and application of of that inoculant, that time frame can vary. The… Read More
Applying seed treatment isn’t what it used to be. Long gone are the days when someone would yell “turn up the red!” as the seed came out of the treater. There is a lot more than just a visual O.K. that goes into treating your seed properly. Over application isn’t cost effective and under applying… Read More
Establishing a healthy plant stand as quickly as possible is critical in protecting your crops health and ensuring maximum yield potential. Part of that process means that the plant has to be able to access the inputs it needs to get there. That starts with the development of a healthy root system including the development… Read More
August 1, 2012 officially changes the way the wheat producers and industry members do business out west. With that date spelling the end of the single desk marketing system, farmers, buyers and processors have to look closely at their respective businesses and adapt to a whole new ball game. For some involved in the industry,… Read More
Earlier this week I wrote about the real shortage of corn seed which has created no opportunity for corn replanting in 2012. With soybeans seemingly rocking their way to $16, why would you be paranoid about getting started on your corn planting? In talking to a couple Southern Ontario farmers today the thought seemed to… Read More
Now that you have probably picked up your pea or lentil inoculant from your retailer, you need to make sure that you are storing it properly on farm. You need to remember that your inoculant is a living biological organism. It needs to be taken care of handled in a proper manner before it is… Read More
Wireworms are one of the pests that come with a lot of speculation and misinformation for many farmers. Patchy stands are often blamed on poor seed or conditions when the blame should be placed on wire worms. Dr. Bob Vernon’s research shows that wire worms are not isolated to the light brown soil zone of… Read More
All farmers try to take advantage of early good conditions to try and plant early. Many farmers calculate the risk of replanting and take the gamble that they are comfortable with. A late spring frost could wreck havoc on the corn plant if the growing point was impacted. What makes 2012 different is that a… Read More
All winter we hear about the condition of the South American soybean crop. For many of us, countries like Argentina feel very far away yet the impact on our farms has become incredibly large. Soybean prices have launched higher in 2012 which has created major opportunities for Canadian and American soybean producers. Demand has been… Read More
Treating seed has not always been a common practice across the prairies , however, with increased disease pressure over the past few years it is something that should always be done. Remember, first and foremost you must start out with clean and certified seed! Treated seed is typically faster to germinate and pop out of… Read More
FarmTech 2012 was an incredible success by all measures. It managed to bring together some of the most progressive and diverse farmers from across the West to listen to some of the most innovative and knowledgable people in the industry. With such a diverse and savvy group available to us, we had to take the… Read More
The major chemical companies have been busy creating new fungicides to help growers control diseases in their major crops. Here’s a peek at a couple of the more interesting ones. BASF recently introduced Twinline Fungicide for broad-spectrum disease control in wheat, oats and barley. As the name implies, Twinline contains two popular fungicide modes of… Read More
This episode of the Corn School finishes our three part series on what possible issues producers can expect this spring due to the mild winter conditions. It’s not a topic we’ve had to address too much in the past and for that reason alone it warrants some attention. Above average or below average conditions in… Read More
The economic sway of canola is visibly obvious across the West. A flyover of the prairies in the summer would show you what looks to be a sea of yellow. That sea of yellow shows you just how profitable canola is. The fact that aerial view doesn’t change much from year to year reinforces just… Read More
Every producer is looking for the edge when it comes to their crop. That’s all well and good, but it’s a pursuit that has to be balanced with a good level of realistic discernment. If that discernment isn’t there it can leave producers that are chasing that edge vulnerable to the “snake oil” or “silver… Read More
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