Harvest has picked up in both Western and Eastern Canada, though the challenges facing each region are unique. On this episode of Wheat Pete’s Word, Peter ‘Wheat Pete’ Johnson tackles late season weed control decisions (mostly: just don’t), diseased corn crop management, and shares some new findings on including cereal rye as a cover crop. Have… Read more »
Category: Wheat
Tips for setting up a new grain dryer
It’s the middle of October and there is a lot of harvest yet to do in the Prairie Provinces. Many farmers got off to an early start, progress was ahead of schedule, and then things ground to a halt. No one knows for sure, but back of the envelope estimates conservatively put the value of… Read more »
Wheat School: Search continues for weapons in battle against wheat midge
Wheat midge is still a significant threat to wheat in Western Canada. While the threat has subsided a bit because of the discovery and use of the SM1 resistance gene, it’s important to remember that there is only one bullet in the chamber, and if it gets spent wheat crops will be, once again, at… Read more »
Resistance Management School: Seeding rates to the rescue
Highly competitive crops that make it difficult for weeds to gain a foothold in fields play a key role in effective herbicide resistance management. One way to make your crop more competitive is to increase seeding rates to produce higher plant populations. In this episode of RealAgriculture’s Resistance Management School, University of Manitoba weed scientist… Read more »
Wheat Pete’s Word, Oct 10: Harvest woes, late planting for wheat, and big buggy decisions
Harvest woes aren’t just limited to Western Canada, as, while there hasn’t been snow (yet!), wet field conditions are keeping Ontario farmers out of the fields as well. Soybean harvest has hardly advanced since last week, and disease pressure continues to build in standing corn. This week’s Wheat Pete’s Word covers a harvest update, but… Read more »
Wheat Pete’s Word, Oct 3: Soybean standstill, toxin problems, and strip till answers
There are not one, but two Alert! Alert! Alert! segments in this week’s Wheat Pete’s Word, and that’s just how she goes in a wet, snowy, long, drawn out harvest. Host Peter Johnson is talking wheat storage woes, mycotoxin trouble, and strip tillage tips and tricks in this early October edition of the Word. You’ll… Read more »
Removing trade uncertainty from the agri-food market a positive step: Innes
The long, drawn out NAFTA negotiations really weighed heavily on the nerves of agricultural exporters. The fear of losing the U.S. market or the real threat of the border possibly becoming thicker was a huge stress for beef, pork, oilseed, and cereal producers. The news, then, that there is a trilateral deal to be ratified… Read more »
Wheat Pete’s Word, Sept. 26: Banner soybean yields, slow dry down, and one-cut miracle hay
This week’s episode of Wheat Pete’s Word runs nearly coast to coast, with questions from out west, down south, out east, and everywhere in between. From the on-fire soybean yields in Ontario, to the evergreen crop in Western Canada, to fungicide timing on forage crops, you won’t want to miss Peter Johnson’s answers to this… Read more »
Wheat Pete’s Word, Sept 19: Surprising soy yields, sprouting corn, plus hay and more hay
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 »
Wheat Pete’s Word, Sept 12: Dicamba drift, sticky wheat, adzuki beans, and hemp in rotation
On this special Canada’s Outdoor Farm show edition of Wheat Pete’s Word, host Peter Johnson must share the spotlight with RealAgriculture founder Shaun Haney. From dicamba drift reports, to sticky, frost-damaged wheat, to hemp, and on to a hard no on drying down grazing corn, this week’s Word has something for everyone (and, thankfully, Shaun… Read more »
Resistance Management School: It’s all about diversity
Herbicide resistance is nothing new to Ontario farmers. It all started in 1973 when triazine-resistant lamb’s-quarters were found on a farm near Ripley, Ontario. Group 2 herbicide-resistant weeds were first documented in 1996. Fast forward to 2018, and we find that the province is now home to a host of glyphosate-resistant weeds including Canada fleabane, giant… Read more »
Wheat School: Smart(phone) help for cereal aphid scouting
Agriculture and Agri-food Canada (AAFC) has, until now, never developed an app. Until now, that is, with the launch of a new app called CAM. The Cereal Aphid Manager (CAM) is the first app ever developed by AAFC. Dale Leftwich, RealAgriculture’s Saskatchewan field editor, met with Tyler Wist, field crop entomology research scientist with AAFC,… Read more »
Relay intercropper set to harvest 100-bushel soybeans
Indiana farmer Jason Mauck says he isn’t getting much sleep these days. He’s spending many restless nights wondering whether his relay intercrop soybeans will yield 110 or 120 bushels per acre. Relay intercropping is essentially a special version of double cropping, where the second crop is planted into the first crop before harvest, rather than waiting until after harvest as in true… Read more »
SaskWheat, Alberta Wheat Commision fund major advancements in wheat research
Recently, there were two big funding announcements with major implications for Canadian wheat growers. Both had significant funding support from SaskWheat and the Alberta Wheat Commission (AWC). Saskatchewan field editor Dale Leftwich sat down with Harvey Brooks, executive director for SaskWheat, to talk about the importance of research to farmer led commodity groups. Brooks spoke… Read more »
Wheat Pete’s Word, Aug 29: Fall fertility, wheat seeds per acre, and the California RoundUp case
For a growing season that started so dry for so many, some farmers are now hoping for a string of two or three days of dry weather to get hay done or start harvest on spring-planted crops. It’s also been a trying week for Ontario’s Compaction Day planning crew who ended up cancelling the event… Read more »