It may have an ominous sounding name, but black chaff is rarely a cause for major concern in wheat, says a crop pathologist with Manitoba Agriculture. Black chaff is one of several wheat disorders that will catch a grower’s eye at harvest due to the dark colour and discolouration that appears on wheat heads. As… Read More
Category: Wheat
With the news last week that the Manitoba Wheat and Barley Growers Association has become a member of Cereals Canada, some farmers in Saskatchewan are now wondering where their provincial organization — the Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission — stands. According to its strategic plan unveiled earlier this month, the goal for the newly-formed Cereals Canada… Read More
The Grain Farmers of Ontario have been rather busy — from moving in to a new, larger office space, to tackling big issues like announced increased regulation of neonicotinoid use in the province, to potentially bringing new commodity groups under the GFO banner, there’s been no shortage to keep Henry Van Ankum, GFO chair, busy…. Read More
The Manitoba Wheat and Barley Growers Association (MWBGA) is a new member of Cereals Canada, the not-for-profit industry group announced yesterday. “Cereals Canada brings together a broad and diverse collection of partners from all parts of the cereals sector and across the country. Representation from farmers from all regions is a critical element to our… Read More
Using glyphosate as a harvest aid and weed management tool most certainly has its place on the farm, but it carries a measure of risk, as well. Go in too early and not only can you rob the crop of yield, but the resulting seed may also end up damaged by the chemical application. Related:… Read More
Adjuvants Plus Inc. (API) has reached a licensing agreement with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s (AAFC) Office of Intellectual Property and Commercialization (OIPC) for the patented technology to prevent fusarium head blight in cereals with a fungal organism called Clonostachys rosea strain ACM941. Clonostachys rosea strain ACM941 is a patented organism that protects plants against fungal pathogens, the company… Read More
It’s nothing personal, Stratego fungicide, but it’s time for a sprucing up. Winter wheat and soybean growers should soon have access to Stratego Pro, says Allan Kaastra, with Bayer CropScience. The new formulation swaps out propiconazole with prothioconazole, and should be available for farmers to use by 2015, pending appropriate regulatory approvals. Kaastra says Stratego… Read More
Cereals Canada, the newly-formed, industry-led cereals group, recently released its inaugural strategic planning document. The plan, available here as a PDF, sets out the vision and mission for the organization and defines a path forward for “sustainable profitability for the entire value chain.” From opportunities and market development, to threats and competition, the 13-page document… Read More
Wheat leaf diseases aren’t always capable of overwintering in Canada. Besides often needing shelter from harsh winter conditions, the pathogens also suffer from a relative lack of alternate hosts. This year, however, stripe rust — a disease caused by the fungus Puccinia striiformis — took sanctuary in winter wheat fields in parts of the prairies, safe… Read More
There are those who would rather not put extra funding towards varietal research, but to Steve Tomtene, a Saskatchewan-based farmer, the return on research and development is entirely worth the investment. “Our farm started back in the late sixties,” Tomtene explains in an interview with Shaun Haney, “and I think when we look back over the course… Read More
Is all protein in wheat the same? Are there several kinds of protein? What happens to protein when wheat is in storage? Is gluten strength the same as protein quality? What is gluten, anyway? If you’ve asked yourself these questions (and more!) you’re most certainly not alone. Understanding the role protein plays in crop quality… Read More
Growing Degree Days (GDD) are an indicator of expected crop development based on weather conditions. GDDs are calculated by taking the mean temperature over a day and subtracting a base temperature. For most cereal grains, the base temperature is considered 5 degrees C, as they require around 1200 GDD to reach maturity. GDD = (Tmax + Tmin)… Read More
Farmers from a wide swath of Saskatchewan and Manitoba are slogging through washed out roads, flooded homes and submerged fields after a weekend of rain that dumped from three to over seven inches of water over the southeast and west portions, respectively, of those provinces. For many crops, the water is simply too much —… Read More
Winter Cereals Manitoba, the Saskatchewan Winter Cereals Development Commission and the Alberta Wheat Commission have announced shared-funding for a technical specialist position at CIGI. The three-year funding agreement will be targeted at a fund a position aimed at improving the marketability of winter wheat. The position is co-funded by Winter Cereals Manitoba and the Saskatchewan… Read More
Leaf rusts come in many shapes and strains and can be particularly hard to avoid, as the pathogen blows in from parts unknown (well, we know where, but that turn of phrase sounds better). What’s perhaps more troubling is there is evidence that stripe rust may have over-wintered in parts of Alberta this year. Over-wintering… Read More