Soil compaction — as many other topics and issues in agriculture — has no simple solution.Marla Riekman, soil management specialist with Manitoba Agriculture, says in this Canola School episode that soil compaction is “one of the hardest topics to discuss with farmers.”She says this is because the easiest solution is to stay off the field, which is… Read More

Aster yellows is a ‘phytoplasma’ disease carried by aster leafhoppers. It’s known for the odd-shaped canola pods it causes later in the growing season.Problems with aster yellows are hit and miss, depending on your area and the year.“We are kind of waiting for the next leafhopper infestation with aster yellows, the next big aster yellows… Read More

Less than ideal conditions have slowed down canola development and left the crop vulnerable to tiny 2.5 millimetre beetles in some areas this spring.Flea beetles are the number one pest in canola on the Western Canadian Prairies.In this Canola School episode, we talk with Tyler Wist, entomologist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Saskatoon, about how you should… Read More

With the cooler soil temperatures we’ve been seeing across Western Canada, unwanted pests are beginning to show up in some fields.Alberta Agriculture and Forestry Insect Management Specialist Scott Meers says that early on in the season we should be keeping our eyes out for stand establishment insects such as cutworms and wireworms.There have been a couple reports… Read More

The unprecedented amount of canola left in the field over winter in Saskatchewan and Alberta has producers and processors trying to figure out the value of this crop.Very little research has been done previously on the impact of snow and over-wintering on canola quality, says Veronique Barthet, oilseed research scientist at the Canadian Grain Commission.“We… Read More

Wet conditions prevented normal fall fertilizer application in parts of Western Canada last fall, leaving growers looking at options for delivering nitrogen to this year’s crop.As Don Flaten, soil scientist at the University of Manitoba, explains in this episode of Canola School, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. Growers will have to consider their limiting factors and… Read More