What a difference a week makes! While there are still areas struggling to get acres in, many parts of Ontario got enough of a dry window to jam thousands of acres in. The west continues to struggle with a lack of rainfall, though some areas in Alberta got snow. Yes, snow. In this week’s Wheat… Read More
Category: Pests
Seeing dimpling on your canola leaves? Stem feeding? Chances are, it’s flea beetles causing the damage. This year in the southern prairies, flea beetles are becoming a significant issue, most likely in part due to dry conditions. And with neonicotinoids continuing to hit headlines, flea beetle control could become even more difficult in the coming… Read More
Clubroot. Many producers have the viewpoint of “We don’t have it in our area, so we don’t need to sanitize.” This isn’t an alert that clubroot has spread — it’s an acknowledgment that it could come to your area, even if you are in a non-traditional clubroot zone, which is why growers have to be careful… Read More
As temperatures warm, fields across the west are starting to see flea beetle emergence, and cotyledon defoliation. And that has producers wondering about when to take action. “There’s been some discussion about different threshold levels,” says Errin Willenborg, agronomist with Federated Co-op Ltd. The discussion stems from confusion around two listed thresholds — the 25… Read More
Across the Western Prairies, flea beetles are starting to pop up in canola crops. As your canola crop moves from the cotyledon stage to the first true leaf stage, you want to ensure you are keeping an eye on potential feeding. In this episode of Real Agriculture’s Canola School, Kara Oosterhuis talks to Autumn Barnes,… Read More
The cereal leaf beetle is a relatively new pest of cereals in Alberta, first spotted in 2005. And, if you are Dr. Haley Catton, research scientist in cereal crop entomology with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, you’ll describe these creatures as a “beautiful, small, jewel-like beetle.” Those doing the scouting might not be so enamoured by… Read More
It’d be fantastic if this Wheat Pete’s Word update included a milestone planting progress update, but 2019 is proving to be a slow one for much of Ontario. And while Western Canada is having much more luck getting the crop in, areas are still dry to very dry. Questions submitted for this week’s show involve… Read More
So your winter wheat crop is looking rough and you plan to abandon it and plant another crop when the field dries up. What will you plant? RealAgriculture agronomist Peter Johnson has one word for you — corn. When it comes to the health of Ontario soils, Johnson believes farmers in the province are already… Read More
A tough fall, winterkill, and a cool, wet spring are adding up to a condensed and busy herbicide application window for growers across Ontario.One of the first challenges is how to manage best all the abandoned winter wheat acres that are likely to be planted as corn or soybeans. On this episode of the RealAgriculture… Read More
Every week should be soil week, but this week especially as we mark National Soil Conservation week. Wheat Pete’s Word host Peter Johnson challenges listeners to think differently about soil in this week’s edition — at a minimum, stay off the darn fields while they’re wet, and feed that soil some residue! Also this week,… Read More
What’s yellow, baled, and wanted all over? Straw of course! The pretty sad wheat crop in Ontario has many farmers asking, “what’s straw worth?” and, “which cereal crop will give me the most?” Host Peter ‘Wheat Pete’ Johnson tackles that question and so much more in this week’s Wheat Pete’s Word. Hear more about straw… Read More
If you could move a chunk of acres to fall planting, diversify the crop mix, and get a jump on herbicide-resistant weeds, would you? All of that is an option with winter canola, but the crop isn’t without its challenges. Currently, there’s only one registered winter canola variety for Ontario growers, says Eric Page, research… Read More
ADAMA has announced Canadian farmers will have a second pinoxaden herbicide option for controlling grassy weeds in wheat and barley. Registered as BRAZEN, the Group 1 herbicide is safe to use on both spring wheat and barley up to flag leaf on both crops allowing for flexibility during spray season, the company says. ADAMA says… Read More
It’s too bad we can’t go a week or so without some troubling news, and this week is no exception after reports of European corn borer developing resistance to a hybrid trait. But, don’t fret, as this week’s Wheat Pete’s Word features some real neat and positive discussions, including some soil chat about the hard… Read More
The Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture has been hosting meetings this winter to help farmers keep up with the most current science and best management practices to deal with clubroot. Many of the meetings have been conducted with the participation of Canola Council of Canada agronomists and other industry specialists. Allie Noble, crops extension specialist with… Read More