Landscape restoration: do you do it? You might want to think about doing it, because chances are you’re losing yield if you don’t, according to Marla Riekman, land management specialist with Manitoba Agriculture. In the simplest terms, landscape restoration is moving soil back from where it came from. When growers use tillage year after year,… Read more »
Category: Soil
John Deere rolls out ‘variable-intensity’ tillage tool
Adaptable is perhaps the best word to describe John Deere’s new variable-intensity tillage tool. Farmers hovered around the 2660VT at the Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa, this week as Jarred Karnei, Deere’s tactical marketing manager for tillage equipment, demonstrated many of the the tillage tool’s features. In the video below, Karnei explains that the key to the… Read more »
Early harvest means more opportunity to complete the fall task list
There has been a different feeling to the air over the last week. The days are getting shorter, the evenings a little cooler, and even the whisper of frost has been heard. That’s the mood as Shaun Haney and Trish Meyers compare notes about changing seasons and what makes it onto the fall ‘to do’… Read more »
Manitoba farmers take home TESA environmental award at CBIC
Circle H Farms took home the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association’s The Environmental Stewardship Award (TESA) from the Canadian Beef Industry Conference (CBIC) in London, Ont. last week. Located near Brandon, Man., Brian and Sonja Harper were recognized for their work transforming their farm since acquiring the property in 1990. “What set the Harpers apart in their focus… Read more »
Early plant nutrition management: It’s not “just” vegetative growth
Mike Dolinski has seen a lot of things over the years as an entomologist and senior Agri-Trend coach. Opinions that come and go, scientific consensus that changes, and sometimes catchphrases that catch on, even if they are misleading. At the recent Sure Growth Technologies field day near Marchwell, Sask., Dolinski drew a bead on the… Read more »
City kids connect farmers to consumers in ‘Before the Plate’
What do you get when you connect two ‘city kid’ filmmakers, a world-class chef, and nine farmers and their families? You get Before The Plate, a genuine behind-the-kitchen-door, on-the-farm look at how food is produced in Canada, and the passion and commitment chefs and farmers apply to their craft. The driving force behind the film… Read more »
Do you know your cover crops?
Can you tell the difference between annual ryegrass and cereal rye? How about radish and kale? If you can’t, it’s time to bone up on your identification skills if you want to get serious about planting cover crops mixes on your farm, says Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs soil management specialist Anne… Read more »
Corn School: Aqua-Till trades coulter for water jet
Ever consider replacing your planter disc openers with high-pressured water jets? The concept is called aqua-till. The idea has been pioneered by the South Australian NoTill Farmers Association (SANTFA). Earlier this week, SANTFA research and development manager Greg Butler traveled north to Ontario to showcase the technology for farmers attending the annual FarmSmart Expo near… Read more »
Wheat School: ‘Real’ Wheat Farmers — Parkland Farms
Average yields of 110 to 115 bushels per acre on soil that is often more than 60 percent clay? That’s impressive. And that’s why Parkland Farms is featured on our latest episode of ‘Real’ Wheat Farmers. In this video, RealAgriculture agronomist Peter Johnson peppers Parkland Farms agronomist Clark Aitken with questions on how the Lambton… Read more »
Wheat School: Assessing the impact of drought in winter wheat
Much of Ontario’s winter wheat has fallen victim to hot, dry, June growing conditions, and yields will likely suffer, reports RealAgriculture agronomist Peter Johnson. On this episode of the Wheat School, Johnson describes how drought-like growing conditions that brought high temperatures (34 degree days, 24 degree nights) and high winds for the better part of a… Read more »
Soybean School: Scout to evaluate your stand and when to go rolling
What’s your strategy when scouting a newly emerged soybean field? When Agromart Group agronomist Steph Kowalski walks into a soybean field this time of year, the first thing she looks to assess is final emergence and population. “It’s important to know how well we got that seed into the ground,” Kowalski tells RealAgriculture’s Bernard Tobin… Read more »
Fertilizer Canada launches new 4R designation toolkit
Canadian ag retailers have a new tool to help their farmer customers adopt 4R nutrient stewardship practices. With the launch of Fertilizer Canada’s new 4R designation toolkit, the industry organization says it will be easier for retailers to support farmers as they work to enhance management practices with the principles of 4R nutrient stewardship – a globally recognized, Canadian-made… Read more »
TechTour: Automatically adjusting spread patterns for wind, terrain, and fertilizer type
Spreading fertilizer can feel like a bit of a guessing game when it comes to knowing just how wide of a spray pattern is produced. Coverage depends on the type of fertilizer in the hopper, the terrain, and also, how much wind impacts the spray pattern. But Amazone claims it offers solutions to each of… Read more »
Ontario’s Soil Health Strategy: a 12-year roadmap with short-term funding
Ontario has released its provincial soil health strategy, a long-term framework that sets the vision, goals, and objectives for soil health and conservation in Ontario beginning this year and through to 2030. A 12-year strategy is lengthy in government program terms, but hardly a blip when we’re talking soil health, research, and improvement. Can Ontario… Read more »
Ontario ag retailers make 4R stewardship a priority
Ontario ag retailers need to provide leadership in helping farmers adopt 4R nutrient stewardship and a new audit program can do just that, says AGRIS Co-operative agronomist Dale Cowan. In 2015, OMAFRA, the Ontario Agri Business Association, Fertilizer Canada, and ag retailer stakeholders signed a memorandum of understanding stating that 4R nutrient stewardship – right source,… Read more »