If you’ve spent any amount of time with me, you’ll likely catch on to two things: One, I really, really like coffee, and, two, I’m a total agronomy nut. In university, I originally intended to pursue some sort of livestock-based arc of study. I took one crop production class and was hooked. Plants fascinate me… Read More
Category: Soil
It seems whenever a new disease or pest rears its head, the old wives tales and myths follow closely on its heels. Take, for example, the advent of clubroot being found in Alberta about 10 years ago. Never fear, said many in the more eastern parts of the prairies, our high pH western Canadian soils… Read More
Canola seedlings faces a host of enemies before they even see the light of day — seeds can get bashed around in the air seeder, plowed down too deep, hit by root rots or burned by seed-placed fertilizer. There are ways and means of minimizing the impact of each of these threats to your eventual… Read More
If Manitoba farmers weren’t concerned enough about the arrival of clubroot in two canola fields this summer, perhaps the latest confirmation of clubroot galls found in a North Dakota canola field will serve as a wake up call. Of course, this also serves as a giant red flag for American canola growers as well. The… Read More
Every action on or in the soil profile has an impact on moisture moving up or down. Some passes and implement choices can have a positive impact on water infiltration, but not all do. Understanding how tillage implements impact water movement is one topic that Salford Machinery is exploring at their research site in the… Read More
The seed drill does its most precise job if running through uniform residue and soil. While there’s little you can do about soil variability, residue management is well within your power. As Peter Johnson says in this video, start your winter wheat planting pass from the combine by spreading residue uniformly. (Click here to see… Read More
Side band? Top dress? Add micros or not? When it comes to wheat production many farmers are looking to closely match crop needs with fertilizer applications, but exactly how to meet those needs brings up a host of questions. Never fear, as Peter Johnson, cereal specialist with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food, is… Read More
Tackling huge tasks, including tiling land, isn’t for everyone, but for the ultimate do-it-yourself (DIY) land improvement project, Leibrecht Manufacturing offers a tow-behind tiling unit. RealAgriculture.com caught up with Jordan Wallace, of GPS Ontario, and Mark Leibrecht, Leibrecht Manufacturing, at Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show at Woodstock, Ont., to talk about the Leibrecht Tile Plow. In… Read More
A guest editorial By Cam Dahl, General Manager of the Manitoba Beef Producers. Local. Organic. Hormone free. Gluten free. No pesticides. Nothing artificial. These are the buzzwords in food marketing today. Who can object to all of these wholesome sounding concepts? Food companies are trying to take us back to a time which many consumers… Read More
When Bob Dylan appeared at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965 playing an electric guitar, he was booed off the stage for being untrue to the genre. Ten years later, country awards named John Denver Entertainer of the Year – to the chagrin of presenter Charlie Rich (“Behind Closed Doors”), who, in front of millions… Read More
Sandy Arrow Ranch of Saskatchewan was recently announced as the 2013 recipient of The Environmental Stewardship Award (TESA), according to the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association. The ranch, operated by Allen and Lillian Patkau, received the national honour at the CCA Semi-Annual Meeting in London, ON., going on this week. Sandy Arrow Ranch is located east of… Read More
A visual assessment of pulse crops isn’t enough to know how well or poorly your inoculation program worked this year. What’s more, it’s important to track nodulation to ensure enough time to go in with a rescue nitrogen application, if warranted. So how do you know if your pulse crop is fixing enough N? Time… Read More
How often do you walk the waterways, riverbanks and marshy areas of your pastures? These transitional areas from pasture to waterway, called riparian zones, are vital to soil and water health and deserve attention now and again to ensure cattle haven’t been too hard on them, or that invasive species or undesired species have moved… Read More
Well-managed pastures can produce good yields for years, but will produce best if fertility of those pastures is planned for the long-term. Big producing pastures require big fertility numbers, though grazing helps to cycle these nutrients back to the soil. Over-grazing, too low or high stocking densities and time all can begin to mine pasture… Read More
There are few things more troubling to a farmer than a sickly looking or well-chewed plant. Environmental stress is unavoidable, but determining the correct stress is important if you’re looking to either a) remedy the situation or b) avoid it in the future. Manitoba soybean farmers enjoy relatively few disease and insect pressures, so far,… Read More