This week’s episode of Wheat Pete’s Word is full of alliterations and maybe, just maybe, a little serving of humble pie. We start this week talking wild weather, wheat woes and wonder, then move on to skimpy seeds and yellow ycorn (Editor’s note: Sorry, I tried). Host Peter Johnson tackles what to do or not… Read more »
Category: Weather
Recent rains fail to ease moisture concerns of Prairie pastures
Ranchers in Western Canada have faced some real challenges this spring. For some early calvers the late winter posed some serious problems for mortality, and now the hot, dry conditions are posing major grass concerns. There has been talk of cattle already being pulled off southern pastures to be moved up north. From a marketing,… 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 »
Bring on the rain: How do you tempt Mother Nature?
Desperate situations require desperate measures. With an estimated 30% of the western Canadian prairies under significant drought threat, farmers in the southern area of the prairies are very concerned about crop and pasture conditions. Mother Nature may have a death grip on the rain tap, but is there something that you can do about it?… Read more »
Corn School: When to switch to shorter-season hybrids
When should you consider switching corn and plant a shorter-season hybrid? That’s a question many growers in some southwestern regions of Ontario are wrestling with as the calendar pushes ever closer to June. Spring weather conditions in many areas of the province have been good and planting is proceeding at a strong pace. However, heavy… Read more »
Cool in the east, dry in the west & similarities to 1936: Drew Lerner’s summer outlook
A transition between weather patterns over the next three weeks will go a long way in determining the kind of weather we can expect for the rest of summer, while potentially offering some short-term relief in dry areas, according to Drew Lerner of World Weather Inc. Lerner joined RealAg Radio on Wednesday to discuss his… Read more »
Prairie ranchers monitoring pastures for predicted drought
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As farmers in Western Canada are working hard at seeding across the Prairies, many ranchers are branding and taking stock on the quality of the spring 2018 calf crop. Also on the minds of many ranchers on the southern half of the Prairies: pasture conditions and what the bleak spring moisture outlook could mean for… Read more »
Opposing summer forecasts on either side of the Canadian Shield
As planting and seeding begins across the country, farmers look to Mother Nature to do her part and provide positive growing conditions through the entire season. Earlier this week on RealAg Radio, host Shaun Haney spoke with Michael Clark, of BAMWX, about the Canadian spring and summer forecast. Similar to most regions of North America,… Read more »
How much yield potential do we lose planting after May 1?
It’s mid-April and a huge part of Western Canada, Ontario, and the northern U.S. is digging out after a late winter blast of snow, freezing rain, and ice. As May looms large in the next 14 days, we have to ask — when should we start to panic about a late planting season? May 1st… Read more »
From drought concerns to “good change” — AccuWeather’s spring outlook
Weather is never far from the minds or mouths of farmers, and this year is certainly no exception. With parts of the prairies under a thick blanket of snow, and Ontario dealing with a wet bias, concerns and opportunities, are aplenty. On Tuesday, RealAgriculture’s Shaun Haney heard from four farmers from Alberta, Manitoba, and Ontario…. Read more »
Late spring start becoming a reality for farmers across Canada
Spring has not sprung. Spring is still buried in the hole that the groundhog climbed back into. With a gross return to winter weather in the first week of April across much of Canada, farmers are facing the reality that it will likely be a later start this spring. But is panic setting in or… Read more »
Treat your soil like an Olympic athlete for peak performance
What do Canadian speed skater Kim Boutin and your soil have in common? They both prosper and succeed when you treat them like an Olympic athlete. Boutin’s Olympic training earned her three medals at the recently-concluded Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. What would happen if farmers treated their soil like an Olympic athlete? Soil… Read more »
A zero-sum moisture game for the prairies in 2018
For many producers on the prairies, moisture concerns are top of mind, as we inch closer to the growing season. And, according to some meteorologists, prairie producers may not see respite, at least not in the near future. “I think we’re going to start out…definitely on a drier side,” says Bryce Anderson, ag meteorologist and… Read more »
Connections key to building soil organic matter
There’s consensus that healthy soils with higher organic matter deliver a range of benefits from supplying nutrients, to building soil structure, to increasing water-holding capacity, and reducing erosion. But are enough farmers taking the required steps to increase soil health and organic matter? United States Department of Agriculture research agronomist Shannon Osbourne believes a stronger working… Read more »
Wheat Pete’s Word, Jan 31: Planter pressure, cover crop queries, and cold, dry weather
Let’s get down to the nitty gritty on this week’s top agronomy questions, shall we? Peter Johnson is back for this last January 2018 instalment of Wheat Pete’s Word, and it’s an action-packed episode. Out west, farmers have two main concerns — lack of moisture and lack of moisture. This brings up two questions in this… Read more »