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Agronomy and the Law: Be careful what you recommend
GrowPro

Agronomy and the Law: Be careful what you recommend

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Recommending various herbicides, fungicides and pesticides to farmer and ag-retail clients is an important aspect of an agronomist’s role. These recommendations must be tailored to each grower’s fields in an economically viable manner and, in the case of pesticides, recommendations and the usage and storage thereof, must be within the law. In fulfilling your duty […] Read more
Only experts can spot the differences with the naked eye. However, huge differences can be identified using molecular genetics.
GrowPro

Science Brief: Plants adapt genes to farming methods

Farming practices can trigger genetic adaptions in plants, according to research at the University of Bonn. The 23-year project started in the late 1990s, when a research group led by Jens Léon started an experiment into how farming conditions affect plant genetic material. Researchers first increased genetic variation by crossing high-yield barley with a wild […] Read more
solubility test
GrowPro

Field Notes: So what about solubility?

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While conducting my PhD studies over the past three years, I have been fortunate to do a deep study on phosphorus (P). It is a fascinating nutrient often characterized by a series of seemingly contrasting truths. For example, while it is considered a nutrient essential for all life, it can also act as a pollutant […] Read more
laying tile
GrowPro

Understanding tile drainage

Tiling can be a good solution for fixing multiple problems, but it can also be complex to install, and costs vary widely depending on the farm. Make purchasing decisions easier by doing your homework first.

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Removing excess water is the big payoff for tile drainage. Submerged fields and saturated soils can slash yields, cause salinity problems and even spell the loss of the entire crop, if it’s bad enough. However, it is not an inexpensive fix, nor is it a simple solution, and it won’t work for every farm. That’s […] Read more
At left is a wheat crop seeded on shorter or more conventional stubble height, which trapped less snow over winter. At right is a more robust crop growing in taller stubble that was able to capture more snow.
GrowPro

Research confirms value of taller crop stubble

Technology is available to help set up, measure and monitor on-farm research projects

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Leaving taller crop stubble in the fall can improve the odds of higher crop yield in the following year, says Saskatchewan crop consultant Mike Palmier. His field observations in the 2021 growing season, followed by on-farm research trials through 2022 and 2023, produced data to support a recommendation to leave taller crop stubble. Even a […] Read more
A drone lifts off at Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show at Woodstock, Ont., this September. There are no agricultural pesticides currently approved for application with drones, so agronomists must exercise caution when asked for advice on the practice.
GrowPro

Be wary when asked about spraying with drones

Farmers may ask for advice, but answering may get you in hot water

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It could happen anytime. As drone fever sweeps across Western Canada, a farmer is eventually going to ask an agrologist or crop advisor to teach them how to spray pesticides with drones. What do you do? Igor de Albuquerque advises extreme caution. “If the product in question does not include drone usage on its label, […] Read more
Elliott Hildebrand
GrowPro

Agronomist looks to give back to industry

Elliott Hildebrand sees a future for more intercropping and plant root simulator probes

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Like many kids who grow up on the farm, Elliott Hildebrand fell in love with agriculture when he was a child. When there wasn’t an opportunity to work on the farm as an adult, he pursued the next best thing — agronomy. Now he has his bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in agronomy from the […] Read more
Microsclerotia growing on the skin of the outer stem, which is peeling back.
GrowPro

A crash course on verticillium stripe

It’s important to know how to identify this newcomer to western Canadian canola crops and distinguish it from other diseases

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Verticillium stripe of canola is causing yield loss in Manitoba and probably other areas of the Prairies. And it’s getting worse. The disease, caused by the Verticillium longisporum pathogen, was first reported in Manitoba in 2014. In 2015, Canadian Food Inspection Agency surveyors found the pathogen in six provinces, including all three Prairie provinces. The […] Read more
Digging into the cause of poor yields
Crops, GrowPro

Digging into the cause of poor yields

Did drought, fertility issues or something else lead to that poor crop? We look at the possibilities

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Your client’s crop yielded poorly, and they assume it was due to drought. But you suspect it may be a fertility issue. How can you accurately diagnose the problem? Let us first examine what dry and drought mean. A dry year means reduced crop growth and reduced nutrient uptake, since biological, chemical and physical processes […] Read more
TAP program participants at a recent event at Enderlin, N.D., west of Fargo, check out a Montag fertilizer application unit, designed for use in reduced-tillage and cover cropping systems.
Crops

Soil health training served on TAP for Prairie agronomists

North Dakota's Trusted Advisor Partnership (TAP) program coming north to Manitoba, Saskatchewan

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A program designed to provide agronomists with practical soil health knowledge — and a peer sharing network on the subject — will soon be establishing roots in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. The Canadian Prairies Trusted Advisor Partnership (TAP) plans to launch its first cohort of about 15 agronomists in January 2025. It will serve as a […] Read more

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AGCanadaTV: In case you missed it; your national ag news recap for Aug. 15, 2025

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