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Fertilizer

The 2019 harvest on the Prairies left little to be desired, with crops still left in fields for a good number of farmers.
Columns, Crops

Speeding up crop maturity

Consider these nine factors to make sure you have time to get your crop in the bin in 2020

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Last season, 2019, was a bad crop-growing season on the Canadian Prairies. There are various estimates of 10 to 25 per cent of all crops left unharvested in swaths or even still standing on cropland. Well, in that case, 75 to 90 per cent of the crop is in the bin, despite the weather. Lots […] Read more
Smoke rises from the site of burning railcars at a CP derailment near Guernsey, Sask., on Feb. 6, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Nayan Sthankiya)
Crops, Machinery

Garneau re-adjusts train speed limits

New limits in place for 'key trains' with dangerous goods

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Having cut speed limits for trains hauling dangerous goods following a fiery derailment earlier this month, federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau is adjusting those limits for a “more targeted” approach. Garneau announced Sunday he has pulled his Feb. 6 ministerial order on speed limits and replaced it with a new one affecting so-called “key trains” […] Read more
File photo of a storm cloud from the southwestern end of Lake Winnipeg at Matlock, Man. (IanChrisGraham/iStock/Getty Images Plus)
General, Weather

Average Prairie heat, more rain in summer forecast

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MarketsFarm — Canada’s Prairies should see higher-than-normal precipitation and generally average temperatures during the 2020 growing season, according to a forecast from Scott Kehler of Weatherlogics. Speaking Thursday at CropConnect in Winnipeg, Kehler said “there’s not really a strong pattern one way or the other” when it comes to the temperature outlook. The Weatherlogics forecast […] Read more
Members of the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory block tracks serving Via Rail at Tyendinaga, Ont., east of Belleville, on Feb. 13, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Chris Helgren)
Crops

CN halts rail traffic in East due to protests

Grain groups seek dispute resolution or enforcement of court orders

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Canadian National Railway (CN) is shutting down its Eastern Canada operations due to ongoing blockades on its rail lines in Ontario. The company announced Thursday it’s been “forced to initiate a disciplined and progressive shutdown” in the region, which means “stopping and safely securing all transcontinental trains across its Canadian network.” The decision “may imminently […] Read more
Melissa Werkema’s Future Analytics Inc. offers “plant sap” testing, which measures the xylem sap in plant leaves as an indicator of nutrient availability.
Crops, Features

New lab offers plant sap analysis

Tired of the same old soil and tissue tests? Try this

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A new, independent lab is offering an innovative nutrient test to farmers in Red Deer, Alta. Future Analytics Inc. offers “plant sap” testing, which measures the xylem sap in plant leaves as an indicator of nutrient availability, as well as water, soil and bacteria testing, says owner Melissa Werkema. The lab, which opened in spring […] Read more
Closeup of a plowed field, fertile, black soil.
Crops, Features

The five principles of soil health

USDA researcher says healthy soil needs a systems approach

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At the Regenerative Agriculture Forum in Brandon in November, Jay Fuhrer, soil health specialist with the Natural Resource Conservation Service of the USDA, spoke about soil health. Fuhrer has identified five principles of soil health, and how they work to improve soil health and increase productivity. Fuhrer defined soil health is defined as “the continued […] Read more
Farming Smarter has been looking at the potential of precision planters for grain, pulse and oilseed crops for several years.
Crops, Equipment, Features

Precision planter research is encouraging

Still many questions about how it would fit for grains, pulses and oilseed crops

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Southern Alberta researchers say there is increasing evidence that seeding a wide range of western Canadian field crops with a vacuum or precision planter makes sense, but they need co-operative weather to prove it. That’s how Ken Coles and Lewis Baarda with the Lethbridge-based Farming Smarter applied research organization sum up results of several years […] Read more
Smoke rises from the site of burning railcars at a CP derailment near Guernsey, Sask., on Feb. 6, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Nayan Sthankiya)
Crops, Machinery, Reuters

Canada to cut speed limits for trains hauling dangerous goods

New curb follows another Saskatchewan crash, fire

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Ottawa/Winnipeg | Reuters — The federal government said Thursday it would impose temporary speed limits on trains hauling dangerous goods after a Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) crude oil train derailed and caught fire. The accident, which happened in the early hours of Thursday near Guernsey, Sask., about 40 km south of Humboldt, was the second […] Read more
Farmers take a look at smaller-scale plots on a tour of the research farm at Carman, Man., in the summer of 2019.
Crops

Testing the cover crop hypothesis

Agronomy researchers are catching up with what farmers are doing in their fields

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It’s an exciting time for cover crop research. Last summer, many large-scale cover crop trials were underway across the Prairies looking at everything from cover crop combinations, rotations and planting methods to pollinator strips. One of the biggest ongoing projects, funded by Western Grains Research Foundation, Manitoba Wheat and Barley Growers and Manitoba Pulse and […] Read more
Jeff’s durum crop was patchy and uneven. Most of the affected areas were on the tops of knolls within the field.
Crops, Features

Crop advisor casebook: Why is this durum crop patchy, uneven and with discoloured leaves?

A Crop Advisor's Solution from the February 4, 2020 issue of Grainews

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Jeff, a mixed grain and livestock producer who farms near Vulcan, Alta., called me in early June about a problem in one of his durum wheat fields. Earlier that day, Jeff had noticed the crop looked patchy and uneven while driving by the field. When he walked into the field to investigate, he could see […] Read more

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