There is a lot of evidence that the best time to swath canola is at the 50 to 60 per cent seed colour change stage, but every year assessing seed colour change and actually swathing at that ideal time can pose quite a challenge,” says Angela Brackenreed, Manitoba agronomy specialist for the Canola Council of […] Read more
The best time to swath canola
The Canola Council’s recommendations on timing have changed. Keep up to date with the latest swathing guidelines
Three ways to sample
If you don’t want any nasty surprises later, make sure your sample is a good representative of the grain you plan to sell
Taking representative samples is a critical step to understanding the quality or other characteristics of anything that is tested in some way. Rarely, if ever, is an entire organism, crop or object tested for quality, consistency, disease, protein, etc. A sample is generally taken and the results of the tests on the sample are presumed to […] Read more
Straight talk on straight cutting
It’s not for everyone, but some farmers are seeing benefits from straight cutting their canola
Steve Larocque of Beyond Agronomy in Three Hills, Alberta, has been straight cutting canola for the last four years. “The main reason we switched to straight cutting was because we couldn’t find a swather with a 30-foot knife that would work in our controlled traffic system,” explains Larocque. “Using a John Deere 9750 with a […] Read more
Glyphosate-resistant kochia in Manitoba
Find out what you need to know about new reports of glyphostate resistance across the Prairies
Kochia is not the first glyphosate-resistant weed in Canada but it is the first in the West. Giant ragweed was the first weed confirmed with glyphosate resistance in Canada. It was discovered in 2008 near Windsor, Ontario. Giant ragweed is an extremely competitive weed — if herbicide control options for giant ragweed are diminished, it […] Read more
Fertilizer toxicity can kill a seed
Too much fertilizer too close to the seed can create a toxic environment. Here’s how to recognize the problem if you have it
The last thing any farmer wants to do is create a toxic environment at seeding time by applying too much fertilizer so close to the seed that it prevents normal germination and establishment. Fertilizer is not the only culprit when it comes to poor emergence. Seeding too deep, poor seed quality, disease, insects, dry soil […] Read more
Swede midge life cycle
Understanding the swede midge’s life cycle is the first step on the way to controlling this new pest
Swede midge adults emerge from mid-May to mid-June from pupae that have overwintered in the soil in cocoons. At least, this is the experience in Ontario — a great deal of research is still required to understand the insect and its life cycle nuances in Saskatchewan. The adult is a very small, delicate, light- brown/grey […] Read more
Swede Midge: a potential ‘perfect storm’
There’s a new canola pest in town. It’s hard to spot and hard to control, but the damage it causes is easy to detect
Look up “perfect storm” in Wikipedia and you will see it is used to describe an event where a combination of circumstances will aggravate a situation drastically — and in a bad way. Such is the potential situation with an up-to-now unknown and non-native pest of cruciferous plants — swede midge. “This pest displays a […] Read more
Watch for sunflower diseases
Farmers interested in planting sunflowers in 2014 should be ready to protect them from sclerotinia head rot and sunflower rust
Sunflowers are generating a great deal of interest for 2014 planting. “Interest in sunflowers is very high this winter,” says Anastasia Kubinec, oilseeds business development specialist with Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Development. “It’s price driven and contracts are being scooped up very quickly.” About 90 per cent of Canada’s sunflower acres are in Manitoba, […] Read more
Seeding with thousand kernel rates
Agronomists promote using thousand kernel rates to calculate seeding rates. But many farmers still haven’t picked up the habit
Talk to almost any agronomist, and a lot of farmers, and they will tell you that they calculate seeding rates using 1,000-kernel weights (TKW) and target plant populations. They don’t use some arbitrary and antiquated volume measure. Why aren’t all farmers using this strategy? “The root of the reason, I believe, is there’s not enough […] Read more
Intensify production by regulating growth
Plant growth regulators can give you higher yields, with lower crop height
Plant growth regulators (PGR) are not a new technology. They are commonly used in other areas of the world with high intensity cereal management systems, where high levels of nitrogen fertilizer are being used and lodging is a threat to yield and quality. Data from the U.K. Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
