Australian farmers who have adopted controlled traffic farming (CTF) claim to save 30 to 50 per cent in fuel costs. Does the concept work in Western Canada? One Alberta farmer used 2010 as his launch of CTF. Even though the strategy seems to shine in dry years, Steve Larocque still saw benefits this year when […] Read more
The Case For Controlled Traffic Farming
Employee Relations Key To Dairy Farm Success
There’s not a lot of standing still at LaBass Holsteins Ltd. Owner Jan Bassa’s philosophy is that if you are standing still, then you are actually going backwards, says his wife, Tracy. Which means keeping an eye to the future is always foremost in the minds of this farming couple, who were recently named 2010 […] Read more
Connecting Consumers To The Farm
In 1981, as a young Steve Cooper helped his brother drag the little red wagon laden with sweet corn to the end of the lane he never dreamt that he would end up as one of Ontario’s Outstanding Young Farmers (OYF). But it was those early experiences of selling the farm produce, that he helped […] Read more
Beef Producer Goes Holistic – for Sep. 6, 2010
Many cattle producers tired of a depressed market have switched totally to grain, but Ken Yakielashek of Sifton, Man, has done the opposite, adopting holistic management for his 300-head cow-calf operation. The Yakielasheks rotationally graze their cattle through a series of temporary electric fenced paddocks, moving cattle 10 acres at a time, over mixed perennial […] Read more
Watch For Ascochyta In Field Pea
Although still not a major concern for many pea growers, researchers in Saskatchewan have initiated an extensive survey to try and find out exactly what diseases are out there and how much of a problem they could pose in the future. The 2009 field pea disease survey is the first provincially co-ordinated study done for […] Read more
Fungicides Boost Yield, Speed Maturity
Crops that received fungicide ripened faster than those without, which is contrary to what is supposed to happen Brett Casavant farms near Tisdale, Sask., and every year he grapples with the question of whether or not fungicides offer a return on the cost. To try and pin down an anwer, he’s been conducting his own […] Read more
Delivering the right product, in the right place is important
The first step of planning a vaccination program is deciding what you are vaccinating for and choosing the correct vaccine. Whether you purchase vaccine from a veterinarian clinic or another outlet, you should always check the label for an expiry date and a DIN (Drug Identification Number) that indicates it has been government approved for […] Read more
Manage Resistance In Herbicide-Tolerant Crops
About 90 per cent of canola acres grown in Western Canada contain either the Liberty Link or Roundup Ready trait. Canadian canola producers have so far dodged the weed resistance bullet that is causing problems for many American soybean and corn growers. “They have big problems in the southern U. S., particularly in the soybean […] Read more
Search For Nitrogen Fixers
Dr. Chantal Hamel with Agriculture Canada’s Semiarid Prairie Agricultural Research Facility in Swift Current, Sask. has spent the past few years trying to establish a zero input native pasture and she has had to throw out a few assumptions along the way. Hamel and her team wanted to see how much nitrogen could be fixed […] Read more
Timing Is Everything When Applying Nitrogen On Winter Wheat
A split N application in late fall, which is often desirable in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, where wet conditions can make spring application challenging, does not appear to improve protein levels of winter wheat Winter wheat provides several rotational benefits — from spreading out the seeding workload to expanding marketing opportunities — but it also creates […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
