PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE You need to know what farmers across Canada and in competing regions around the world are doing to reduce costs and increase quality. This is called benchmarking, and it’s a key component in pushing your business further. Having lots of land is a good way to spread out fixed costs, but it’s […] Read more
Wheat & Chaff – for Mar. 9, 2009
Keep Canola Well Fed
Nitrogen is your best investment in terms of canola inputs, says Jim Bessel, senior agronomy specialist with the Canola Council of Canada. “If you’ve got the moisture and you don’t feed canola what it needs to reach its genetic potential — especially with hybrids — then you’re not going to be profitable,” he says. Every […] Read more
Aussie Drill Reaches 160 Feet
Multi Farming Systems of Queensland, Australia has built a 160-foot drill so farmers short on labour can get their fields planted in time. The first questions that spring to mind are: Who has fields big enough for a rig this size? And can you get a tractor big enough to pull this thing? First, the […] Read more
“Field Of Dreams” Wheat Tips
Hudye Soil Services of Norquay, Sask. has been running its “Field of Dreams” trials for 10 years. The goal is to find out how high they can push wheat yields, and then find a happy medium between yield potential and maximum profits. In 2008, they grew AC Superb and CDC Go hard red spring wheat […] Read more
Needham Likes To Tissue Test
Phil Needham takes a long-term view in his fertilizer management. It all begins, as you’ve heard before, with soil tests and with plant tissue tests. The Kentucky-based wheat agronomist and author of “Taking Your Wheat Yields to the Next Level” uses these tests to determine the immediate mineral deficiencies in a field. But more importantly, […] Read more
With the price of phosphorus where it is, your best and simplest application is to put it with the seed — as you probably already do
“At current P prices, I will be happy if farmers can continue to just seedplace 20 to 25 pounds per acre of P2O5.” —Lyle Cowell Phil Needham says in the other article on page 6 that deep banding of phosphorus worked for some farmers in Kentucky, but he says it’s probably not an option for […] Read more
Made to straight-cut canola
Keith Dalgleish of Grandview, Man., bought a 30-foot Biso VX Crop Ranger header for his New Holland CX8070 combine. He used it for the first time in 2008, and straight combined all his wheat and all his canola. It was the first time he had straight combined canola. “It worked very well,” he says. He […] Read more
If you’re in a cash crunch or don’t like the high cost of fertilizer, at least maintain a minimum fertilizer rate. The payoff from those first pounds is so high
“We need to start thinking of fertilizer as a scarce commodity that needs to be conserved and protected,” says Jeff Schoenau. The research scientist and professor at the University of Saskatchewan gave a talk called “Strategies for maximizing returns on fertilizer inputs” at the Crop Production Show in Saskatoon in January. Here is my summary […] Read more
You can have the most accurate GPS signal coming into your tractor, but if your implement doesn’t follow in line, what’s the point?
Say you invest in an autosteer system for your tractor and you pay good money to get a more accurate GPS signal. You do this because you want to minimize overlap on your seed drill. But what if you’re in hilly country? Your tractor could be going straight as an arrow, but your drill will […] Read more
Do your own germination tests
January is a good time to test your bin-run seed for germination, says Ieuan Evans, senior Agri-Coach with Agri-Trend Agrology. “Some cereals and other crops have delayed germination,” he says. “They will not germinate unless they have been stored for a few months.” When you buy certified seed, you have a guarantee of germination. With […] Read more
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