There’s a reason why “spurge” rhymes with “scourge.” The last economic impact analysis of the noxious weed in Manitoba, which came out in 2010, concluded that leafy spurge costs the province $40.2 million every year due to lost grazing capacity, costs of chemical controls on roadsides and indirect costs. In 2010, there were roughly 1.2 […] Read more
Training cattle to eat leafy spurge
With leafy spurge acres spreading, it’s time to bring on some new tactics
Got fusarium? Handle it safely
Fusarium damaged grain can be dangerous to more than just your bank account
Does handling fusarium infected grain pose more risks to producers than regular grain? It’s a question that yields few answers to the casual researcher or farmer looking for information online. In fact, according to J. David Miller, a professor at Carleton University, you only really hear about the dangers of fusarium damaged grain, and how […] Read more
Marketing fusarium-damaged wheat
Got fusarium? Here are five guidelines for unloading that low-grade grain
If you grew wheat this year, odds are good you’re facing the hard reality of fusarium. What are you going to do with damaged grain? It’s a hard question in a good year, and much harder in a year when fusarium infection is widespread. Grain infected with Fusarium graminearum can carry vomitoxin (also known as […] Read more
Reduce your malt barley risk
Plant barley on field pea stubble, limit fungicide and reduce nitrogen application
What are the biggest risks on producers’ radars when it comes to growing malting barley? Some might say yield losses, some might say disease, and some might say reduced kernel quality or high protein levels — or a combination of all of these problems and more. New research customizes malting barley systems based on producers’ […] Read more
Still going strong after 50 years
Leafcutter bee pioneers ‘still learning’ after all that time
When Henry Braul and his brother John decided to take a risk and invest in leafcutter bees to pollinate their alfalfa seed fields near Rosemary, Alta., “we were the only ones,” he says. “Everyone was watching us and smiling behind our backs.” Braul bought his first batch of larvae in three two-gallon pails for $700 […] Read more
Forages and grasses for marginal land
Permanent cover crops can increase fertility in "problem soils" over time
Jeff Schoenau has a word for agricultural areas currently in annual production that fail to deliver a return on expensive inputs: “heartache land.” It’s better known as “marginal” land, and it can be defined as land with soil that has limitations including poor water-holding capacity and water availability to roots due to sandy texture or […] Read more
Prevention not always the best bet
Sometimes, applying fungicide to durum as a preventative measure could increase disease
Better safe than sorry” is a mantra many producers live by. But in the case of durum, they might be better off ignoring it — at least when it comes to early and repeated fungicide applications. Dr. Bill May, a Crop Management Agronomist for Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Indian Head Research Farm, and Dr. Myriam […] Read more
Check with buyers before you treat
Buyers don’t want canola treated with quinclorac or wheat treated with chlormequat
The message is clear: two herbicides are no longer viable options in Western Canada. This spring, the Western Grain Elevator Association (WGEA) and the Canola Oilseed Processors Association (COPA) individually announced their members will not accept canola treated with quinclorac or wheat treated with chlormequat in the 2016 crop year. The decision comes due to […] Read more
Apply fungicide when lentils start flowering
If you have valuable lentils out in your field, make sure you protect them from crop disease
Spray on time — don’t wait to see signs of disease. This is the advice Bobbie Bratrud, who farms near Weyburn, Sask., offers to first-time lentil growers. “Because they’re so valuable this year my advice would be to spray on time, and don’t wait to look for the disease. If you’re starting to see signs […] Read more
Stripe rust on the horizon for winter wheat
Keep an eye on the weather. Precipitation may bring you more than just moist soil
Stripe rust is moving up the Pacific Northwest, so western Canadian producers might see infections in winter wheat this spring, says Randy Kutcher, associate professor at the University of Saskatchewan. Last year, there was a lot of stripe rust throughout the continent, but it was too dry on the Prairies to become a major concern […] Read more
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