The Chinook Applied Research Association (CARA) can’t control the weather. The oldest farmer run, applied research association in Alberta, can evaluate and demonstrate a wide range of crop and forage production and management practices, as it has done for 30 years, but as the 2009 growing season proved, Mother Nature again has the final say. […] Read more
One of the major goals of applied research trials is to get people thinking. A rough 2009 growing season stirred up more questions than answers at CARA
While technology for calibrating seed drill seeding rates is good, these producers also have their own checks and balances
One common message agronomists try to drive home to producers — and there are many messages when it comes to producing a healthy, vigorous, high yielding crop — and that is first, Get Enough Seed In The Ground. So what is enough and how do you know? Those are the seeding rate questions we posed […] Read more
Living Without Jay, If You Can Call It Living!
Boy, it is pretty hard dragging myself out of bed in the morning to get to work, now that Jay is gone. Why? What for? Who cares? What’s the point? I am listless. (What’s that? Did someone mention a paycheck… okay, that is enough to re-kindle my interest. There’s fire in the belly again.) Geez, […] Read more
Systmas Win Environmental Award
Eastern Ontario beef producers Charlie and Kim Sytsma of Eighth Line Farm are the winners of this year’s Ontario Cattlemen’s Association (OCA) Environmental Stewardship Award (TESAward), sponsored by RBC Royal Bank. The Sytsmas run 220 Red Angus cow-calf pairs on their home farm and leased properties near Athens, Ontario, in the United Counties of Leeds […] Read more
Do you have enough seeds in the ground?
I don’t farm, I am just an all-knowing farm writer. But, one of the most common messages I hear from the experts is for producers to keep the seeding rate up. There are several benefits to this, which first includes simply having enough plants in the field to optimize your yield, but it is also […] Read more
In search of tender, tasty meat
I think the Olympics are over – or at least the first round. The Paralympics are yet to come – but it is time I moved on with my thoughts. Blogging is like fish – it is always better fresh, so I am sure a few people are wondering what died on the Grainews webpage. […] Read more
Farmers in this panel say no-till systems have limits for managing crop residue and excess moisture. Vertical tillage chops up heavy residue and helps dry wet fields
Soil conservation specialists are not convinced that vertical tillage has widespread application across Western Canada, but three producers contacted for this issue’s Farmer Panel say the tillage system works for them. For one farmer, vertical tillage fits in better with a one-man farming system, for another it helps manage crop residue and warm up the […] Read more
Vertical Tillage A Step Backward
“A lot of this technology is coming out. It may seem new, but it is really old technology being re-introduced as something new. Where does it have a fit in Western Canada under our conditions?” — Blair McClinton With growing interest among equipment manufacturers and some producers in the concept of vertical tillage, long time […] Read more
Get To Know The Chemical Names
More herbicide choices give farmers more options for controlling weeds, but now with many brand names for the same active ingredient, the landscape is more confusing, says a University of Saskatchewan crop protection specialist. Plenty of new product names are entering the marketplace, Ken Sapsford says. These aren’t necessarily new chemistries with new modes of […] Read more
92 Minor Use Registrations
—Ken Sapsford. “If you have an issue, the system works very well.” If you have specific weed or insect problems in crops that aren’t covered by herbicide or insecticide registration, you should bring the issue forward to your provincial commodity group, says Ken Sapsford, a weed specialist from the University Saskatchewan (U of S). The […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
