While we’re still changing our seeding rate approach from bushels per acre to thousand kernel weight, Phil Needham of Needham Ag Technologies, has moved on to thinking about heads per square yard. An agronomist originally from Britain and now based in Kentucky, Needham has made a name for himself advising farmers on how to increase […] Read more
Editor’s Column: A petition to move the May long weekend?
Holding the May long weekend in the second half of May probably seems like a great idea for people in the city looking forward to a couple of days outside. And if the point of the weekend is to celebrate Queen Victoria’s birthday (May 24), I suppose having it at the end of May makes […] Read more
Editor’s Column: Things are looking up. Land prices, that is
At the end of April, Farm Credit Canada (FCC) released its annual Farmland Values Report. No Grainews readers will be surprised to hear that buying land has paid off over the past decade. Canada-wide, FCC reports that farmland values increased by 6.6 per cent on average in 2018 (after increases of 8.4 per cent in […] Read more
Manage herbicide resistance before you have it
Try a wide variety of weed control strategies
On BASF’s 2019 Herbicide Resistance Management Webinar in March, Andrew Reid, BASF technical service specialist, said it’s always easier to manage herbicide resistant weeds before you have them in your field. One way to do this is to keep things clean. “Cleanliness is key,” Reid said. For example, if you don’t clean your combine after […] Read more
Editor’s Column: Adding value to value creation?
“Value creation” has been a hot topic at farm meetings this season. It’s been a while since I’ve seen so many farmers so eager to get to a microphone and share an opinion. “Value creation” is one name for the idea of farmers paying more to fund Canadian wheat breeding. The meetings I’ve seen cover […] Read more
Should you spray twice for fusarium?
In a fusarium-filled field, are more applications better?
During a February 28 BASF’s “Protect Your Profits” fusarium webinar, a farmer who was watching asked whether, if you had a fusarium-prone field, it would be a good idea to plan to spray a fungicide twice to control fusarium. Dr. Michael Harding, plant pathology research scientist with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry, fielded the question. Harding […] Read more
Good news ahead for wireworm control
New chemical control options are in the works, and should be released in coming years
Haley Catton, research scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada at the Lethbridge research station, spoke to farmers about wireworm at Alberta’s FarmTech conference in Edmonton in January. The wireworms that feed on seed and seedlings underneath the ground, Catton said, are the larvae of click beetles. “It’s not a worm at all, actually.” These insects […] Read more
Editor’s Column: Two great farm shows coming up
Before you get busy with spring seeding, there’s still time to make your travel plans so you don’t miss two great farm shows this year. First, make sure you schedule time on your calendar to get to Ag in Motion. Ag in Motion is Western Canada’s (relatively) new, outdoor show run by Glacier Media (which […] Read more
Taking a look at CWRS protein levels in 2018
Prairie protein levels higher in 2018 than 2017
Through its harvest sample program, the Canadian Grain Commission collects wheat samples from across the Prairies, grades them, and compiles the results. For the 2018 crop year, the CGC found an average protein level of 13.83 per cent for western Canadian No. 1 CWRS. On average, samples from Alberta and B.C. were higher than this, […] Read more
Editor’s Column: More than one way to skin a cat
Winter is the time for commodity associations to hold business meetings across the Prairies. Saskatchewan’s AGMs were held in Saskatoon, back in January. Alberta’s took place at the end of January, in Edmonton, and Manitoba’s meetings happened in mid-February, in Winnipeg. I’ve been attending as many of these meetings as I can, and I can’t […] Read more
