The Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture’s Crop Diagnostic School is a great opportunity for farmers and agronomists to get outside for a hands-on, up-close look at plots, plants, insects and weeds. This summer, the School was held in Indian Head over two days in July. One of the many speakers, Gary Krueger, Saskatchewan Agriculture irrigation agrologist […] Read more

Growing crops in saline soil
Sometimes dividing up the field is the best solution to salinity
Editor’s Column: A new solution for safety
Harvest is underway. So far, we’ve only combined our peas, which have run about average. That’s pretty relieving after this dry summer. We’re a little worried about the canola — a nearby farmer told us his harvested canola is smaller than fine-ground pepper. That’s not a good sign. Safety is important all year, but it […] Read more

Heat LQ cleared for pre-harvest use in wheat, barley
Wheat, durum and barley growers have a new pre-harvest herbicide option now that BASF has received Codex maximum residue limits (MRLs) for its product Heat LQ. While “there were probably some wheat acres already harvested,” according to Dan Packer, BASF’s cereals crop manager, this agreement will provide an additional pre-harvest option for farmers who still […] Read more

Rented land on the increase
Statistic’s Canada’s Ag Census asked farmers simple questions about their land. How much of your farm operation do you own? How much do you lease? Across the Prairies, on average, farmers own just less than two-thirds of the land they farm. This ranges from 66 per cent in Manitoba to 58 per cent in Alberta. […] Read more

The case of the ongoing questions: fairy circles caught readers’ imagination
Our Casebook feature is popular with Grainews readers, and it generates quite a bit o mail. But we have never had as much interest in a case as we had with our story about fairy circles. Many of you have had experience with this. This question (and photo above) came to us from Warren Bepple: […] Read more

See Agritechnica with Grainews
Have you been waiting for your chance to see the world’s largest farm machinery show? Grainews and Leader Tours have put together a tour to Germany just for Grainews readers. This tour includes two days at Agritechnica, and a visit to the CLAAS combine factory. There will also be a walking tour of Berlin, a […] Read more

Where to find your provincial crop protection guides
Spring is in the air. That means its time to get your new provincial crop protection guide for all the latest information on registered herbicides, fungicides and insecticides. Here’s how: In Manitoba: For an online copy, Google “Manitoba” and “Guide to Crop Protection” and Google will direct you to a “Guides and Publications” page with many […] Read more

Add a refuge to your soft white wheat
SeCan asks Prairie soft white wheat growers to protect midge-tolerant technology
It was a great day for wheat growers when breeders first transferred the Sm1 gene from varieties of soft red winter wheat into spring wheat. Commercial midge-tolerant spring wheat varieties launched in 2010. But, as they state on the Midge Tolerant Wheat website (midgetolerantwheat.ca), “there is no Plan B.” To keep wheat midge populations from […] Read more

Help is here for soybean sudden death
Bayer’s new ILeVO soybean seed treatment may bring relief to Ontario farmers
While sudden death syndrome in soybeans hasn’t yet been a scourge on the Prairies, it has spread across Ontario and it could be on its way to a soybean field near you. When sudden death syndrome hits Manitoba, farmers might be looking for Bayer’s new ILeVO seed treatment fungicide. This product is a Group 7 […] Read more

Saskatchewan budget seen as costly touch for farms
Saskatchewan’s general farm organization is consulting its farmer members on less-discussed features of last month’s provincial budget, while warning them to brace for impact from new budget-related costs. The Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan last Monday wrapped up its latest round of spring district meetings, at all six of which APAS general manager Duane Haave […] Read more