Early results are in, and the recommendation is to get your pea and lentil seed to a testing lab, ASAP. At the Top Notch grower meeting in Moose Jaw sponsored by SaskCanola, SaskFlax, and the Saskatchewan Pulse Growers, Saskatchewan’s provincial plant pathologist, Barb Ziesman, talked about the preliminary seed test results from Saskatchewan seed tests […] Read more
Get your pea and lentil seed tested
Preliminary testing results show high levels of ascochyta in Saskatchewan’s pea seed
Editor’s Column: Finding your own path on the farm
Over at Country Guide, sister publication to Grainews, editor Tom Button has run a three-part series on women in agriculture, written by Anne Lazurko. This series is getting a lot of online attention, particularly in ag women’s forums. I’m paying attention — not only because I’m a woman on a farm, and not just because […] Read more
Resistance, Group 4 and neonicotinoids
Saskatchewan pest management specialist updates growers at CropSphere
Saskatchewan’s provincial pest management specialist updated growers on the current state of government regulation of neonicotinoids at CropSphere in Saskatoon in January. He began with a review of insecticide modes of action. Just as herbicides are classified into groups according to how they control weeds, insecticides are classified into groups based on how they control insects. […] Read more
Editor’s Column: Don’t get too comfortable
Farmers always like to be polite and support each other, but let’s be honest, here. It’s been easy for crop producers to get a little smug and complacent when we consider what’s happening in the meat aisle at the Co-op. There are a lot more plant-based meat “replacements” than there used to be. Sylvain Charlebois, […] Read more
Still no magic bullet for fusarium head blight
There’s still no cure, but at least there’s no sign of fungicide resistance. Yet
“We have no magic bullet.” When Randy Kucher, associate professor at the Crop Development Centre/Department of Plant Sciences at the University of Saskatchewan, said that at the beginning of his presentation, the mood in the roomful of CropSphere attendees deflated just a bit. Fusarium head blight has stolen yield from many durum and spring wheat […] Read more
Editor’s Column: The problem with democracy
I probably shouldn’t admit this, but I am the kind of person who enjoys (or at least doesn’t mind) sitting in on a good debate about the rules of order at a business meeting. This kind of passionate bickering about tabling resolutions probably doesn’t happen at biker gang summits. The most recent rules-of-order-related dispute I […] Read more
Editor’s Column: From sledding fun to spoiled canola
Winter is in full swing, with large-scale farmer meetings going on in Edmonton, Saskatoon, and Winnipeg. Manitoba farmers who make time to go to CropConnect will have a chance to vote on whether or not their farmer-funded commodity groups should merge into one large group. In Alberta, barley and wheat growers will discuss some ideas […] Read more
What to consider when bringing a new spouse to your farm
When someone on a family farm brings home a new spouse it’s cause for celebration, a step toward passing the farm to the next generation. Of course, there are lots of legal and business decisions to make, but then everything is fine, right? No. There are several ways things can go wrong, from arguments about […] Read more
New cereal varieties hitting the market for 2020
Canterra, FP Genetics, Proven Seed and SeCan are bringing new options to the market
If you’re looking for CPSR, CWRS, durum or even barley, these four companies are bringing a handful of new varieties to the market for 2020. Wheat and durum breeders have been working hard to come up with better fusarium resistance. Canterra has developed a new two-row malt barley variety, and Proven Seed has two new […] Read more
New canola varieties for the 2020 crop year
There are 27 new canola varieties hitting the market for Western Canada
When Grainews asked seed companies about their new canola offerings for 2020, they came up with a list of 24 new varieties! And, keep in mind, these are only the varieties that are brand new for 2020. You might still be investigating new offerings from 2019 and 2018 as well. Many of these varieties include […] Read more
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