There’s a new pest headed our way. James Tansey, provincial pest management specialist with Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Agriculture gave the audience the bad news at SaskWheat’s semi-annual meeting at the Farm Progress Show on June 20. The cereal leaf beetle is an invasive pest, common in the U.S. It has been spotted on the Prairies […] Read more
Have you seen this bug?
The invasive cereal leaf beetle is heading our way. Look for damage in your wheat crop
Editor’s Column: The view from our farm
Because of our print schedule, I’ve had to put together this issue of Grainews before we get into the field. That’s why I’m running this aerial photo of our farm from last year rather than photos of spring seeding action. We have been in the field, but as of May 1, but only to make […] Read more
Editor’s Column: Working with what you’ve got
In my opinion, reading all of the directions before you get started is for wimps. Who has time? Jump right in, and things will work out. So when I saw the photo of that delicious-looking loaf of bread that came in along with dee Hobsbawn-Smith’s recipe, I decided to give it a shot. It looked […] Read more
Editor’s Column: Dry weather ahead this year?
March went out like a lion in southeast Saskatchewan this year. On Friday the 23rd, the school buses in our region took the kids to school, but when a blizzard blew in, the school division decided it wasn’t safe to bring them home. (This is either inconvenient, or a great chance for a kid-free weekend, […] Read more
New labels for blackleg resistance
New “groups” for blackleg resistance on some canola seed this spring
Agronomists agree the best way to control blackleg in canola is rotation — only growing canola once every three years, at most. Besides rotations, scouting and fungicide can help in the fight against blackleg. And, last spring a new item was added to the list of blackleg-fighting tools: a new labelling system. This season, you’ll see some new letters on some of your seed […] Read more
Editor’s Column: High speed high hopes
A few months ago I used this space to whine about describe the internet speed on our farm. The key word was “slow.” Since then, another local provider has sprung up. It’s using newer technology, and it has been building towers all over southeast Saskatchewan. We signed up right away, and we couldn’t be happier. […] Read more
Editor’s Column: Not planning for a record year
While most of our seeding plans have been locked in for months due to rotations and seed purchases, like most grain farmers, we’re still doing some fine tuning at the margins. Should we grow lentils? Nobody seems to be predicting that Indian import markets will change any time soon. But they grew so well last […] Read more
Editor’s Column: Planning for the year ahead
In February, Farm Credit Canada’s VP and chief ag economist J.P. Gervais spoke on a webinar about the state of the farm economy. It was hard to find a bright spot. While there are a lot of unknowns around factors like international trade agreements (“We have more questions than answers at this time,” he said), […] Read more
No short-term fix for fusarium heard at Durum Summit
Farmers looking for fusarium-resistant durum seed will have to keep on waiting
When farmers packed a meeting hall in Swift Current, Saskatchewan, for the 2018 Durum Summit, they were hoping to find a solution to their fusarium problems. Unfortunately, there’s nothing new on the horizon for the next few years. Curtis Pozniak, a wheat breeder and geneticist at the Crop Development Centre in Saskatoon, says they are […] Read more
Stopping sprayer clean out errors
Curb those embarrassing mistakes with tips from sprayer pro Tom Wolf
When Tom Wolf told his audience at CropSphere in Saskatoon on January 9 that sprayer clean out errors can be embarrassing, the nervous laughter in the room made it clear that most farmers have made some sort sprayer mistake. And, as Wolf pointed out, making the crowd laugh again, those mistakes usually happens in the […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
