If you’re planning to spray, beware air temperature inversions on calm, cloudless days. That was the message from Andrew Thostenson during the Canola Council of Canada’s CanoLAB at Vermilion’s Lakeland College this winter. Thostenson is an extension pesticide specialist with North Dakota University. Avoiding pesticide damage during an inversion comes down to understanding how inversions work and recognizing the environmental conditions that cause them, Thostenson […] Read more
Understanding temperature inversions
Those calm, cloudless days may not be the perfect days to get out the sprayer
The need for better record keeping
Reporter's Notebook: It’s not one of agronomy’s most exciting issues, but it’s a need that’s not going away
At CanolaLAB in Vermilion in February, record-keeping kept popping up during the agronomy sessions. Murray Hartman of Alberta Agriculture and the Canola Council’s Dan Orchard facilitated an interesting session on plant stand establishment. Target plant stand recommendations have dropped a little, but before farmers cut seeding rates, they need to know how many plants are […] Read more
Elgin ND wheat meets sellers’ claims
This Canadian northern hard red wheat gave growers high yields and better returns
Elgin ND promises high yields and better returns. Do those claims hold up in farmers’ fields? Two growers who tried out the new variety last year share their experience. North Dakota State University plant breeders developed Elgin ND as a high-yielding milling variety. They first distributed it south of the border in 2013. In Canada, […] Read more
Lower canola target plant stands
With newer canola varieties, farmers can hit optimum yields with lower plant counts
New canola varieties and changing economics have pushed target plant stands lower, says Murray Hartman, oilseed specialist with Alberta Agriculture. The “economic sweet spot” is now four to six plants per square foot, Hartman told farmers and agronomists at the Canola Council of Canada’s CanoLAB in Vermilion, Alberta. Hartman recently reviewed published trial data looking […] Read more
Would faba beans fit in your crop rotation?
Faba beans have potential, but markets are still feeling facing growing pains
As diseases take a bite out of western Canadian crops, farmers are looking for new rotation options. “Faba bean is not susceptible to root rot. Quinoa is not susceptible to fusarium. So it’s two crops that we can grow over here that may fit well into our rotation,” says Brad Goudy, owner of Goudy Ag […] Read more
Saskatchewan Pulse Growers studies market for faba beans
A professional look at the market potential for faba beans finds some long-term options
When economist Joe Feyertag joined LMC International, everyone was focused on vegetable oils, he told CropSphere delegates. “Biofuel mandates were going up across the world.” But Feyertag and his colleagues are doing quite a bit of work analyzing markets for lentils and other pulses these days, he said, as the plant protein market grows. “That’s […] Read more
Facing up to the truth about climate change
Reporter's Notebook: If we want consumers to accept the judgement of science, we need to return the favour
Those pants look terrible on you. Perhaps you’ve experienced that awkward moment when you try to stop a friend from committing a fashion faux pas. If so, you may have agonized how to word your concerns to avoid offense, while still getting your message across. It’s a potentially volatile moment that perfectly captures how I […] Read more
Distributor adds Comatra lights to product line
Euro-built spray boom lighting system now available directly from a Canadian source
Dale Wiens’ tradeshow booth was garnering quite a bit of interest at the Canadian Farm Progress Show in June. And it’s no mystery why: his company, SprayTest Controls Inc., offers practical solutions to on-farm problems. SprayTest’s original product was the remote control boom, which Wiens brought to the CFPS’ innovation completion in 2002. It was […] Read more
Grain cars moving, but not fast enough for some farmers
Poor weather slows loading on the West Coast
With spring around the corner, some farmers are worried they won’t get grain delivered before road bans and field work begins. Brian Stratuliak is a grain and cattle producer in the Dawson Creek, B.C., area. He had planned to deliver 300 tonnes of feed wheat this winter, but has only been able to deliver 120 […] Read more
PHOTOS: Learning at CanoLAB
Farmers at CanoLAB had a hands-on look at canola pests and problems
Grainews field editor Lisa Guenther attended the Canola Council of Canada’s annual learning event CanoLAB at Lakeland College in Vermillion on February 22. CanoLab offers a chance to see live plants and insects up close, while they talk with Western Canada’s top researchers and extension workers about current production issues. Watch the Canola Council’s event […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
