Deciding when to spray fungicides can be stressful, especially when it comes to pulse crops such as peas. How do you know you’ll get your money’s worth? One way is to use a simple but effective score sheet developed by pulse research agronomist Ken Lopetinsky. “I think it’s a real helpful tool — it gives […] Read more
Ascochyta Scorecard Makes Fungicide Decisions Easier
Bison Have Good Fit After Beef
The western Canadian bison herd needs to expand, says the Canadian Bison Association. While bison numbers have been steadily shrinking in the last years, demand for the meat has doubled since 2005. Now demand is outstripping supply. Some beef ranchers are wondering if this is a good time to sell cattle and buy bison. Bill […] Read more
Hailed-Out Canola Makes Great Silage
On July 17, 2009, a hailstorm tore through Clifford Cyre’s promising canola crop and stripped off all the blossoms, causing 100 per cent damage. A few weeks later, the crop was heavily blooming again on his Westlock, Alta., farm. That’s when Loren Koch asked Cyre if he could silage the crop for cattle feed. It […] Read more
Four Tips To Get More At The Elevator
Farmers are good at growing grain, but are they good at working with the people they sell it to? Respect, trust and good communication have a direct bearing on a farm’s bottom line, according to grain buyers. “Building up a trustworthy relationship is where the profitability is,” says Gord Hagstrom, farm marketing rep for Cargill […] Read more
Conservation Catches On In Zambia
As a Western Canadian grain farmer, it was a privilege to attend the Kapiri Mposhi Cons-ervation Farming Field Day in Zambia on March 3, 2009. On our farm near Edmonton, Alta., we practised some forms of conservation farming, as do most other grain farmers. While in Zambia, we work with some farm cooperatives in the […] Read more
Find That Area Of Expertise
Nick and Renee Jonk, together with son Theo, operate J-Six Acres in Westlock County, Alta. Each member of the management team has his or her area of interest and expertise. The family crops 3,000 acres, half of which is in canola. The other half is in oats, peas, triticale and some barley — most of […] Read more
To Straight Cut Or To Swath?
For 15 years or more, Cliff Sime compared swathing with straight cutting… “In those 15 years, only once did the swather beat the straight cut yields,” he says. Traditionally farm-ers in Western Canada have swathed canola before combining it. Agronomists tell us yields and oil content are higher when canola is combined standing. While many […] Read more
Byproduct from petroleum, wood, garbage disposal and livestock ventures in your area can be good for your soil
A group of farmers in the Westlock, Alta., area trying some alternative forms of fertilizer — industry byproducts that might otherwise end up in landfills. These include elemental sulphur from petroleum product companies, wood ash from a local green power plant, and compost from Edmonton area landfills. They’re also trying hog manure, a rich nutrient […] Read more
A Pitch For Liquid Fertilizer
Why should farmers make the switch to liquid fertilizer? One farmer at a workshop in Westlock, Alta., remarked: “Anhydrous is still the cheapest source of nitrogen, and they deliver it to my field.” Why should he change his practices? Growers got answers to this question and many more at a workshop hosted by Little Anchor […] Read more
What Fertilizer Form Is Best?
In his Editor’s Blog of January 6, 2010, Jay Whetter posted the following few excerpts from a workshop on liquid fertilizer held in Westlock, Alta., on November 24, 2009. These points came from a first draft of my article “A pitch for liquid fertilizer” in this issue: With dry fertilizer it is difficult to get […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
