An estimated 25 per cent of North America’s mint oil is now the product of a southeastern Alberta farming business, but don’t get the idea that commercial mint production is a job for the faint of heart.
How a southern Alberta farm maintains mint condition
Quattro Ventures grows mint for the essential oils market and had a lot to learn about the agronomics for this specialty crop
Taking dairy wastewater to the irrigation pivot, via wetlands
A new nature-based solution could help dairy farmers in Alberta against water shortages
Many Alberta dairy farms rely on irrigation water to grow feed crops to sustain their cattle herds, but drought and water shortages in recent years has made that more difficult. Federal ag researchers are seeking one of those dairy farms to help develop a possible new source.
Tips for planting a successful fall crop
Seed expert says farmers who start planning early and have everything ready to go at seeding will have a smoother time
Growing crops that overwinter, such as a fall hybrid rye or winter wheat, is a different way of farming in some ways than a spring crop, so producers need to be aware of that, Greg Stamp says.
Supersized grain carts a weighty problem
They can boost harvest efficiencies, but also ramp up risk of serious soil compaction. Here are some tips to reduce that risk
Grain carts can still cause serious soil compaction whether they’re on tracks or wheels, but Scott Shearer’s research at Ohio State indicates less of a yield hit with tracks compared to wheels in unfavourable soil conditions. Here are some tips to reduce compaction risk.
Manage Prairie soy fields to get benefits of early planting
An early start to their growing season could spell more bushels of beans at harvest
Seth Naeve says the argument for earlier planting dates is in how they can help soybean crops get a jump on germination and plant establishment when fields warm up enough for that to happen.
A Saskatchewan farmer is combining weed control with harvest
The Seed Terminator, an attachment that destroys weed seeds on their way out of the combine, is being put to work on a farm north of Saskatoon
Josh Lade’s farm is all-in on a combine attachment called the Seed Terminator, on which he’s spent mid-six figures over the past seven years, making sure it’s put to work on every acre controlling what he calls “the fittest weeds of the year.”
Moisture outlook positive for spring seeding on Prairies
That said, a cold wet winter that brought snow to many places is raising concerns of delayed seeding
A lot of Prairie producers gathered at CropConnect in Winnipeg are wondering how moisture conditions will shape up this spring on the Prairies. The concerns revolve around a considerable snowpack in many places — and whether that might lead to saturated fields or a late start to seeding, if snowmelt comes too late or too quickly.
Restore productivity on your eroded knolls
Landscape restoration, cover cropping, residue redistribution and adjusting crop inputs are some management practices that can help
The eroded knolls or hilltops common in Prairie farmland are typically the least productive, often yielding considerably less than other parts of a field. Curtis Cavers, an agronomist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada based at Portage la Prairie, Man., says there are ways to boost crop productivity in these problem areas. Cavers provided an assessment […] Read more
Managing against fusarium takes a multi-part strategy
Tweaking fungicide timing could provide farmers with better control
Kelly Turkington, a longtime plant pathologist for Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Lethbridge, strongly supports the notion that an integrated approach to managing fusarium head blight (FHB) offers the best chance of success for cereal producers. Even so, Turkington says, in much of Manitoba and northeastern Saskatchewan, that strategy hasn’t always worked as well as […] Read more
More than one way to fight fusarium head blight
An integrated approach, using multiple best practices, can offer better chances of success
Fusarium head blight has been a stubborn threat to cereal crops in Western Canada since the 1990s. Some years are worse than others, but when the conditions favour this fungal pathogen, fusarium can cause significant losses in yield and crop quality in wheat, barley, oats and corn. The two primary weapons against fusarium — fungicides […] Read more
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