After a two-day downpour drowned out 50 acres of canola last year, Dustin Williams decided it was finally time to do something about a field that had been plagued with paltry crops. “It just rotted out,” says Williams, who also grows wheat, oats, soybeans and edible beans on his farm near Souris, Man. It was […] Read more
When is tile drainage a good fit?
If your farmland has a high water table, floods frequently and suffers from salinity issues, odds are it can benefit, if there’s somewhere the water can go
Have you got your basis covered?
To score a grain marketing home run, understand and monitor basis levels
Basis is a marketing instrument utilized by grain handling companies to attract grain when they need it or to discourage delivery when they don’t. Used for crops that have an active futures trading market like wheat and canola, basis is the difference between a local cash price for a commodity and its price on the […] Read more
The most common grain marketing mistakes
Four traps farmers can fall into, and how to avoid them
Navigating your way around grain markets isn’t exactly easy, and it gets more complicated when you get into the area of trading futures contracts and options strategies. Even the most experienced grain marketer will make mistakes from time to time — here are some common ones you can try to avoid. Go easy on yourself […] Read more
Be a better grain marketer
It’s more important than ever to be an astute grain marketer. Strengthen your position with these pro tips
Reg Dyck farmed for more than 40 years near Starbuck, Man., but he knew early on that grain marketing was something he wanted to learn more about. In fact, Dyck was still in high school when he started taking marketing extension courses put on by Manitoba Agriculture and other ag agencies. “What motivated me, I […] Read more
Build your grain marketing plan from the ground up
A robust grain marketing plan will help you get the most out of your hard-earned crops. Use these expert tips to get the ball rolling
Neil Blue had only been farming a year or so when he came to an important realization — if you’re selling grain, it pays to educate yourself on the best way to do it. Blue grew up on a family farm and began farming on his own in Vermilion, Alta., in 1981. When he went […] Read more
What to do about anhydrous ammonia applications this fall
How to tackle the challenges associated with fall fertility and parched soils
For many farmers in the Prairies, fall nutrient applications are a key aspect of fertility management. Banding anhydrous ammonia is widely viewed as an effective technique for adding nitrogen in the fall, and it generally works best on soils that are well drained and are more dry than wet. But what if the soil is […] Read more
Your fall fertility primer
Get a head start on next year’s crops with these fertility guidelines, options and pro tips
Many Prairie farmers choose to apply fertilizers to their fields in the fall to save time in the spring — a strategy Farmers Edge agronomist Thom Weir believes makes good sense for a couple of reasons. “There’s lots of data that shows seeding early has a significant benefit to yield,” he says, adding that for […] Read more
The benefits of zone soil sampling after a dry season
Maximize the efficiency of your fall fertilizer applications
Prairie farmers have learned to temper their yield expectations after a dry growing season, especially in a year like this when many areas started with little to no soil moisture reserves. Reduced crop growth is a clear symptom of drought but what isn’t so obvious is what’s happening — or rather, what’s not happening — […] Read more
Load your grain trailer without the guesswork
New Prairie-grown camera arm device makes monitoring the hopper easier and safer
Roland Wohlgemuth is an enterprising farmer who grows wheat, canola and peas on his 3,000-acre spread near Benito, Man. He’s been at it for 20 years, and like most producers, Wohlgemuth is well versed in finding solutions to problems that inevitably arise from time to time on the farm. One of them is quite ingenious […] Read more
Ten tips for successful grain storage
Two storage experts discuss how to preserve cereal crop quality in the bin
Grain farmers can breathe a sigh of relief once harvesting is done, but the job isn’t over until the crop is out of the bin and in the hands of buyers. That’s why preserving the quality and, therefore, the value of stored grain is so important. We asked two storage experts — Ken Hellevang, extension […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
