Manitoba farmers Curtis and Tracy Hiebert, like many Prairie producers, rely on anhydrous ammonia for much of their fertilizer needs. Squeezed by ongoing price hikes and supply shortages in the anhydrous ammonia market, they decided to try something new — to produce it themselves, right on their own farm. That’s possible, thanks to some cutting-edge […] Read more
On-farm green ammonia production
Manitoba farmers set to try new ag-tech innovation from FuelPositive
Manitoba entrepreneur creates InputsPro for Prairie farmers
The new mobile app provides easier access to crop protection data
In 2021, Kristen Timmerman was studying agriculture in university when she set out to develop an ag-tech tool she says she believes was long overdue. The tool is InputsPro (inputspro.ca), a mobile app and website that provides farmers, agronomists, ag retailers and crop specialists with essential data culled from the government-issued crop protection guides for […] Read more
New corn hybrids for 2024
Twenty-two new offerings for Prairie farmers There are lots of new choices for corn growers in Western Canada for the next growing season, with 22 new grain and silage hybrids in the offing from BrettYoung, Corteva’s Pioneer Seeds, Dekalb, DLF Pickseed, Maizex, NorthStar Genetics, Proven Seed and Thunder Seed. The following list includes only brand […] Read more
Pulse crop varieties for 2024
New pea and faba bean options for Prairie farmers
Pulse producers in Western Canada have some new crops to choose from for the 2024 season. Here are seven new pea and faba bean offerings from Prairie Fava, SeCan, SeedNet, Stamp Seeds and Valesco Genetics. Prairie Fava Allison is a coloured, flower-type faba bean from DL Seeds with excellent processing characteristics. This earlier maturity variety […] Read more
Predators and parasitoids – your bug buddies in the field
How to spot and protect beneficial bugs in your crops
When scouting for insects in your fields next year, it’s not only crop-devouring pests you should keep an eye out for. That’s because insect predators like ground beetles as well as parasitic wasps and flies can take a big chunk out of pest populations. “It’s important to recognize there are a lot of natural enemies […] Read more
Let’s talk strip tillage
An Alberta farmer shares his experiences with the system that provides a middle ground between full till and no till
John Kolk’s farm near Enchant in southern Alberta, like many others in his area, sits on light, sandy loam soil. That can be a problem come planting time when strong chinook winds roll down from the Rockies as they typically do in the spring. Kolk says the combination of hard-blowing winds and sand that’s whipped […] Read more
Study shows glyphosate, no-till systems and herbicide-tolerant crops benefit Prairie agriculture
Benefits include improved soil quality, less erosion, increased carbon sequestration, and reduced fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions
Glyphosate is Canada’s top-selling pesticide, mostly used in agriculture as a herbicide and to desiccate crops for harvest. While it has come under increasing scrutiny in recent years, glyphosate continues to play an important weed management role on many western Canadian farms. A study by University of Saskatchewan researchers suggests glyphosate has served another important […] Read more
New canola hybrids for 2024
Eleven new options for Prairie producers
Farmers in Western Canada will have 11 new canola hybrids to choose from next year, courtesy of BASF, BrettYoung, Cargill, Dekalb, Proven Seed and Corteva’s Pioneer and Brevant seed brands. Here’s our annual list of new canola releases for 2024. BASF InVigor Health L358HPC offers close to a 10 per cent yield improvement over InVigor […] Read more
Early results are in for variable-rate fertilizer economics
Researchers at Olds College are trying to determine the break-even point for producers
A primary argument for variable rate technology (VRT) is that it enables farmers to be more exact in their use of crop inputs. By breaking fields into specific zones where different or variable application rates can be used, producers are no longer tied to flat rate applications and can make targeted decisions on where and […] Read more
Prairie pest offers ‘a tough battle’
Strychnine may no longer be an option for swelling ground squirrel populations, but other effective tactics are available
Richardson’s ground squirrels, which are sometimes referred to as gophers, can cause major problems for farmers and ranchers. In high enough numbers, they can decimate crops and forages and pockmark pasture land, making it hazardous for livestock. Persistent drought conditions have contributed to high ground squirrel populations in some parts of the Prairies in recent […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
