When making your seed buying decision for 2016, do your homework and check out the latest canola performance data and look at a variety’s entire agronomic package on top of the yield numbers. For my money, your best source is going to be the CPT (Canola Performance Trials), available online and through provincial seed guides, and […] Read more
Agronomy tips... from the field
If your time it right, a post-harvest herbicide application can be an excellent way to set up your field for seeding next spring. The idea is to control emerging winter annuals, such as hawk’s beard and shepherd’s purse as well as perennial weeds such as dandelions and Canadian thistle in crops that you’ve swathed. Going […] Read more
A big part of getting high quality peas and lentils in the bin is using a “true” desiccant that gives you a fast, even dry down. How I define a “true” desiccant? Simple. A true desiccant is not systemic and works by actively bursting the live cell of the plant on contact, thus releasing moisture. […] Read more
When you’re looking to guard your canola against blackleg, does it pay to spray a fungicide? The short answer is yes — especially if you’re running a tight canola-wheat rotation. Short rotations put you at the highest risk of developing a blackleg infection, since the fungus can overwinter on diseased canola stubble year over year […] Read more
Agronomy tips... from the field
Seed treatments can’t walk on water, but they’ll help to enhance the existing seed quality that you have. That’s why it’s very important to select the highest-quality seed you can possibly get. A good start to the year will put you in the best position to maximize the genetic potential of your pulse crop. If […] Read more
No matter what you’re planning to grow this season — be it soybeans, canola or pulses — protecting that crop from Rhizoctonia and ensuring a good, strong stand establishment should be your first priority. I’ve seen many situations where Rhizoctonia infections in fields have caused seed rot and decay, pre and post emergence damping off, […] Read more
Agronomy tips... from the field
When it comes to cereal seed selection, it’s easy to default to the variety with the highest provincial average yield. But what’s good province-wide might not be best for your farm. Instead, decide are what the most important attributes to you. Besides yield, is it protein, fusarium head blight (FHB) tolerance, rust tolerance, lodging, maturity […] Read more
Agronomy tips... from the field
Whether it was a late start, an unusually wet growing season or possibly even September snow, there was a lot of weather in 2014 that most of us would rather forget. But let’s not do that too soon. Last year’s weather could have lingering consequences that extend into 2015’s cropping plans. For one thing, the […] Read more
While the details are fresh in your mind, it’s a good time to extract the lessons of last season before moving forward. Here are three questions that might unlock some important but overlooked lessons from 2014. What worked and what didn’t? An obvious question, but one that sometimes isn’t given the attention to detail it […] Read more
