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Growers should only use an insecticide when an economic threshold for a pest is reached.
Features

Don’t jump the gun on pest control

By
It’s never a good idea to overreact when you see insects on your crops because jumping the gun, and spraying if it’s not really necessary, can do more harm than good. “Seldom, if ever, do preventative insecticides actually pay us,” says Scott Meers, insect specialist with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry. “When we spray just to […] Read more
Slow resistance with layered herbicides
Crops, Features

Slow resistance with layered herbicides

Gowan representatives say layering isn't just about dressing for fickle weather anymore

By
Layering herbicides is a way to manage or delay herbicide resistance on the farm. The key is to apply a residual before seeding. The residual creates a herbicide layer in the soil. That layer kills weeds as they try to push emerge. With fewer weeds, there is less selection pressure on herbicides used later in […] Read more
Don’t misdiagnose soil compaction
Crops, Features

Don’t misdiagnose soil compaction

Erosion or true compaction? A correct diagnosis is key to proper management

By
Subsoils are naturally compact, and what looks like a soil compaction problem might actually be a case of erosion removing the top, soft layer of soil and exposing the dense subsoil. “People assume they have a soil compaction problem, but exposed subsoil is often misdiagnosed as a soil degradation issue,” says David Lobb, a professor […] Read more
Canola is typically sold with a seed treatment that includes both a 
fungicide and insecticide.
Crops, Features

Are seed treatments worth the cost?

Ask the Experts: Seed treatments come at a price, but some say they add enough benefits to pay that bill

By
Some farmers consider seed treatments an insurance policy to try and ensure their crop has every opportunity to germinate and establish healthy plants. Others see them as another added cost they don’t need, especially if they haven’t had any serious disease issues for a while. Invariably though, once a farmer has had a disease problem […] Read more
Canada thistle
Crops, Features

Canada thistle still on ‘least wanted’ list

Early and thorough control is essential to keep Canada thistle under control

By
Canada thistle has been a thorn in farmers’ sides since before Confederation. In 1865, when the Canada Thistle Act of Upper Canada was signed into law, Her Majesty required all citizens of Upper Canada “to cut, or to cause to be cut down all the Canada thistles growing theron.” The Act continued, “If any owner, […] Read more
Net blotch on a young barley plant.
Barley, Crops, Features

Barley leaf diseases stealing yield

Spot blotch, net blotch will join fusarium head blight as problems in Sask. and Alta.

By
Fusarium head blight (FHB) is the most high-profile of the diseases that threaten wheat and barley annually across the Prairies. But researchers say foliar diseases will likely be the biggest barley “yield culprits” in Alberta and Saskatchewan in 2016. “From a regional perspective, leaf diseases tend to be Prairie-wide and are habitually something producers should […] Read more
Rod Lanier (l) will be growing hemp again on his farm near Lethbridge. Jeff and Ebony Prosko (r), who farm in Rose Valley, are contracting a helicopter service for fungicide applications this year.
Crops, Features

Farmers just waiting on weather

The farmers surveyed for this Farmer Panel are ready to hit the field for spring seeding

By
Farmers in Manitoba were waiting for the snow to stop, a producer in central Saskatchewan was probably a month away from getting to fieldwork and in southern Alberta a producer was planning to start seeding durum in a few days (and some of his colleagues already had seed in the ground). That’s just how variable […] Read more
Fenugreek (shown) is used as both a culinary and medicinal herb and is a common ingredient in Indian food.
Crops, Features

Should I grow the latest new crop?

Angela Lovell asks the experts whether or not getting in on a hot new trend is a good idea

By
Niger, quinoa, fenugreek. These are just a few of the new crops starting to appear on a very small number of acres across Western Canada, but the biggest question farmers should be asking about them is — who’s going to buy them? “With any new crop, farmers should make sure they’re not listening to marketing […] Read more
Weed control in a dry summer
Crops, Features

Weed control in a dry summer

Dry summer weather could mean a whole new slate of weed control challenges

By
When it comes to weed control, no two seasons are the same. This year, many forecasters are predicting a hot, dry summer. What challenges will this bring? For one thing, some weeds that thrive better under hot, dry conditions, says weed expert, Robert Blackshaw with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Lethbridge, Alberta. “Some weeds that […] Read more
red spring wheat
Crops, Features

New class coming for 29 wheats

More than two dozen older Hard Red Spring wheat varieties are being reclassified

By
Western Canadian farmers won’t have to make any major new decisions on wheat varieties this year, but come the spring of 2018 they will have to pay attention to whether some of their tried and true varieties have been moved to a different class. Creating a new classification for some long standing wheat varieties that […] Read more

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