swathed canola field

The best time to swath canola

The Canola Council’s recommendations on timing have changed. Keep up to date with the latest swathing guidelines

There is a lot of evidence that the best time to swath canola is at the 50 to 60 per cent seed colour change stage, but every year assessing seed colour change and actually swathing at that ideal time can pose quite a challenge,” says Angela Brackenreed, Manitoba agronomy specialist for the Canola Council of […] Read more

Three ways to sample

Three ways to sample

If you don’t want any nasty surprises later, make sure your 
sample is a good representative of the grain you plan to sell


Taking representative samples is a critical step to understanding the quality or other characteristics of anything that is tested in some way. Rarely, if ever, is an entire organism, crop or object tested for quality, consistency, disease, protein, etc. A sample is generally taken and the results of the tests on the sample are presumed to […] Read more


Pea root rot.

Root rot can be diagnosed, but confirmation may come too late

Root rot caused by aphanomyces can cause yield problems in peas. 
There’s no easy treatment, but farmers can still take preventative steps

It was early in the 2012 growing season when Bernie McClean realized something was wrong with one of his pea fields. The field had been seeded to peas several times over the years, but in 2012 the crop was “going backwards,” McClean, a Medstead-area farmer, said in an interview. Patches of plants were stunted. As […] Read more

ripe canola pods

Straight talk on straight cutting

It’s not for everyone, but some farmers are seeing 
benefits from straight cutting their canola

Steve Larocque of Beyond Agronomy in Three Hills, Alberta, has been straight cutting canola for the last four years. “The main reason we switched to straight cutting was because we couldn’t find a swather with a 30-foot knife that would work in our controlled traffic system,” explains Larocque. “Using a John Deere 9750 with a […] Read more


Make sure you get paid

You’ve grown a great crop and booked a good price. Now make sure you actually get paid

Before you shop a truckload of grain, it’s worth knowing a bit about who you’re selling to and what you’ve got in the bin. Doing your homework could make the difference between getting paid fairly and perhaps not getting paid at all. Under the Canada Grain Act, grain dealers and elevators, including primary and terminal […] Read more

Testing for aphanomyces

Discovery Seed Labs in Saskatoon offers DNA testing for aphanomyces. Farmers should send either soil or plant samples. “As soon as you start to notice symptoms, you can start pulling plants. And we can have a look at it and see what it is,” said Bruce Carriere, owner of Discovery. Carriere suggested sampling from areas […] Read more


wheat field

Crop trials show profit-raising products

Field trials give farmers a chance to see a product’s real in-field results

Farmers have a plethora of inputs to choose from these days, but one ag retailer hopes to help farmers sort through their options by running field-scale trials in northwestern Saskatchewan. And those trials focus not only on yield, but how likely that product is to provide a return-on-investment (ROI) for local farmers. “Just because a […] Read more

Integrated pest management

Integrated techniques offer farmers a bigger toolbox for pest control

Integrated pest management (IPM) involves a range of pest control methods. According to Pierre Petelle, vice-president of chemistry for CropLife Canada, IPM is “a process that uses all necessary techniques to suppress pests in an effective, economical and environmentally friendly manner.” In IPM, “pests” are broadly defined as weeds, insects and diseases. IPM techniques can […] Read more


man in field with net for catching grasshoppers

Taking the count

The first part of deciding whether or not you need 
to spray your field is getting an accurate pest count

Most recommendations about pesticides include an economic threshold — if you have more than the specified number of pests per square metre, spraying could be an effective option for you. So before you can make your decision, you’re going to need to take a census. At Saskatchewan Agriculture’s Crop Diagnostic School at Indian Head in […] Read more

lygus bug

How to find lygus bugs

Lygus bugs can cause extensive crop damage. Scout for them in your canola crops

In recent years, high populations of lygus bugs have been reported in a large portion of Alberta, as well as in some fields in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. While lygus bugs are always present in canola fields, outbreaks of high populations can cause extensive crop damage. For the most part, canola can compensate for much of […] Read more