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Seed-placed nitrogen can lower your yields. Learn how to balance potential stand losses with application flexibility
Researchers are looking at mung beans as a potential new Prairie pulse crop, but these beans have yet to themselves profitable
According to Dr. Alireza Navabi, dry bean breeder for Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Ontario, mung beans are a very healthy source of food, with a power combination of minerals and protein, “They are being used in different ways in different parts of the world,” said Navabi. “In East Asia, they’re used as a sprout […] Read moreWith more and more farmers using shorter rotations, the December Manitoba Agronomists conference was titled, “Are crop rotations obsolete?”
Even with good commodity prices, farmers need high profits to meet the rising costs of machinery, land and other inputs. In some cases, agronomists are concerned that the need for cash in the short run might be straining long-term rotations. Crop insurance data Doug Wilcox, research manager, Manitoba Agriculture Services Corporation (MASC), has looked deep […] Read moreWestern Canadian farmers have had access to midge-tolerant wheat varieties since 2010, and more are slated for release in 2013
In 2006, Prairie wheat farmers lost about $40 million to wheat midge damage that dropped grades and yields. But since 2010, midge-tolerant varieties have been on the market in Western Canada. Midge-tolerant wheat varieties were developed by wheat breeders with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and the Crop Development Centre. Each variety contains the SM1 gene, […] Read moreMake sure you’re following good chemical rotations. Know your active ingredients before you plan your pre-seed burn-offs
Time and again farmers are warned about the dangers of the development of herbicide resistance. They are told over and over not to use the same product repeatedly and to rotate chemical groups. Yet glyphosate, arguably modern agriculture’s most important herbicide, is still used every year on many farms, and by some farmers multiple times […] Read moreOnce you’ve chosen a soybean variety, seed at the right time and use the right inoculant to get the most out of your seed
The final Statistics Canada numbers for 2012 indicate a record soybean harvest across the country. In Manitoba alone, farmers harvested 800,000 soybean acres, a 40 per cent jump over 2011. Yields rose from 26.7 bushels in 2011 to 34.9 in 2012. More acres and yield added up to a record 759, 300 tonnes for Manitoba farmers. As […] Read moreThe term “sustainable farming” can mean many different things to different people. For these farmers, it means changing the way they look at food
For organic trainer and inspector Jenine Gibson, sustainable farming means acknowledging that all of life is about relationships. When it comes to sustainable farming, “we need to be looking at our food differently,” says Gibson. “We need to focus on identifying and creating our food sources and to be working within our environments to create […] Read more
