Features & Production Tips

One agronomist says there are three questions that should be addressed when it comes to fall fertilization goals, especially in the dry year growers just experienced.

The benefits of zone soil sampling after a dry season

Maximize the efficiency of your fall fertilizer applications

By Mark Halsall August 31, 2021

Prairie farmers have learned to temper their yield expectations after a dry growing season, especially in a year like this when many areas started with little to no soil moisture reserves. Reduced crop growth is a clear symptom of drought but what isn’t so obvious is what’s happening — or rather, what’s not happening — […] Read more

The plants on the injured 60 acres were stunted, had a thin stand and general yellowing, particularly on the headlands.

Crops, Features, Pulses

Crop advisor casebook: Has herbicide injury damaged 60 acres of lentils?

A Crop Advisor's Solution from the August 24, 2021 issue of Grainews

By Dayna Elliott August 20, 2021

Charles farms in Elrose, Sask., where he runs a 4,500-acre mixed grain farming operation, which includes lentils. He called me one day and said one of his 320-acre lentil fields had taken a turn for the worse. Approximately 60 acres of the field showed what he thought looked like significant herbicide injury, while the other […] Read more

The camera arm was invented by Saskatchewan farmer Roland Wohlgemuth as a way to allow drivers to safely monitor how a grain trailer is being loaded without leaving the truck cab.

Equipment, Features

Load your grain trailer without the guesswork

New Prairie-grown camera arm device makes monitoring the hopper easier and safer

By Mark Halsall August 10, 2021

Roland Wohlgemuth is an enterprising farmer who grows wheat, canola and peas on his 3,000-acre spread near Benito, Man. He’s been at it for 20 years, and like most producers, Wohlgemuth is well versed in finding solutions to problems that inevitably arise from time to time on the farm. One of them is quite ingenious […] Read more

Insect infestations and mould growth are the main causes of grain quality degradation. For example, insects can increase from being barely noticeable to a major infestation in just three to four weeks during the months with higher temperatures.

Crops, Features

Ten tips for successful grain storage

Two storage experts discuss how to preserve cereal crop quality in the bin

By Mark Halsall August 5, 2021

Grain farmers can breathe a sigh of relief once harvesting is done, but the job isn’t over until the crop is out of the bin and in the hands of buyers. That’s why preserving the quality and, therefore, the value of stored grain is so important. We asked two storage experts — Ken Hellevang, extension […] Read more

A Grain Giant in operation in Richardson, Sask., in August 2020.

Equipment, Features, Machinery

New mobile field bin makes harvest more efficient

The Grain Giant from Vale Industries keeps the combines and grain carts running

By Mark Halsall July 27, 2021

Jordan Haaland is the logistics team leader at Delage Farms, a 30,000-acre grain operation near Indian Head, Sask., and one of eight Saskatchewan farms to try out a new mobile field bin called the Grain Giant at harvest time last year. Haaland says the opportunity to use the Grain Giant couldn’t have come at a […] Read more

Farmbucks costs $120 for a yearly subscription and is available for a free, 30-day trial. Lynn Dargis, the Alberta farmer who created the Farmbucks website and app, says her goal is to keep the service affordable and of value to producers.

Features, Marketing

A quick and easy way to compare grain prices

Farmbucks is an online tool that provides a localized snapshot of actual bids in real time geared to help farmers get the best prices for their grain

By Madeleine Baerg July 21, 2021

Sometimes an idea comes along that seems so obvious it’s hard to imagine why it hasn’t been thought of before. Farmbucks, an online tool to help western Canadian farmers get the best price for the grain they sell, falls into that category. Why it matters: Invented by a farmer for farmers, Farmbucks is a subscription-based, […] Read more

Columns, Features

Farmers could benefit financially from this trend

Farm Financial Planner: Urban dwellers pay high prices for small land parcels

By Andrew Allentuck July 19, 2021

There is a trend for city folk to buy country property to get away from the COVID-19 virus, city lockdowns and everything else associated with the world pandemic. It’s a pattern of outmigration from densely populated cities. Farmers are potential beneficiaries. They can sell small parcels at relatively high prices. I have found city folk […] Read more

With a precision planter, Ken Van Raay seeds canola just under the soil surface on highly tilled, heavily manured land. He runs a pivot after seeding.  He says the crop is up in two to seven days and he’s had the canopy close in less than 18 days.

Canola, Crops, Features

A fresh look at the benefits of precision-planted canola

Five Alberta producers share their experiences

By John Dietz July 19, 2021

Precisely placing individual corn or soybean seeds in a row has led some canola growers to switch from air seeders to vacuum planters in the past few years. For a fresh look in 2021, Grainews spoke with five Lethbridge-area growers who had experience with precision planting canola in 2020. Two producers carried out field trials […] Read more

Cutworm feeding exceeded the action threshold in Ralph’s soybean field. I recommended he apply a Group 28 insecticide in the evening to prevent the pests from devouring the rest of his crop.

Crops, Features, Soybeans

Crop advisor casebook: What’s causing bare patches in this soybean field?

A Crop Advisor's Solution from the July 13, 2021 issue of Grainews

By Eric Therrien July 12, 2021

Ralph is a farmer who grows soybeans along with wheat, canola and corn on 3,300 acres near Steinbach, Man. He was out scouting his soybeans one day in early June when he couldn’t help but notice a problem in one field. The crop appeared to be thriving with the glaring exception of a number of […] Read more

Crops, Features

Tips to scout and identify crop pest grasshopper species

Flying before June, coloured hind wings and sings? It’s not eating your crops. Here’s how to identify the ones that are

By Angela Lovell June 10, 2021

It can be hard to distinguish between grasshopper species as many of them appear to look similar. And while they may look alike, only a few of them pose a threat to farmers. A typical Prairie system of pasture, cropland and roadside vegetation, for instance, might have 30 to 40 different species, but only four […] Read more

GFM Network News

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B.C. ostrich owner condemns violence near embattled farm

Features