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Measuring soil’s benefits from CTF
Crops, Features

Measuring soil’s benefits from CTF

A new test offers a way to measure improvements from controlled traffic farming

By
It can be called “fractal hierarchical aggregation” or just “fractal aggregation.” Whatever the moniker, the new method of soil health testing promises to offer producers an important metric for assessing soil quality and land stewardship, says Guillermo Hernandez, an assistant professor at the University of Alberta. This spring he published a research paper demonstrating that […] Read more
Bennie Dunhin was named Outstanding Young Agrologist by 
the Saskatchewan Institute of Agrologists this year.
Features

Putting new ag products to the test

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For Bennie Dunhin, agronomy manager at Cavalier Agrow in northwestern Saskatchewan, the question isn’t whether or not a product works. “There’s no new product on the market that doesn’t work somewhere in the world. Otherwise it wouldn’t be a product,” says Dunhin, named Outstanding Young Agrologist by the Saskatchewan Institute of Agrologists this year. “It […] Read more
The three varieties in Simplot’s Innate Gen 2 lineup are, from left to right, Burbank, Atlantic and Ranger.
Features

Acreage low, stewardship high for GE potatoes

By
This year’s Canadian acreage of J.R. Simplot’s genetically engineered Innate potato will be “very small” to non-existent, according to a company spokesperson. Kerwin Bradley, director of commercial innovation for Simplot, says the company’s marketing strategy for new varieties is based on customer polls and identification of marketing channels. “We don’t plant potatoes, or give seed […] Read more
This is a completed year-round CAP Solar system over a cased well. Systems can be designed to supply anything from a few horses to a 500-head cow herd.
Features

Bringing power to the pasture

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Whether you need to water five bulls on pasture before turnout or 500 head of cows grazing corn in winter, solar powered pasture-watering systems offer a flexible and reliable year-round water source for Western Canadian producers, says a long-time manufacturer. Technology and equipment has improved over the years, making it possible to produce watering systems […] Read more
Blackleg in canola.
Crops, Features

Helping our plants to help themselves

One day, farmers may be able to use natural products to fight blackleg and other diseases

By
New research that could lead to a biological alternative to chemical fungicides began with work into food safety. “We were interested in whether food-fermenting lactobacilli would produce molecules that prevent fungal growth,” says Dr. Michael Gaenzle, who is leading the research into antifungal lipids at the University of Alberta. Gaenzle’s team came across some molecules […] Read more
Kochia in a wheat field.
Crops, Features

Sociology and herbicide-resistant weeds

Think weed management strategies are all about agronomy? There are other factors

By
Would you tell your neighbour how to farm? Not likely. On the other hand, what if this reluctance to “stick your nose in” was creating a real barrier to the adoption of practices that could help slow down the spread of herbicide resistant weeds? Scientists have a word for this way of thinking. They call […] Read more
Since Manitoba Hydo announced its solar incentive program, 
there has been an upsurge of interest in solar energy.
Features, News

Incentives spur interest in solar energy

Thanks to solar energy, this farmer received a credit on his mid-winter energy bill

By
Tim Sawatzky never tires of the sight of the 80 solar panels that make up his 20.8 kilowatt (kW) solar energy system on his farm near MacGregor, Manitoba. He’s happy to talk about how pleased he is with the system, which is already saving him money three months after he installed it. Sawatzky gave his […] Read more
The plants looked healthy. The crop was completely headed out and around the milky stage, with no signs of disease or abnormal growth on the plants’ leaves, stems or heads. What was attracting the beetles?
Cereals, Crops, Features

Crop Advisor’s Casebook: The secret of the swooping birds

A Crop Advisor's Solution from the April 11, 2017 issue of Grainews

By
Last July, Henry, a Saskatchewan farmer, watched as a throng of birds swooped in and out of his durum wheat field. When he scouted the field, he also found some “black bugs,” which prompted him to give me a call. “You need to look at my durum,” he said. “Birds are swooping, so there must […] Read more
Wheat midge.
Cereals, Crops, Features

Wheat midge 101: the basics of scouting

Growing soft white wheat or a non-midge-tolerant variety? Get ready to scout

By
It’s smaller than a mosquito, but more of a headache for Prairie farmers — wheat midge might look innocuous, but it can cause significant crop damage in Western Canada. Since midge-tolerant spring wheat varieties have become widely available, midge scouting has become a thing of the past for many Prairie farmers. However, with only one […] Read more
Implementing strategies to stave off herbicide resistance can bring increased costs 
to individual farmers in the short term, while the economic benefits are delayed.
Crops, Features

Managing herbicide resistance costs

Farmers considering herbicide resistance strategies are looking at the economics first

By
There are several reasons many farmers haven’t yet adopted herbicide resistance management (HRM) plans. These include a lack of information, the complexity of different management strategies and limited time. But a major reason is still economics. Many farmers worry about the costs of implementing a resistance management plan, especially if they’re uncertain about the potential […] Read more

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