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Malted Barley grains
Cereals, Crops, Features

Vigour tests recommended for wheat and barley

Last fall’s harvest may have left some wheat and barley seed less than ideal

By
Poor harvest conditions can create poor seed quality, and in some cases affect germination and vigour. As a result of last year’s harvest conditions, seed analysts are seeing a wide gap between germination and vigour in Western Canadian wheat and barley seed. Analysts are urging growers to test seed so that they can take action, […] Read more
Ed Seidle farms with his family near Medstead, Sask. He also conducts on-farm research and is an honorary lifetime member.
Crops, Features, Peas

Ed Seidle learns on the job

This on-farm research program generated info about everything from aphanomyces to root rot

By
How can producers make sure their on-farm trials produce useful results? Or perhaps a better question is whether growers can, or need to, run trials as rigorously as researchers? Most farmers don’t have the time or patience to run the types of on-farm experiments that scientists do, says Ed Seidle. But that doesn’t mean they […] Read more
Rape field, canola crops
Crops, Features

How’s your moly doing out there?

Molybdenum was once known as ‘poor man’s lime’ for a good reason

By
Under the category “if it ain’t one thing it’s another” when it comes to crop nutrient requirements, the question is now being asked, “have you thought about the molybdenum levels in your canola and pulse crops?” Cereals need it too, but canola, peas, beans, lentils, faba beans, soybeans and others all have higher molybdenum requirements. Molybdenum, also often […] Read more
If producers really want to try and get moisture levels down in their soil and decide to till, they need to think carefully about their phosphorus needs, says Dr. Mario Tenuta.
Crops, Features

Tillage is tempting, but treacherous

While tillage can get you in the field faster, it can also disrupt networks in your soil

By
Many farmers across Western Canada have been struggling with wetter than normal conditions over the past few years. This spring many will again be facing soils that are close to the saturation point and puzzling over how to deal with them. Some farmers may turn to tillage to help dry them out, or at the very least to smooth […] Read more
Smart Solutions collects all the data on seeding operations, for example — what and when it was seeded, fertility, in-crop treatments all by field and by soil zone.
Crops, Features

So much more than just a rain gauge

Farmers Edge weather info 
service connects the dots of 
precision farming data

By
If you thought GPS and auto steer was a step forward in farming, check out the precision farming package Farmers Edge is launching this spring in Western Canada based around its on-farm, “field-centric,” precision weather data system. The weather station is just part of an overall integrated data collection package called Smart Solution. Weather information […] Read more
This is a narrow-leaved hawk’s beard. While the leaves are slightly lobed, they are narrow.
Crops, Features

Narrow-leaved hawk’s beard travelling

This noxious weed is spreading outside of northwest Sask. 
and the Alta. border

By
Up until recently, narrow-leaved hawk’s beard was mostly found in northwest Saskatchewan and along the Alberta border. A 2014-15 weed survey has revealed that the weed has spread to areas outside of these traditional hotspots. Identification and control can both be difficult. For this reason, it is advised that growers — especially those who live in non-traditional hotspots — take […] Read more
To date, AAFC’s Dr. Hugh Beckie has not seen Palmer amaranth in the Prairies. However, he says, 
“if it did come up it would be through the floodwater in the Red River Valley.”
Crops, Features

Palmer amaranth continues to spread north

Producers should learn to spot the tall, fast-growing 
weed before it becomes a problem

By
Amaranth is extremely nutrient-rich. It was important to the Aztecs, and is still cultivated in South America and Mexico. It germinates easily, grows rapidly and produces huge numbers of seed. But the crop that sustained the Aztec economy famously wreaked havoc on the American cotton industry, and is now affecting corn and soybean producers in […] Read more
Kochia not confirmed ‘triple resistant’ — yet
Crops, Features

Kochia not confirmed ‘triple resistant’ — yet

Producers should take action against kochia based on threat severity

By
Triple-resistant” kochia — kochia resistant to herbicides in Groups 2, 4 and 9 — hasn’t yet been confirmed in Alberta despite recent media reports, says Hugh Beckie, a weed scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Surveys have turned up two-way resistant kochia, specifically Group 2 plus Group 4, and Group 2 plus Group 9 resistant weeds, but […] Read more
aerated grain bins
Crops, Features

Safer grain storage with automation?

PAMI tests a new Australian system that controls fans based on outside weather

By
With more large bins on the farm, safe grain storage has become more important. And keeping grain from heating or spoiling is more complicated than it would seem. “The chance of spoilage really depends on two things. It’s both temperature and moisture,” said Lorne Grieger, the Prairie Agriculture Machinery Institute (PAMI) vice president for Manitoba […] Read more
Poor quality cereal seed on deck for 2017
Cereals, Crops, Features

Poor quality cereal seed on deck for 2017

Cereal quality is down across the Prairies, but pulse and soybean seed looks good for 2017

By
Farmers across the Prairies will remember 2016 as the year when they had frequent, above-average moisture right through the growing season, delaying both seeding and harvest in many cases. All that moisture means there will be some poor quality cereal seed around for the 2017 season, although the quality of pulses like peas and fava […] Read more

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