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Extending information to farmers
Columns

Extending information to farmers

For 40 years, Grainews and Les Henry have shared ag research with farmers

By
Looking back on Les Henry’s 40 years of Grainews columns causes me to reflect on how most things have improved in Prairie agriculture, though a few haven’t. I got my start as first field editor of Grainews in 1976, around the same time as Les started writing his columns. One of my first stories was on the proper […] Read more
Winter wheat seed: treatment pays
Cereals, Crops, Winter Wheat

Winter wheat seed: treatment pays

A dual fungicide/insecticide seed treatment builds hardier winter wheat stands

By
Despite the benefits of winter wheat — weed competitiveness, high yield potential and a schedule that allows growers to spread out work load and capital costs — it’s still not a staple crop for many western Canadian farmers. Farmers say concerns about planting logistics and poor stand establishment are obstacles to growing winter wheat. To […] Read more
A bertha armyworm gets its fill on a canola seed pod.
Crops, Wheat & Chaff

Controlling bugs with seed treatments

By
Technology has given western Canadian farmers access to a wide range of options when it comes to insect control in canola. Crucifer and striped flea beetles, wireworm, cutworm, root maggot, cabbage seedpod weevil, bertha armyworm and diamondback moth are just some insect pests that can be particularly problematic for both crop health and farmers’ bottom […] Read more
Crops, Features, Livestock

What is holistic management?

Are cover crops on the rise?

By
Holistic management is a framework for making decisions by looking at your entire environment, including your soil and the living organisms in it, how you’re capturing rainfall and energy from the sun and the diversity of the entire biological community. It also includes taking into account the environmental, economic and social consequences of the decisions […] Read more
Hand over wheat field in early summer evening
Columns, Crops

The direction of western Canadian agronomic research today

How agronomic research in Western Canada can be more effective and efficient

By
Prairie farmers have become very successful at growing very good yielding, high quality crops. Success is due in large part to many years of excellent agronomic research including advances in crop breeding, sustainable crop rotations, improved soil management, development of direct seeding technology, development of fertilizer and nutrient management practices and improved management to control weeds, […] Read more
Tillage recruited to deal with moisture issues
Crops, Features

Tillage recruited to deal with moisture issues

Farmers still want to be zero tillers, but high residue, excess moisture and weeds are putting tillage tools back in the field

By
Necessity is the mother of invention, but weather appears to be the mother of necessity, these days. That seems to fit as producers talk about the need for tillage in this October Farmer Panel. Zero-till and direct seeding are still foremost on producers’ minds when they look at overall cropping practices, but with several or […] Read more
Can tillage fit into a no-till system?
Crops, Features

Can tillage fit into a no-till system?

Some zero-tillers are now looking to tillage to manage disease and weed issues

By
A large majority of farmers in Western Canada have adopted zero-till systems — with the exception of those in the Red River Valley who are dealing with heavy, wet clay soils where tillage is just a fact of life. Most farmers understand the many benefits of zero till, such as prevention of soil erosion, better […] Read more
barley - Glen Nicoll
Barley, Crops, Features

Reduce your malt barley risk

Plant barley on field pea stubble, limit fungicide and reduce nitrogen application

By
What are the biggest risks on producers’ radars when it comes to growing malting barley? Some might say yield losses, some might say disease, and some might say reduced kernel quality or high protein levels — or a combination of all of these problems and more. New research customizes malting barley systems based on producers’ […] Read more
Native grass prairies and sunset
Crops, Features, Forages

Forages and grasses for marginal land

Permanent cover crops can increase fertility in "problem soils" over time

By
Jeff Schoenau has a word for agricultural areas currently in annual production that fail to deliver a return on expensive inputs: “heartache land.” It’s better known as “marginal” land, and it can be defined as land with soil that has limitations including poor water-holding capacity and water availability to roots due to sandy texture or […] Read more
Building up the soil in your fields
Crops, Features

Building up the soil in your fields

Changing your crop rotation and management can change the content of our soil

By
New research is showing that it is possible to make new, nutrient rich, productive soil on your farm without waiting for eons, simply by changing your crop rotation and management. The research, led by Dr. Stuart Grandy at the University of New Hampshire, is revising our conventional understanding of how soil organic matter (SOM) is […] Read more

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