Your fearless columnist tosses the cell for electrical conductivity (EC) measurement into the Montreal River at Saskatchewan Highway 2 in July 2005. Results are recorded in a notebook and all is carried in a briefcase. I have notebooks like that all the way back to 1982. At this location, water EC is 260 uS/cm. In the north, water is mostly low EC; the standard for comparison is the South Saskatchewan River system that runs through Saskatoon, with an EC of about 450 uS/cm at 25 C.

Water chemistry: a Coles Notes version

Soils & Crops: Conductivity and hardness of water samples show what you can use it for

First of all: readers who have Henry’s Handbook of Soil and Water can check out pages 124-125 for a detailed discussion of water chemistry, complete with calculations. Water is considered to be the universal solvent because it is capable of dissolving more substances than any other liquid. Therefore, one of the first things we might […] Read more


The future of broadcasting nitrogen in the fall

The future of broadcasting nitrogen in the fall

The inefficient practice is on the rise; however limits may be on the way in Manitoba

Broadcasting in fall is the quickest and easiest way to apply nitrogen — and the least efficient. So why, anecdotally at least, does the practice seem to be on the increase? Bigger farms and a shortage of labour could be part of it. Moreover, nobody knows when poor weather will shut down field operations. And […] Read more

Bryce Geisel says that Group 2 herbicides are still important to Western Canadian farmers, despite resistance issues.

Developing resistance: Group 2 herbicides

Each herbicide group kills weeds differently. Weed resistance differs by herbicide group


When talking about herbicide resistance, Bryce Geisel likes to make sure people realize that spraying herbicides doesn’t cause resistance in a weed. Instead there are individual plants that, by chance, resist the herbicide. Those plants survive and pass on their resistance traits. “And with Group 2s in particular, it’s just altering the target site,” says […] Read more


Dry down before straight cutting canola

Dry down before straight cutting canola

Agronomy tips... from the field

Straight-cutting your shatter-resistant canola variety this season? Timing is of the essence, and you need your field to be ready for harvest. That’s why you may want to consider using a true desiccant for more precise control over your harvest timing. However, if controlling perennial weeds is a big concern — or you have a […] Read more

For all three setups, Chad Bown had the heater between the fan and the bin. This fan-heater-bin sequence is recommended for canola.

Turn up the heat on aeration fans when drying canola

Some growers grappling with a late harvest and high-moisture crops in 2016 added supplemental heaters to their aeration fans. This grower’s experience may inspire an upgrade to aeration setups for 2017

Things were a little off with Harvest 2016 and Chad Bown was desperate. The farmer from Ranfurly, Alta., was combining 14 per cent moisture canola in late November after a month or more of snow delays. Delivery locations were full, so on-farm storage was his only option. But aeration fans blowing cool air could not […] Read more