crop rotation Archives - Page 10 of 11

Four tips for farm diversification

With lower prices and high disease pressure, farmers looking for new crops to fill in  gaps in rotations or increase profits can use these tips to evaluate new opportunities

By Michael Flood March 3, 2015

If you’re like most Canadian farmers 2014 was hard. Low commodity prices depressed incomes across all operations. For many younger farmers this will be their first experience of hardship. The last few years, when many began farming for the first time, have seen high prices and many may had planned growth and expansion for the […] Read more

Features, Forages

Getting into growing grass seed crops

Growing grass seed can fit well into a rotation. Here are seven tips for beginning grass growers

By Patty Milligan January 27, 2015

Terry Andersen seeds about 25 per cent of his 2,700 acres at Anderseed Farms near Bon Accord, Alta., to grass primarily for reclamation. He first planted grass seed in 1992 because he was told that he could make more money with it than with grain. While prices haven’t always been good, Kowalchuk confirms that they’ve […] Read more

Crops, Wheat & Chaff

2014 crop weather determines 2015 agronomy

Agronomy tips... from the field

By Rob Klewchuk, Syngenta January 27, 2015

Whether it was a late start, an unusually wet growing season or possibly even September snow, there was a lot of weather in 2014 that most of us would rather forget. But let’s not do that too soon. Last year’s weather could have lingering consequences that extend into 2015’s cropping plans. For one thing, the […] Read more

Features

Musing on going organic

An email from a long-time organic farmer pushes Toban Dyck to wonder if he should try it too

By Toban Dyck January 13, 2015

The scene ends in horror. No matter how many times I replay. Telling the farming community and anyone else who would listen that “I, Toban Dyck, am going organic” is like saying, “thanks for letting me spend a couple years on the family farm; now I’m going to plunge it into bankruptcy,” while wearing a […] Read more

Crops

Seed decisions rely on location

By Andrea Moffatt November 25, 2014

So you’re about to make one of the most important purchases of next season — your seed. Seed companies work hard to deliver stronger, better products to savvy growers, but what do you really need to know before you make the call? Determining the best-performing genetics for an individual farm is the most important piece […] Read more

Columns, Crops

2014 was a bad year for fusarium

Farmers need better data to make good decisions around spraying for fusarium

By Les Henry October 21, 2014

Nothing sharpens focus on a production problem like a little skin in the game. My crop rotation on my tiny Blackstrap farm has been wheat, peas, wheat, canola since 1998. It is too much wheat, and for a very scary reason: fusarium head blight (FHB). FHB was a Manitoba problem, so no big worry for […] Read more

Crops, Features

Using ecological systems

Diversified, long-term crop rotations can pay off for Prairie farmers with strong management skills who are prepared to invest the time to carry them out 

By Lisa Guenther September 16, 2014

Updated Sept. 19, 2014 – Canadian farmers have good management skills, but those skills aren’t being rewarded in the conventional system, says a Manitoba researcher. “On well-managed organic farms, or ecological farms, I’ve seen farmers really being rewarded for their management skills,” says Dr. Martin Entz of the University of Manitoba. Entz says there is […] Read more

Crops, Features, Forages

Alfalfa seed production

Growing alfalfa for seed can require intensive management,  but can be rewarding. Learn the basics of alfalfa seed production 

By Lindsay Griffith June 6, 2014

Including alfalfa in a crop rotation can bring a number of agronomic benefits. Prairie farmers grow alfalfa for both forage and seed. Randy Toman, a farmer near Guernsey, Sask., began growing alfalfa for seed production over a decade ago. With lighter land well suited to forage and legume production, alfalfa was a good fit for […] Read more

Crops, News

Farmers tweak rotations to reflect markets

Farmer panel: Farmers contacted for the February Farmer Panel are making  changes to get the most from a falling market in 2014

By Lee Hart May 14, 2014

While the high rolling wheat, barley and canola prices of the past couple years are into a market slump in 2014, that doesn’t mean western Canadian farmers are making major changes to their cropping plans this coming year. Some adjustments, yes, as they consider crops with lower inputs, or bring back specialty crops they haven’t […] Read more

Crops, Features

Six ways to reduce early season seed stress

While not all factors can be controlled, there are ways to reduce early season stress on your crops 

By Rebeca Kuropatwa March 26, 2014

There are many ways to reduce early season stress on emergence, starting with planting date,” says Aaron Miller, an agronomist with DuPont Pioneer. Here are six. 1. Planting date “While planting early offers potential benefits, it also presents some challenges,” says Aaron Miller. “A well prepared seedbed along with the right temperature (close to 10 C) […] Read more

U.S. grains: Corn rebounds from contract lows on short covering, bargain buying

U.S. livestock: Cattle futures come down from highs

Entomologist tests trap crops and marigolds to repel flea beetles at an Ag in Motion

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