Kochia in a wheat field.

Have your kochia tested for resistance

Keeping this weed in check required a multi-pronged management approach

Western Canada has a kochia problem. It’s probably because kochia can tolerate things such as drought or salinity better than most crops; which allows it to proliferate in many areas of fields where the crop is less competitive. Kochia is one of the first weeds to emerge in spring and continues to grow until the […] Read more

A high clearance sprayer on a field in a prairie landscape

Ontario report backs value of glyphosate

Thirty years of crop data support economic and environmental value

The value of glyphosate to the agriculture industry, the economy and the environment is getting a bad and uninformed wrap from critics, say two long-time experts in agronomy and pesticide regulation fields who have reviewed a mountain of data compiled by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) which shows just the opposite. […] Read more


Straight cutting canola for the first time?

Straight cutting canola for the first time?

Q & A with Nutrien Ag Solutions

Q: What should I know before I try straight cutting canola? A: Many growers have successfully adopted this practice and it’s a viable alternative to swathing and combining. As a standing canola crop reaches maturity the risk of pod shatter and/or pod drop is a key impediment to straight cutting. However, the introduction of varieties […] Read more

Fall quackgrass growth.

Pre- and post-harvest weed control

Q & A with CPS

Q: When should I start weed control for my crop? A: A weed-free crop at harvest represents the cumulative effort of field management during the season. To manage many weed species, the season begins the previous fall. Pre-harvest weed control tends to focus glyphosate application on perennial weeds such as quackgrass or Canada thistle. At […] Read more


Choosing that pre-seed herbicide

Choosing that pre-seed herbicide

Q & A with CPS

Q: What are some considerations when selecting a pre-seed herbicide application? A: There are significant benefits to applying herbicides prior to seeding or crop emergence. Pre-seed weed removal reduces competition for valuable moisture and nutrients required for seedling development. When selecting pre-seed herbicides, begin with the crop to be grown. Products available vary considerably by […] Read more

Keeping canola out of your soybean fields

Keeping canola out of your soybean fields

Volunteer canola: 
Western Canada’s fourth 
most abundant weed

Volunteer canola is thriving in Western Canada. In the 1970s, volunteer canola was the 18th most abundant weed. Today it is the fourth most common in Western Canada. Volunteer canola is especially problematic where herbicide-resistant crops, like soybeans, are added to the rotation. Volunteer canola is a unique weed because it is derived from growing […] Read more


Because it’s a new weed, probably the first thing growers will notice is stray weeds sitting above the crop canopy.

Managing herbicide-resistant waterhemp in Manitoba

The weed’s movement into Manitoba calls for more vigilant field scouting

Waterhemp was found for the first time in Manitoba in 2016, southeast of Winnipeg in the area around the RM of Taché. The discovery led to the establishment of a waterhemp surveillance program led by Manitoba Agriculture in 2017. More waterhemp was found at a second site closer to the U.S. border. In both circumstances, […] Read more

Ryan's soybeans were in a state, but what was the cause?

Crop advisor casebook: Soybean disease or chemical injury?

A Crop Advisor's Solution from the February 20, 2018 issue of Grainews

Ryan owns a mixed dairy and grain farm north of Saskatoon, Sask. At the beginning of June, we were scouting Ryan’s soybean field when we discovered brown mottling on the plants’ leaves. These dark brown spots were present largely on the unifoliate leaves as well as on some of the cotyledons. The soybean plants’ trifoliate […] Read more


Chad contacted me about malformed pods on the upper portion of his glyphosate-tolerant canola plants.

Crop advisor casebook: What caused the malformed pods in Chad’s canola crop?

A Crop Advisor's Solution from the February 13, 2018 issue of Grainews

Chad, who owns a mixed grain and cattle farm near Togo, Sask., noticed something was not quite right with his canola crop. It was early August 2016 when Chad contacted me about malformed pods on the upper portion of his glyphosate-tolerant canola plants. “The pods don’t look right,” he said. “They’re all twisted up and […] Read more

Not only were Rob’s wheat leaves yellowing (chlorotic), but their centres 
were forming bands.

Crop Advisor’s Casebook: The case of the yellow-tinged spring wheat

A Crop Advisor's Solution from the December 5, 2017 issue of Grainews

In June 2016, I had an interesting situation arise when Rob, a Brunkild-area producer, called me about his yellowing red spring wheat crop. While out scouting his other fields for crop staging, Rob noticed one of his wheat fields, which he had sprayed with herbicide a few days earlier, had a yellow tinge to it. […] Read more