GFM Network News

More News →

Tag Archives Practical Research

In a 150-acre quarter, the grower losses are $24,300. That’s a loss of 24 cows.
Columns, Crops

Why should you rotate your crops?

Practical Research: Consider these consequences

By
Why do we recommend crop rotations in temperate climates? As you may know, many crops like sugar cane can be grown for two to three years and even up to 10 harvests. Alfalfa crops last five to 10 years. In the southern Prairies, the standard crop rotation used to be wheat, fallow, wheat. Now with […] Read more
Coyotes feed on rats, mice, voles, pocket gophers, ground squirrels, rabbits, geese, ducks, groundhogs, deer, wild boar, raccoons and other crop-damaging fauna, including grasshoppers and cutworms. Coyotes will also eat apples, berries, carrots and other vegetables.
Columns, Livestock

The coyote conundrum continues

The coyote is guilty of livestock predation, but how does this cost compare with farm crop value gains?

By
When I lived in rural Alberta in the 1970s, I knew more than a few farmers and acreage owners who supplemented their incomes, sometimes substantially, with coyote pelts. The price for good pelts at that time was up to $100 or more. Today, with the advent of synthetic furs and an anti-wild-animal-product public atmosphere, coyote […] Read more
As soil warms up, last year’s herbicide may be present ready to do its weed control job.
Crops

Anticipate herbicide damage

After a very dry year followed by a cold winter, watch for residual herbicides

By
Last year, it was very dry over much of the Prairies. Your lower-than-expected yields have got you calculating how much nutrients/fertilizer are left in your grain or oilseed fields. Also to consider is how much herbicide residue is left in some of your fields. What crops do you intend seeding this spring? Canola, perhaps, due […] Read more
Australian shepherds are basically British border collies crossed with Spanish (Basque) sheep dogs. This breed developed primarily in Utah and not Australia as some would think.
Columns

Dogs, more dogs and farm dogs

Working breeds for the farm and for herding cattle or sheep

By
Over the past 50 years, I have visited not hundreds but thousands of farmyards in Canada and the United States. I can hardly remember any yards that did not have one or more resident dogs. They came in all shapes and sizes from St. Bernards to tiny Yorkshire Terriers. For many farmers, the farm dogs […] Read more
Ergot in a rye crop
Cereals, Columns, Crops

A closer look at ergot

Get your soils tested for copper levels if you get ergot in wheat, barley or oats, and if crops lodge easily and the grain is poor quality

By
Let’s get this story on track once and for all. Ergot, as we know it in Canada, is a fungal infection of cereal grains and grasses. The word ergot is derived from the French word argot, meaning a spur. Ergots form within grain heads and displace the developing seed or grain. Ergot size may depend […] Read more
In both wheat and barley, boron deficiency causes the unfertilized cereal grain flowers to open up just like open pollinated rye. The consequences of deficiencies are failure to set seed, as in canola and wheat, and, in barley, the open, exposed cereal flowers can have very high levels of ergot.
Columns, Crops

Bring on the boron

Boron deficiency can cause failure to set seed and ergot infection

By
Over the last few years in the Prairies, there has been something of a resurgence of interest in boron. This micronutrient is critical for normal plant growth, particularly crop maturity, and water balance — and is a key factor in seed set and crop yield. In man and animals, this micronutrient is essential for weight […] Read more
St(RAW) deal
Columns, Crops

St(RAW) deal

Don’t rob our Prairie croplands — help rejuvenate them by working in all crop residues

By
Here we go again. “Alberta May Get Straw Plant” was a headline that appeared last summer in an agricultural publication. Why the concern? How many of you remember those massive piles of straw on the Trans-Canada Highway near Elie, Man., just east of Winnipeg? There were stacks and stacks of big, round straw bales — […] Read more
I bioassayed soil in January from a field treated twice with the herbicide tribenuron-methyl in 2020 to determine if the field was suitable for a canola crop this year. It was not — the potted field soil fried the canola seedlings, which is shown in the photo at bottom. The photo at top is the check. I recommended the farmer stay with wheat this year on this quarter.
Columns, Crops

Herbicides and bioassays

A dry fall followed by a dry spring may leave much higher levels of residual herbicides

By
When you use a soil-persistent herbicide, there are many factors you must consider very seriously. The first thing you have to do is read the label that comes with the herbicide. It will tell you how to mix and apply, water source, what weeds are controlled and so on. Read it very carefully. Of course, […] Read more
In order for crops to grow successfully, a select group of nutrients need to be present in your soil.
Columns, Crops

A look at organic farming

Your crop’s nutrient requirements are the same whether you choose organic or conventional production systems

By
The word organic in farm practice is just about totally confusing. Does it mean pesticide-free, GMO-free, or chemically produced fertilizer-free. Just keep in mind there are no such things as synthetic fertilizers. All fertilizers are simply minerals that are essential for plant growth. These minerals are the macro fertilizers, such as nitrogen (N), phosphate (P), […] Read more
Crops such as alfalfa hay (seen here), corn stover or small grain cereal straw contain huge amounts of potassium.
Columns, Crops

The role and availability of potassium in crops and soils

This key macronutrient is often misunderstood and misrepresented

By
Potassium is a key macronutrient in all plant and animal nutrition. Its role and availability in crops and soils is frequently misunderstood and misrepresented. In plant tissues, potassium (K) is second only to nitrogen (N) in amount found in plants. It may make up one to three per cent by weight of crop plants, from […] Read more

AgCanadaTV

AGCanadaTV: In case you missed it; your national ag news recap for Sept. 5, 2025

Sponsored By:
More Videos →

Cyber-Savvy Farmer

Glacier Farmmedia Podcast

Latest Market News

More Market News →