GFM Network News

More News →

Tag Archives Practical Research

Pea root rot moves into new cropland about the same way as clubroot. Follow the clubroot protocol.
Columns, Crops

The looming Prairie-wide pea crop disaster

Follow the clubroot protocol to ensure your future as a pea grower

By
When I first became involved in checking out pea diseases in Alberta in 1974, pea crops were few and far between. Pea growing was somewhat of a disaster. The pea variety generally grown was called Trapper. This was a tall, six-foot vine that lodged as soon as pod-filling took place. The mass of lodged leaves […] Read more
How to prevent a clubroot catastrophe
Canola, Columns

How to prevent a clubroot catastrophe

Some recommendations for all scenarios

By
The mentality amongst some of our Prairie canola growers is, “I’ll just wait until clubroot shows up and then I will seed a resistant variety.” Big mistake! Canola growers whose croplands are free of this destructive disease should be seeding resistant canola varieties right away. Yes, this year. Before clubroot shows up. I presently handle […] Read more
Zero tillage: lime it occasionally
Columns, Crops

Zero tillage: lime it occasionally

Acidification of the top few inches may inhibit cereal growth

By
Anything we do these days often comes with a meaningless label. For example, people say, “I am a Catholic, a Baptist, a Methodist …” but haven’t been near a church in many years. Some say, “I am right wing, left wing, green, a socialist, conservative …” but when questioned, most individuals have no definition or […] Read more
The forgotten plant and animal mineral micronutrients
Columns, Crops

The forgotten plant and animal mineral micronutrients

Ten nutrient minerals essential for plants and animal nutrition

By
How many times have you read about plants needing 16 nutrients for growth? The usual carbon, oxygen and hydrogen as well as the macrominerals nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulphur, calcium and magnesium (N, P, K, S, Ca and Mg, respectively). This is followed by micronutrients such as boron, copper, chloride, manganese, iron, molybdenum and zinc (B, […] Read more
Faked fuzz facts on fusarium
Columns, Crops

Faked fuzz facts on fusarium

The real story of Alberta’s fusarium head blight control program

By
Fusarium head blight (FHB) of wheat, barley, oat, rye and triticale caused by Fusarium graminearum is the most destructive disease of cereals in Western Canada right now. This fungus is also a destructive disease on corn, particularly in Ontario and the United States, where it is the exact same disease that we have on small […] Read more
The Prairies produce approximately 85 to 90 per cent of Canada’s honey with a major reliance on canola flowering.
Columns

Why do we let the tail wag the dog?

Is this a foretaste of livestock and grain farmer harassment in the near future?

By
All kinds of minor groups rail against the vast majority of ordinary citizens; for example, the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) or the anti-herbicide or pesticide groups in our cities. Take Edmonton, for example. In the city zoo, they have a long-term elephant called Lucy. The elephant is now […] Read more
Foo-foo farming and fabricated information
Columns

Foo-foo farming and fabricated information

Watch out for vendors who sell fake or grossly overpriced products

By
When you answer the telephone these days, many of the messages are nothing but fake claims. You are told that you owe Revenue Canada money, or that your credit or debit cards have been compromised. All of these things have happened to me in the last few years. I have also received police notices in […] Read more
Free range chickens
Columns, Livestock

Fowl play in the free-range poultry industry

The dire perils of free-range environments, chickens may be happier indoors, warm and among friends

By
It seems that the general public has a very distorted view of farming practices, which is helped by the inability or reluctance of the North American farming community to deliver the real facts. Many in the urban general public seem to have fond visions of laying hens or broiler chickens tiptoeing through the green, grassy […] Read more
Monarch butterflies hibernating in Mexico on fir trees.
Columns, Crops

Glyphosate gets off the butterfly hook

An example of a blatant effort to find a pesticide scapegoat

By
When I lived in Ontario in the early seventies, monarch butterflies were a common sight in the Guelph area, especially in late September. I would be coaching rugby on the University of Guelph rugby field late in the day and I would see hundreds of monarch butterflies heading south over the playing field at a […] Read more
Some flooded out farmers on the Prairies could help themselves by seeding a cereal crop this month.
Columns, Crops

Seed cereal crops in August in waterlogged regions of Alberta this year

Crops could remove up to 10 inches of moisture from flooded croplands

By
This year in the northern and north-central areas of Alberta, particularly in the Edmonton region, we have had an unusually wet spring and summer, following a wet fall and lots of winter snow. It has been estimated this spring and summer that the Edmonton area has had up to 20 inches of rain. As a […] 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 →