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Slow resistance with layered herbicides
Crops, Features

Slow resistance with layered herbicides

Gowan representatives say layering isn't just about dressing for fickle weather anymore

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Layering herbicides is a way to manage or delay herbicide resistance on the farm. The key is to apply a residual before seeding. The residual creates a herbicide layer in the soil. That layer kills weeds as they try to push emerge. With fewer weeds, there is less selection pressure on herbicides used later in […] Read more
Don’t misdiagnose soil compaction
Crops, Features

Don’t misdiagnose soil compaction

Erosion or true compaction? A correct diagnosis is key to proper management

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Subsoils are naturally compact, and what looks like a soil compaction problem might actually be a case of erosion removing the top, soft layer of soil and exposing the dense subsoil. “People assume they have a soil compaction problem, but exposed subsoil is often misdiagnosed as a soil degradation issue,” says David Lobb, a professor […] Read more
Managing mustard fertilizer
Columns, Crops

Managing mustard fertilizer

Part 3 of this 4-part series on mustard agronomy covers mustard's fertilizer needs

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In the last issue of Grainews, I discussed the nitrogen needs of mustard. Now, let’s turn to the other fertilizers mustard requires. Phosphorus (P) About 80 per cent of brown and dark brown soils are deficient in phosphorus (P). Soil P availability to plants can be assessed by soil sampling and testing to determine plant-available […] Read more
Investing in vertical tillage tools
Crops, Features

Investing in vertical tillage tools

Soil Management: When it comes to vertical tillage, there is no "one size fits all" for every job

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Farmers struggling with excess residue, moisture, or compaction are experimenting with various forms of tillage. But many questions remain about how to best use the equipment on the market today. In the fall of 2014, the Buiten­huis and Baillargeon families ran a tillage demo at their farm near Edam, Sask. They ran seven different tillage units, plus used a […] Read more
fertilizer spreading tractor
Crops, Features

Protected fall N improves efficiency

Nitrogen stabilizer products have a good fit where farm labour and time are limited

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Dan Hacault likes to use nitrogen stabilizer products on his farm for time management, convenience, nutrient efficiency, cost effectiveness, and making it easier for him to manage seeding when working by himself… and oh, yes, on-farm field trials show his yields are holding steady as well. Hacault, who has downsized to crop about 1,300 acres […] Read more
The University of Manitoba has been conducting trials on soybean’s phosphorus uptake.
Crops, Features, Soybeans

Do soybeans need phosphorus?

Phosphorus fertilizer won’t increase soybean yield, but good strategies can maintain fertility

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Soybeans are efficient feeders for soil phosphorus (P) and in most cases growers are not going to see an increase in yield from additional P fertilization, regardless of the soil test P, according to research trials in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Since 2013, Dr. Don Flaten and Gustavo Bardella of the University of Manitoba, together with […] Read more
field of flowering mustard
Columns, Crops

Mustard fertilizer management

In Part 2 of a 4-part series on mustard agronomy, Ross McKenzie talks fertilizer

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In the last issue of Grainews, I discussed agronomic management of growing mustard. In this issue we’ll discuss nitrogen requirements; in the next issue, we’ll discuss the other nutrients mustard needs to achieve optimum production. Mustard grown on cereal stubble almost always needs nitrogen fertilizer, frequently needs phosphate fertilizer and occasionally needs sulphur fertilizer. Soil […] Read more
Nitrate in the environment
Columns, Crops

Nitrate in the environment

Agriculture is a big part of nitrogen movement. Let's measure what we're doing

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This column has dealt with “nitrate down the well” a few times in the past. To make a long story short: Nitrate-contaminated farm wells have been known since 1945 when the first case of infant “blue-baby” was related to a contaminated farm well in Iowa. A 1948 survey of 2,000 Saskatchewan farm wells found 18 […] Read more
Crops, Features

Grid soil sampling best for prediction

Cavalier Agrow agronomist says grid soil sampling trumps satellite imagery

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Farmers who want to move into precision farming should focus less on satellite imagery and more on what’s happening under the soil’s surface, according to an agronomist. Bennie Dunhin is the agronomy manager at Cavalier Agrow, an ag retailer based in north-western Saskatchewan. Dunhin, who originally hails from South Africa, holds an MSc. in plant […] Read more
This graphic, from a University of Minnesota Extension Bulletin, shows some common designs for tile drainage.
Columns, Crops

Trying tile drainage on your farm

There's information out there. Do your homework before starting tile drainage

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I am not an engineer and will not give recipes for pipe size, spacing or equipment. Rather, I’ll look at the principles and steps a farmer should take before investing big bucks in tiles. Tile drainage is not a new technology. Many of the better soils of the world are on flat, low lying, high […] Read more

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