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Soybean field infested with soybean cyst nematodes.
Features

Plant parasites

Some soil nematodes can harm your crops. Here are the ones to watch for

By
Some soil nematodes are beneficial, providing important soil health benefits for crops. However, there are some that can negatively affect pulses and other crops. According to Mario Tenuta, a University of Manitoba soil scientist, harmful soil nematodes can reduce yields by siphoning off the contents of roots and stems, robbing the plants of energy and […] Read more
This photo shows Earl Christiansen at the Shaunavon site in 2006. Earl and I had gone to check out the site after 24 years. Farmer Bruce Poppy left the patch of grass as we suggested and left our nest of piezometers. The “deep” 53-foot piezometer has since started to flow but not enough to cause flooding, so it is OK. In this case “deep” was 53 feet.
Columns, Crops

Les Henry: How deep is deep?

Let us stretch your brain

By
Thanks to readers for your book orders and kind notes of encouragement about my column. A recurring comment from readers is they appreciate the “thought provoking” ideas. Over many years of writing, there have been many articles that just provide facts and figures and specific recommendations for crop and soil conditions. However, some are designed […] Read more
A grain storage bin lay on a gravel road near Litchfield, Nebraska, about 230 km west of Lincoln, after high winds swept across the U.S. Great Plains and upper Midwest, in this still image from a social media video. (Kevin Fulton image via Reuters)
Crops, Reuters, Weather

Dust storm, hurricane-force winds tear across U.S. upper Midwest

By ,
Chicago | Reuters — Hurricane-force winds tore across the U.S. upper Midwest Thursday evening, sending walls of dust across cities and rural towns, causing widespread property damage and killing at least two people. Straight-line winds up to 170 km/h reached from Kansas to Wisconsin, pushing waves of farmland topsoil across the horizon and plunging communities […] Read more
Website hosts the eKonomics of crop fertility
Features

Website hosts the eKonomics of crop fertility

Online calculators help with "what-if" scenarios

By
Western Canadian farmers looking to connect with some of the latest research in crop fertility can log onto a fairly new online resource developed by Nutrien, which delivers field-tested, science-based facts geared to helping producers get the most out of their fertilizer dollars. Nutrien has created a website called eKonomics that brings together reports on […] Read more
Today’s biggest issues in soil fertility
Features

Today’s biggest issues in soil fertility

When to broadcast, shallow band, deep band and top dress

By
Rigas Karamanos, a senior agronomist with Koch Fertilizer Canada, is one of the leading Canadian experts in soil fertility today. After speaking at hundreds of producer conferences and research symposiums, Karamanos says there are four major topics that come up again and again at every discussion of agricultural soil fertility. Broadcasting, shallow banding, deep banding […] Read more
A large on-site hole allowed farmers to get a good look at the soil profile, down more than a metre deep.
Crops, Features

Crops-a-palooza brings in farmers and researchers

By
On July 24, Crops-a-palooza brought together 10 different hosting organizations, a handful of corporate sponsors, and government researchers and other volunteers. More than 200 farmers and agronomists came out to see the crops and research on display at the Canada-Manitoba Crop Diversification Centre at Carberry, Manitoba. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada agronomist Curtis Cavers spent most […] Read more
Columns, Crops

Sask. and QC couples earn national OYF honours

Working with natural systems appeals to OYF-winning diversified producers

By
What’s the world coming to? When it comes to well managed farming operations recognized as Outstanding Young Farmers it appears to be leaning toward a natural field cropping operation in Saskatchewan and an organic market garden operation in Quebec. Derek and Tannis Axten of Axten Farms Ltd. near Minton, Sask., and Véronique Bouchard and François Handfield of Mont-Tremblant, […] 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

By
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
water irrigation equipment
Canola, Cereals, Columns

Manage water to optimize wheat, canola production

Use your irrigation system to its full potential by asking these four question about water needs

By
Often the most limiting nutrient in irrigated crop production is water! Many irrigation farmers tend to under-irrigate their crops, which limits yield potential. Often the main reasons for under-irrigation are simply not checking soil moisture frequently and starting the irrigation system too late. Knowing the answers to these four questions can help. 1. How much water does […] Read more
a tilled farmer's field
Crops

Back to tillage after wet years

With extra rain, tillage is back in style in some areas. First, evaluate the 
risks of erosion and salinity. Then, consider dealing with compaction

By
Soggy springs and summers have made tillage fashionable again in some parts of the Prairies. Some see tillage as a means of drying saturated soils. Others hope to relieve compacted soils through some sort of vertical tillage. But is tillage an effective solution to these problems? And do the potential benefits outweigh the risks? Tilling […] Read more

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