In provinces such as Manitoba and Ontario, fusarium head blight is now a given.

17 crop disease prevention strategies

Fungicides are key, but there are many other parts to an effective long-term strategy

As you can tell by the fact that this article includes 17, yes 17, strategies for crop diseases prevention, there are no quick fixes. Crop disease prevention is going to be an ongoing struggle. 1. Use multiple strategies: Understand that multiple strategies are the way to go. There isn’t one big hammer, rather lots of little hammers with […] Read more



crop sprayer

Better weather information for better spraying decisions?

New technology allows farmers to have their own on-farm weather stations


In my last column, I wrote about how new technology sometimes scares the snot out of me (specifically driverless cars). But I’m not a complete Luddite, or neo-Luddite. I do have an iPhone, apps and all. Some of the apps I use most frequently during the summer are weather-related. I like to check if a […] Read more

soybean field

Who’s representing your soybeans?

“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” This opening line of Jane Austen’s 1813 novel, Pride and Prejudice is still relevant today if we replace “single man” with “up-and-coming crop,” and “wife” with “industry association.” As soybean acreage grows, […] Read more


combining in the field

Canola rotations are key

Recommended crop rotations lower inoculum levels and risk of disease

Crop rotation is of utmost importance to manage residue and soil-borne diseases, and many insect species,” says Randy Kutcher, cereal and flax pathologist, University of Saskatchewan. Knowing this, it’s surprising that many growers still don’t heed rotation recommendations, especially with the potential for devastating diseases like blackleg. Blackleg is a residue-borne disease, he explains. “Residues […] Read more

Nodules on a soybean plant.

Why nodulation fails

When nodules don’t form, yield will suffer. 
These recommendations could stop fixation failures

Nodulation failure can be disastrous to crop yields. In some cases, yield may be salvaged. In other cases, it will be too late. Two experts offer recommendations to avoid nitrogen fixation failures. Pre-farm failure Nitrogen fixation failures can occur at three points, says Garry Hnatowich, research director at the Irrigation Crop Diversification Corporation at Outlook, […] Read more


Fababeans in northeastern Sask.

Fababeans in northeastern Sask.

The fababeans pictured above belong to Brett Casavant, who farms near Tisdale in north-eastern Saskatchewan. 2014 was Casavant’s first year growing fababeans. He grew a low-tannin variety called taboar. Casavant says they yielded around 70 bushels per acre, including dockage. He says they might wash out to the low to mid 60s once dockage is accounted […] Read more

fababean crop

Fababeans: our next Cinderella crop

A nitrogen-fixing legume that doesn’t have us competing with U.S. farmers could be an opportunity

Before you start — the headline is a bit of a stretch at this point but hopefully you will read on to learn more. The first department head of the newly constituted Soil Science Department, University of Saskatchewan (1919) was Roy Hanson, a soil microbiologist. His first observation was “we need to grow legume crops […] Read more


man standing in a wheat field while talking on a microphone

A short history of durum wheat breeding

As private companies step up cereal breeding investments, 
Andrea Hilderman reviews our public breeding triumphs

Dr. Ron DePauw has been actively involved in the breeding program at the Semiarid Prairie Agricultural Research Centre (SPARC) in Swift Current, Saskatchewan for many decades. Over the years DePauw has led diverse teams that have made extraordinary leaps forward in the agronomic and end-use qualities of durum for Western Canada. Durum team leaders have […] Read more

The Ivey family of Evergreen Cattle Co. will represent Saskatchewan at Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers national awards program in Quebec City later this month. Above are Aaron and Adrienne Ivey with their children Colton, seven, and Noelle, nine, with trusted family member, Ben, in the middle.

Focusing on strengths such as beef and grass

Saskatchewan: Aaron and Adrienne Ivey’s focus on their cow-calf 
operation has taken them to the top

Aaron and Adrienne Ivey say it is important that they concentrate on the strengths of their east-central Saskatchewan ranching operation. Producing beef and grass is the core business on their ranch near Ituna, Sask. northeast of Regina. They seed some annual crops to accommodate pasture and hay land rotation, and while they background their calves […] Read more