When Adam Gurr talks about the history of controlled traffic farming (CTF) in Canada he’ll tell you about Dean Glenney, a now-retired agricultural engineer and farmer from Ontario. He could get phenomenal corn yields and he felt it was because of his use of CTF. “When you visit Dean’s farm, he brings a shovel out,
Early controlled traffic farming pioneer saw benefit in soil biology
Two-year study showed significant improvements in several areas
Saving your soil sponge
It’s in the voids that your fields find their life
“When it comes to soil, “… it’s all about the matrix.” Not the futuristic film, but the morphology. The soil structure. The ‘architecture.’ That’s according to soil scientist Francisco Arriaga from the University of Wisconsin, when talking about soil compaction at the recent 2022 Northern Soil Compaction Conference, hosted by the Minnesota Soil Health Coalition
Peas surge again in Manitoba crop mix
As fertilizer prices climb, the crop becomes more attractive to farmers
Last summer did not provide an ideal growing season so peas took a beating. The drought of 2021 is now in the archives and, with spring looming, Roquette Canada agronomist Anastasia Kubinec suggests Manitoba growers might consider peas again. “The pea fields have really increased when we start looking at the landscapes in Manitoba,” she
Pre-emergent products require care
These older formulations are effective but come with some risks too
Hitting weeds with a pre-emergence residual herbicide can be an effective way to keep them in check while they’re germinating and highly vulnerable. This gives your crop a head start by removing early competition but you have to consider carry-over if you’re going to manage a persistent herbicide in your soil, according to Kansas State
Can a cool-season crop survive climate change?
As temperatures rise, so does the pressure on the Prairies’ Cinderella crop, canola
Canola, like its northern European ancestors that were introduced here decades ago, is a cool-season plant. It’s not happy with really hot weather, especially from the time it bolts to the time it finishes flowering. With the Prairies getting warmer, farmers need to consider what higher summer temperatures might do to one of their most
Pollinators key to canola crops’ success
Your busy little unpaid employees make it all possible
Canola producers often partner with beekeepers because the bees are an effective way to pollinate canola blossoms and increase the seed production. The bees collect the pollen as a protein-rich food and sip nectar to make honey, a handy way to store energy. Making pollen and nectar is a lot of work for the plant
Herbicide resistance keeps on rising
Mother Nature keeps outsmarting the available crop protection products
Every year weed scientists with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada continue their herbicide-resistant weed surveys — and every year they find new places with weeds poking through the crop canopies in direct defiance of the spraying. This is because Mother Nature is better at genetics than we are at chemistry so our herbicides just can’t keep
Soybean cyst nematode evading resistance genes
Scant sources for genetic resistance make the trend inevitable over time
Soybean cyst nematode (SCN) is a serious soybean pest throughout the American Midwest and, as of 2021, it’s been confirmed in five Manitoba municipalities. There are two ways a farmer can deal with soybean cyst nematode, according to Iowa State University plant pathologist Greg Tylka. “The first thing is don’t grow soybeans — but my
Flea beetles, grasshoppers poised for reprises in Manitoba fields
These insects did a lot of damage last year, and could return this season
Flea beetles and grasshoppers were amongst the biggest insect challenges last season, and they could be set to surge again this year, if conditions are right. John Gavloski, Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development entomologist, said both were a huge issue throughout the province. “They were major concerns over the past season, and when I say
Intermittent pests played role last season
Most of these insects only arrive in numbers if the conditions line up
Although grasshoppers and flea beetles were last season’s major insect pests in Manitoba, there were a few other players that caused significant trouble on a regional scale. Many farmers in different parts of the province had diamondback moth and cereal aphids blow in with the winds. Others had trouble with alfalfa weevils and lygus bugs.
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
