Prevention is worth a pound of cure when it comes to a thin plant stand in your canola crop — because there really is no cure once the plants have emerged. “There’s a number of different things you can do to prevent a thin plant stand, but as far as a rescue, there’s nothing that’s
No quick fix for a thin canola stand
Under the right conditions, a thin plant stand may actually outperform a thicker one
Fusarium head blight no longer just a Manitoba problem
Producers across the Prairies need to manage to minimize their risk of fusarium
When it comes to fusarium head blight, cereal growers tend to suffer from NIMBY syndrome — ‘not in my backyard.’ “Over the years, we’ve heard many comments that ‘it’s a Manitoba problem — it’ll never be a problem here in Alberta,’” federal research scientist Kelly Turkington said at the recent Agronomy Update conference. “But in
Ultra-high-frequency RFID takes tag reading to the next level
Forget reading one tag at a time, this technology can track every member of a herd going down an alley at once
Cattle producers could save themselves a fair bit of time and money — if they’re willing to make the shift from standard low-frequency RFID tags to a new ultra-high-frequency alternative. “The typical button tag has been around for a long time and works very well, but it’s in a low-frequency spectrum and the read range
Some don’t like it hot — and that’s key to big wheat yields
Wheat growers should start thinking about frost seeding or 24-hour seeding shifts to get their crop in the ground as early as possible
It’s time to start treating wheat like it’s a “real crop,” says Ontario agronomist ‘Wheat Pete’ Johnson. “Wheat is the most responsive crop to management we grow, and yet it’s the crop that we manage the least,” Peter Johnson said at the Farming Smarter conference last month. “You just put it in the ground and
Two different ways to breed the perfect cow
At CL Ranch, it’s all about breeding for observable traits, but genomics is the foundation for Rocky Mountain Holsteins
You won’t find a single Angus cow in Cherie Copithorne-Barnes’ herd. But then again, you won’t find any other specific breeds either. “One of the philosophies that we have here at CL Ranch is we’re not breed specific — we’re trait specific,” said Copithorne-Barnes, CEO of the 23,000-acre ranch near Calgary. “We are synthetic cross-breeders,
New variety a milestone in the battle against clubroot
New canola variety has two resistant genes — but clubroot strains are quickly multiplying
A new canola variety resistant to multiple strains of clubroot will hit the market in time for spring seeding. But the new variety from Crop Production Services will only be available in limited quantities and a clubroot expert says growers can’t expect it to be “a saviour.” CPS Canada says the variety, Proven Seed PV
Cattle carcass contamination on the rise, says expert
The incidence of broken needles is up tenfold, and 100,000 pounds of beef are thrown out yearly because of buckshot contamination
Consumer confidence in Canadian beef is being eroded by a preventable problem — carcasses contaminated with needles, buckshot, and drug residues. “We want to make sure that all the cattle we’re producing — calves and cull cattle together — are going to be able to have a steak or roast off them without somebody either
Three young Alta. sisters lost to grain truck mishap
Rocky Mountain House | AFE — A community in central Alberta is in mourning following the deaths of three young sisters in a grain truck mishap on Tuesday night. “This is hitting us all very hard. Frontline responders are routinely called out to sad situations, but things are always harder when there’s children involved,” said
No regrets: ‘Better Beef’ campaign turns out just fine for A&W
Sales are up sharply, and it was the beef industry’s choice not to get involved in developing A&W’s antibiotic-and steroid-free program
Two years after introducing its controversial ‘Better Beef’ program, A&W has few regrets about how the shift to antibiotic- and steroid-free beef played out. “We were the first national chain in North America to do it, and the response has been tremendous,” said Trish Sahlstrom, vice-president of purchasing and distribution for A&W Canada. “We’re selling
Four simple steps to storing grain safely this fall
Pay attention to sanitation, loading, aeration, and monitoring
This fall when you’re preparing your grain for storage, all you need to do is remember to SLAM. That’s short for sanitation, loading, aeration, and monitoring. The first step — removing any dust or debris from your bins before harvest — is “obviously important,” said Ryan Braun, Canadian sales manager for OPI, a grain storage
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
