Soggy Soils, New Lessons At Crop School

The wet weather that has plagued Manitoba farmers also hit the Crop Diagnostic School. But organizer John Heard says that just makes the school more relevant. “We always say it’s better for us to make the mistakes than farmers,” said Heard, a soil fertility specialist with Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives (MAFRI). The 2011

No Shortage Of Topics For Crop School

“Zero-till is harder in wheat stubble and strip-till seems to be a way to deal with it.” – JOHN HEARD John Heard and his Crop Diagnostic School team have taken the advice that when life delivers lemons, you make lemonade. All that rain that’s hurting Manitoba crops has also hit the diagnostic school’s plots here


Winter Cereals Manitoba Focused On Research

Winter Cereals Manitoba (WCM) has money in the bank and the farmer-funded organization knows exactly where it’s going: research. Two projects are already planned, but WCM chair and Birtle-area farmer Garth Butcher told the organization’s annual meeting here March 10 he wants to hear members’ priorities. WCM collected 50 cents a tonne from around 2,000

Suspected Glyphosate-Resistant Ragweed In Ontario

Giant ragweed could be the first “made in Canada” weed resistant to the non-selective herbicide glyphosate, so it’s worth watching out for, says University of Manitoba weed scientist Robert Gulden. Giant ragweed can be found in Manitoba, but it’s much more common in Ontario he told those participating in the Crop Diagnostic School here at


Screwing Up Plots… On Purpose

“Some of the winter wheat in the plots looks poor now, but it might be OK by July.” – KIM LIVINGSTON-BROWN While most farmers were headed for their fields trying to beat the rain May 12, John Heard and his colleagues were busy preparing to screw up some plots at the University of Manitoba’s Ian