Staging critical for pre-harvest glyphosate

The crop must be mature before applying the non-selective herbicide

“Glyphosate is not a desiccant.” And just to be sure listeners got the message Manitoba Agriculture cereals specialist Pam de Rocquigny repeated the statement again during the Westman CropTalk webinar July 27: “Glyphosate is not a desiccant. “I no longer want to see anyone referring to when they are applying a pre-harvest glyphosate application… that

Monsanto aims to give farmers better information in weed resistance fight

Monsanto aims to give farmers better information in weed resistance fight

The company is countering its competitors who tout their herbicides 
as tools in the fight to avoid herbicide-tolerant weeds

Monsanto Canada is fighting what it says is “fear-based rhetoric floating around about farming practices and (weed) resistance in Canada.” In a recent full-page advertisement in several farm newspapers, including the Manitoba Co-operator, Michiel De Jongh, Monsanto Canada’s president and general manager, said Monsanto should’ve addressed herbicide-resistant weeds sooner. “When you began to battle herbicide


WGEA executive director Wade Sobkowich says farmers won’t be able to deliver grain treated with either quinclorac or chlormequat to member elevators in the 2016-17 crop year.

Grain companies won’t buy crops treated with quinclorac or chlormequat in 2016

The Western Grain Elevator Association says to do otherwise would jeopardize important 
Canadian canola and wheat export markets

It’s going to be a hard “no” from the major grain companies for 2016-17 deliveries of canola sprayed with the herbicide quinclorac and wheat treated with the growth regulator chlormequat. The announcement came recently from the Western Grain Elevator Association when it introduced its Declaration of Elegibility affidavits for the coming crop year, noting the

European buyers of Canadian grain are asking about glyphosate and other pesticide residues, as well as mycotoxins, John Peterson, Richardson International’s assistant vice-president of wheat marketing and hedging, told a meeting in Saskatoon last month.

Grains industry says residue issues aren’t going away

Canadian grain producers need to be more vigilant than ever about what pesticides they apply, and how they apply them

Like it or not, the safety of glyphosate is becoming a big issue for agriculture. Consumers are beginning to have doubts, especially about residue levels, and that’s translating into questions from buyers, one industry insider told a March 24 meeting in Saskatoon. Speaking at a meeting of the Prairie Grain Development Committee, John Peterson, Richardson


Self propelled sprayer

Scientific paper questions safety of glyphosate herbicides

Scientists and regulators clash over assessment of glyphosate as a likely carcinogen

Glyphosate is being used more often and in new ways, and that’s prompted a call for re-evaluating the product’s safety in the journal Environmental Health. The peer-reviewed article, by 13 scientists and an environmental consultant, said the use of glyphosate-based herbicides (GBHs) has grown dramatically at the same time new concerns about its safety have

Canola growers asked not to use quinclorac herbicide this year

Canola growers asked not to use quinclorac herbicide this year

While the weed killer is registered in Canada it hasn’t been approved in China, 
one of Canada’s most important canola customers

Canadian canola growers are advised not to use the herbicide quinclorac on their canola in 2016 because China, one of Canada’s biggest customers, has not yet approved it. “Until these questions are resolved, growers should use other options to control cleavers on their farms,” the Canola Council of Canada says on its website. “It’s a


A new system could allow glyphosate-resistant flax to be developed by ‘gene editing’ as opposed to genetic modification, but how will customers react?

New flax variety sparks debate

It is not transgenic, but some fear glyphosate-resistant flax will produce a second Day of the Triffids

Some Manitoba flax growers are expressing concern after learning a glyphosate-resistant flax variety is only a few years away from being market ready. Eric Fridfinnson of the Manitoba Flax Growers Association said the move towards herbicide-tolerant flax began several years ago and stemmed from a desire to increase yields, which hover around 22 bushels per

kochia

Heading off Group 2-resistant weeds

It’s complicated, but picking the right rotation of crops and chemicals is key to avoiding multiple resistance

Many common crop rotations in Manitoba are selecting for Group 2 herbicide resistance, as well as pushing resistance to other herbicide groups, says a U.S. weed specialist. Jeff Stachler of Ohio State University’s Auglaize County Extension Office told the recent Manitoba Agronomists Conference that a good rotation, not just of crops, but also of herbicides


Farm groups reject anti-GM crop report claims

The Canadian Biotechnology Action Network questions whether yield gains are due to GM technology

A report that claims genetically modified crops are no more productive than conventional ones doesn’t match the reality of what Canadian farmers find in their fields every year, farm groups say. The Canadian Biotechnology Action Network, which opposes GM crops, says in a report that yields of GM and conventional crop varieties “have increased at

Agricultural technology investment soars

Agricultural technology investment soars

Market turbulence or not, North American investors are plowing into farm technology

North American investors are pouring money into agriculture technology despite turbulent financial and commodity markets, as cutting-edge advances that enhance farm production bring opportunities for profits. Investment in this technology, which spans plant and soil technology to drones, amounted to $2.06 billion in the first half of 2015, on pace to smash last year’s record