“If we were running laps around the track, some of our other weeds are maybe half a lap ahead, these guys have lapped us.” – Kim Brown-Livingston

Weeds in fields quickly outpacing crops

Late seeding and weather challenges make a big challenge even bigger

This will be a tough year for weed control. Late seeding into warm, wet soil is going to give rise to relatively fast crop emergence and leave little time to do any kind of pre-seed herbicide application. Complicating matters further, is the ongoing global herbicide shortage. In a ‘normal’ year, depending on the crop, that

sprayer

Stocking up for a shortage-plagued spring

There’s a long list of ag products under supply strain while one of farming’s busiest seasons is about to ramp up

This isn’t going to be one of those springs where you can stroll into your local ag retailer and be confident you’ll be leaving with everything you need. Supply chain issues of all stripes have kept inventories of all kinds across the country depleted, even as spring approaches. The list of ag products facing supply


Residual herbicides can damage subsequent crops, as seen here in this trial plot.

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

A young soybean plant with leaf blistering and cupped leaves due to dicamba drift. Dicamba is one of the most volatile herbicides on the market.

Comment: Doubling down won’t solve weed woes

Dicamba was supposed to solve weed problems – instead, it’s making farming harder

Farmers are stuck in a chemical war against weeds, which have developed resistance to many widely used herbicides. Seed companies’ answer – using more varied herbicides – is causing new problems. In October 2021 I was a guest on a popular podcast to discuss my recently published book, Seed Money: Monsanto’s Past and Our Food


Sprayer expert Tom Wolf says farmers will need to manage crop protection products more closely than ever next season.

Spray is scarce. Here’s how you can make it stretch

With a looming chemical shortage, it’s going to be important to do more with less this spring

A host of seemingly unrelated incidents including another round of COVID-19, the upcoming Winter Olympics and the current world supply chain issues have brought about an odd perfect storm. The component chemistries that make up herbicides are harder to get, so herbicides are not as plentiful and they’re more expensive. Consequently farmers may have to

Management interference flagged in Environmental Protection Agency’s dicamba decision

Management interference flagged in Environmental Protection Agency’s dicamba decision

Office of inspector general says decision ran counter to EPA’s Scientific Integrity Policy

Three senior United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) managers altered scientific documents to support the EPA’s decision to extend the registration of the herbicide dicamba in 2018, contrary to EPA’s Scientific Integrity Policy. That’s the conclusion of the EPA’s office of inspector general (OIG) in its report released May 24. The EPA’s decision to extend


The Keep It Clean campaign uses a ‘traffic’ system to quantify trade risk from crop protection products.

Keep It Clean enters its fifth year

Industry program helps avoid residue problems on exported crops

Canadian farmers are being encouraged to use an industry alert program to keep unacceptable pesticide residues on crops from spiralling into potential trade problems. The voluntary program called Keep It Clean informs producers about which products to use on cereal, oilseed and pulse crops and which ones to avoid so as not to exceed maximum

Herbicide resistance is a growing concern due to glyphosate-resistant kochia (seen here) and the yet small but aggressively spreading waterhemp.

Former weed specialist back on the job

Battling weed resistance will be hard work, says Kim Brown-Livingston

Kim Brown-Livingston says she’s optimistic as she takes the role of provincial weed specialist. “We have a great future,” she said. “We’re going to continue on, and our farmers are doing a really good job of it now.” Brown-Livingston previously held the role of weed specialist from 1998 to 2013 before moving on to work


Comment: Glyphosate and livestock. It’s all in the dose

Studies have found no effect on digestive bacteria or nutrient uptake

As an animal nutritionist, I’m concerned about the health and welfare of farm animals. Animals that are stressed due to inadequate housing conditions or nutrition are less sustainable. That’s why I read the article “Herbicides and Horses” with great interest. In the article, the author speculates that glyphosate’s chelation and antimicrobial properties can have negative

Frosty weeds and closing spray windows

Frosty weeds and closing spray windows

Variables like weed species and recent and expected frosts will weigh into management decisions

Add the weather forecast into your calculations when planning fall weed control. It’s prime weed control season for perennial weeds like Canada thistle and winter annuals and acting now can help you, come spring. “A lot of the winter annuals are starting to become problems because if we don’t do any kind of control in