Crop Report – for Jul. 30, 2009

SOUTHWEST REGION Spotty showers throughout the region resulted in five to 15 mm of precipitation. Cereal crop development ranges from filling to starting to flower. Canola crops range in development from flowering to podding. Flax is flowering. Sunflowers are in the bud stage. Fungicide is nearly complete. Producers are monitoring sunflower fields for rust. Most

Pulse Promotion Fits New-Age Tastes

Kids have been watching and learning from their parents – how not to eat. “The ailments that have plagued our parents and our grandparents, like early deaths from stress and heart disease… they’re all fairly preventable, if we can live healthier,” said Timothy Hill, a 20-something junior trader with Bissma Pacific Inc. as he listened


Manitoba Crops Vary But Not Too Bad Overall

“A lot of seeding just did not get done.” – THELMA BLAHEY, MAFRI Although crop conditions vary greatly throughout the province, Manitoba so far is avoiding the crippling drought raging out west. The one word to describe conditions here would be: variable. Too much rain in some places, not enough in others. Recent storms which

Crop Report – for Jul. 9, 2009

SOUTHWEST REGION A general rainfall over the past week resulted in 10 to 30 mm of precipitation. Moisture was welcome as several areas are reporting dry conditions. The majority of cereal crops are in the flag leaf stage with early-seeded crops starting to head. Early-sown canola is starting to flower. Pea fields are starting to


New Annual Legume To Round Out The Tool Box

“It would make a very good forage crop because it has diosgenin – something no other crop has. I call it the Ben Johnson compound because it is like an anabolic steroid that makes muscle.” – SURYA ACHARYA It’s hard to imagine a more interesting crop. Grown for at least 4,000 years in India, fenugreek

Winterkill Takes A Toll On Alfalfa Stands

Some of Manitoba’s alfalfa stands took a beating this year, not unlike a lot of winter wheat crops. In some areas half of the stands were 80 per cent killed, said Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives’ forage specialist Glenn Friesen. Alfalfa stands two years old ideally should have 30 stems per square foot. That


Cool Spring Delays “Hay Day”

Historic Relative Feed Value of 1st Cut Alfalfa -Steinbach RFV (NIR) 300 280 260 240 220 200 180 160 140 120 14-May 21-May 28-May 4-Jun 11-Jun Avg 95-08 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 18-Jun 25-Jun “Hay Day” – the day alfalfa should be cut to capture its peak feed value – is June 18 in

Consider Cutting Frost-Damaged Alfalfa

Cutting the frozen alfalfa clears the way for new regrowth, especially from the crowns making for a better second cut.” – GLENN FRIESEN Farmers with frost-damaged alfalfa should consider mowing if more than 30 per cent of stem tops are wilted or show signs of frost damage and the crop is more than 10 inches


You Can’t Get Hay For Nothing

“People need to recognize that if they don’t look after their forages well, then their productivity will drop off quickly. Nothing depletes the soil of nutrients quicker than forages.” – JOHN HEARD, MAFRI SOIL FERTILITY SPECIALIST Of all common farming practices, harvesting hay off the same field year after year is probably the hardest on

Campaign Against GM Alfalfa Intensifies

“The genie’s out of the bottle.” – JIM LINTOTT, MANITOBA FORAGE COUNCIL Acoalition of 80 farm and food organizations, including Manitoba forage producers, is calling for an immediate halt to field testing of genetically modified alfalfa in Canada. The groups want existing test plots of GM alfalfa uprooted and full-scale commercialization of the crop blocked.