Reading Time: 5 minutes Most growers have heard of “The 4Rs” and they know it stands for applying the right source at the right rate, at the right time and to the right place. But there’s still a long way to go to actually implement the concept. “It seems the time was right for a concept that helped explain […] Read more
The 4R crop nutrient solution
Here’s an approach to keep consumers happy, and to boost farmers’ productivity too
A new nutrient for crops?
We’ve always known carbon is important. Now, a new project is looking how to apply carbon like fertilizer to boost yields
Reading Time: 6 minutes The importance of carbon in agriculture has never been in scientific doubt. Whether it’s a component of photosynthesis — in the form of CO2 — or as part of the bigger picture carbon-nitrogen (C:N) ratio or the even more complicated carbon cycle, there’s no getting around the element’s value for farming. That doesn’t mean we […] Read more
Self-propelled crop sprayers see upgrades
Machinery Guide takes a quick look at the Hardi Alpha Evo 4100, Hagie STS 2015, John Deere R4045, and the New Holland Guardian SP.400F
Reading Time: 4 minutes It’s February and the itch to get into the shop and get things ready to put some seed in the ground is growing a little stronger every day. On many farms, the job that comes first, however, is spraying. Increasingly, this a job where it’s important to control the controllable and take full advantage when […] Read more
High-speed planters turn more heads
Corn Guide: More manufacturers join the competition to sell high-accuracy, 12-m.p.h. planters
Reading Time: 7 minutes One hundred hours. It’s barely more than four days of 24-hour planting, and it can seem like it goes by in a blink of the eye. But depending on farm size, it’s the typical number of hours you get in the spring to plant your corn and soybeans into optimum conditions. In some years like […] Read more
Once you get to the top…
Corn Guide: For the corn-growing Cantelon family, it just means you’re partway there
Reading Time: 5 minutes Wayne Cantelon is a lot like other farmers. He works a substantial number of acres with his father, brother and son, and he’s always trying to improve conditions and production. And just like a lot of other farmers, too, he’s hesitant to consider himself a leader or an innovator. In spite of that reluctance, Cantelon, […] Read more
Advanced corn crop management
Corn Guide: Nutrient uptake during grain fill is the new pathway to even higher yields
Reading Time: 8 minutes It’s a fair comment these days that corn production has reached a new level of complexity. Corn is anything but a simple, straightforward crop, even without taking into account the changing economics forced on producers by falling prices, and the constantly shifting mix of imports, exports and trait acceptability, Now comes research into a specific […] Read more
The changing face of winter
Winter is getting shorter, and this Ontario study found the growing season is four weeks longer
Reading Time: 3 minutes Instead of calling it climate change, maybe the phrase should be “winter change.” For the last six years, Trevor Dickinson, professor emeritus and a team from the University of Guelph have been studying temperature records from across Ontario, most of which date back 70 years, with some as old as 145 years, and their big […] Read more
Pearce: Monsanto’s next-gen weed control trait on deck
Reading Time: 2 minutes The question has been asked time and again for the past three or four years: when will we see Monsanto’s Xtend technology in Canada? The answer has been wrapped up in a long list of concerns and government procedure, but the first glint of opportunity for growers has cleared the next-to-last of a series hurdles. […] Read more
Rolling in corn stover
Corn Guide: Corn baling works, and shrewd business management could create a huge opportunity for corn producers
Reading Time: 7 minutes This year’s push for a corn stover-processing facility to be built somewhere in southern Ontario isn’t exactly new. Many similar proposals have been voiced in the past decade. This time, though, there’s a difference. What sets this venture apart is that the combination of economic benefits for the region and agronomic benefits for growers may […] Read more
New planters offer speed, greater precision
Machinery Guide looks at three new models ready to dive into the 2015 crop year
Reading Time: 3 minutes Spring seems to come faster every year, which is all right on the farm because speed is also the focus of today’s newest planter designs. Getting the job done faster, and with greater precision and improved seed singulation are the hallmarks of this year’s newest models, which are embracing enhanced electronics and some incredibly innovative […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
