Reading Time: 2 minutes Wheat midge, a non-native pest that feeds on developing wheat kernels, is a serious economic threat to farmers, especially in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. But the pest is now a growing problem in Alberta, including Peace River country, and starting to attack Montana’s wheat crops. However, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada researchers know ways to reduce its […] Read more
Beneficial insects can reduce the economic threat if wheat midge arrives
Two natural predators can help with wheat midge problems if you foster their populations
Satellites and ag drones link up
By targeting their strengths, these two technologies can complement each other
Reading Time: 5 minutes For “eye-in-the-sky” technology, the last three years have seen some stunning advances, especially in the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and satellite imaging systems. Yet while both made headlines about the same time in 2011, both also had limited success on the farm, as is often the case when new technologies first get into […] Read more
Pest Patrol: Weed control update on vetch
Can I do anything to get rid of vetch before seeding soybeans?
Reading Time: < 1 minute In my last column, I discussed my optimism for vetch control in soybeans using a few different pre-plant burn-down herbicides. Specifically, I had been impressed by some preliminary results when either flumioxazin (found in Valtera, Step-Up, Fierce and Guardian Plus) or saflufenacil (found in Eragon, Integrity and Optill) was mixed with glyphosate and the adjuvant Merge. […] Read more
WGRF investment dollars in research making the difference
Farmer funding has helped with the development of many well-known cereal varieties at the University of Saskatchewan’s Crop Development Centre
Reading Time: 4 minutes Another growing season is well underway at the University of Saskatchewan’s Crop Development Centre (CDC), thanks in large part to farmer investments furnished through the Western Grains Research Foundation (WGRF). Wheat and barley breeders at Saskatchewan’s Crop Development Centre along with about 45 research technicians and field workers plant, maintain, monitor and harvest about 150,000 […] Read more
Testing the quality of the 2014 wheat harvest
Here’s how Cigi figures out if your wheat will make good bread
Reading Time: 3 minutes Helping customers make wise buying decisions is an important part of customer service. This is especially true when buyers are purchasing significant quantities of a commodity produced thousands of kilometres away — like wheat grown in Western Canada for example. For over 10 years, Cigi (Canadian International Grains Institute) has completed an annual harvest assessment, […] Read more
Shelterbelts: a habitat for beneficial insects
Even if ripping out an old shelterbelt could help you work more acres per hour, it may leave you worse off
Reading Time: 5 minutes Back in the Dirty ’30s, farmers planted shelterbelts in a desperate bid to slow those drying winds and keep them from blowing our precious topsoil east. Now, at almost 100 years old, these wind-breaks have grown into stands of mature trees that continue to serve that purpose well. Not only do these shelterbelts curb wind […] Read more
Cut canola later, combine slower come harvest
Canola harvest losses can be a lot worse than you think. Swathing later is one way to boost yield. Refining your combine ground speed and other settings is another
Reading Time: 4 minutes Canola growers are leaving a lot of yield on the table. Or, more accurately, they are leaving a lot of yield “off” the table and on the ground at harvest. Estimates put losses from the harvest process alone at two to five bu./ac., on average. Early swathing adds to that total. Growers have two key ways […] Read more
The do’s and don’ts of clubroot
Specific, timely actions can help prevent the spread of disease in your soil
Reading Time: 2 minutes By now it’s clear. Some control strategies work. Others, says Dan Orchard, just don’t. Pulling plants from dead patches at the end of the season and looking for the disease certainly worked. But it would have worked even better if the recommendation right from the start had been to pull plants and check the roots. […] Read more
Joining the clubroot club
The disease is escaping beyond its Edmonton hot zone, and the rest of the Prairie region must get its response right
Reading Time: 11 minutes As you drive throughout the region surrounding Edmonton, canola is inescapable. It’s absolutely everywhere. And looking at the crops, it’s easy to understand why. With long days, cool nights and adequate rainfall, this is canola country pure and simple, and in most seasons, the crop flourishes under nearly ideal conditions. Canola has also been a crop […] Read more
Another story on Canada fleabane?
Yes, because the message isn’t getting through, and the situation is getting serious
Reading Time: 4 minutes It may seem repetitive, but that’s because the message isn’t changing. Canada fleabane keeps becoming a bigger problem with each passing year. The weed has been the topic of presentations at the Southwest Agricultural Conference dating back to 2012, as well as at FarmSmart Conferences and in a steady stream of weed and herbicide bulletins. […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
