Reading Time: 5 minutes The fall objectives: Make sure the chopper can spread the width of the cut. Have a chaff spreader to avoid the thick harrow-immoveable mat of chaff right behind the combine. Cut higher so more of the residue is standing stubble. If necessary, harrow the crop on a hot windy day. This is the no-till approach […] Read more
Is strip tillage a residue solution?
We don’t want to see a step backward in reduced-tillage practices. So how can canola growers improve seed survival and crop uniformity in challenging residue situations?
Dry weather weed control in IP soybeans
Weed control in IP soybeans is always a challenge. This year, it was nearly impossible… but not on all farms
Reading Time: 5 minutes Good weed control in Eastern Canada’s identity-preserved soybean fields this year appears to be just as patchy as the spring and summer rains, particularly in southern Ontario and parts of Quebec. Even Roundup Ready beans were slow to canopy in between rescue rains and required more in-season attention than usual. Then, as crops headed toward […] Read more
Pest Patrol: Farmers are reducing weed seed return after cereal harvest
#PestPatrol with Mike Cowbrough, OMAFRA
Reading Time: 3 minutes I was driving down a long country road and noticed two large fields where winter wheat had been harvested almost eight weeks earlier. Each had a beautiful thick canopy of oats. Figure 1 (at top). An oat cover crop planted almost eight weeks ago following winter wheat harvest. That same day, when I came across […] Read more
Building on 255 years
On this Nova Scotia farm, the ninth generation takes a decidedly modern approach to soybeans
Reading Time: 5 minutes Two and half centuries is a long time for a family to be farming. But brothers Craig and Brian Newcombe are leveraging the latest cropping techniques and business smarts to build the farm for the 10th generation of Newcombes. Part of the ninth generation of Cornwallis Farms near Port Williams, N.S., the Newcombes manage a […] Read more
Back to the basics, with red clover
Farm experience and university research add up to make a strong case in favour of the cover crop
Reading Time: 7 minutes Over the past three years, a curious turnaround has spread across Ontario. Some farm watchers explain it by pointing to lower commodity prices. Others attribute it to the increased attention on soil health and sustainability. Either way, interest in cover crops is growing stronger and stronger. On some farms, the focus is on novel, multi-species […] Read more
A healthier soil test
Is it time to start investing in the Solvita soil test for your farm?
Reading Time: 6 minutes It’s a curious trend. “Soil health” is one of the great buzz phrases of modern agriculture. Admittedly, it’s just words to some, yet for a dedicated and growing number of producers, it’s a primary goal. Yet if you ask the average farmer if they test their soil once every three years, as recommended, the answer […] Read more
Pest Patrol: What can be done about field horsetail?
#PestPatrol with Mike Cowbrough, OMAFRA
Reading Time: 3 minutes I get asked about field horsetail management more than any other weed, and it’s the one that I have the least amount of effective solutions for. Sure, you can get reasonably good top-growth control with the right herbicide, but the success is short-lived due to field horsetail’s tenacity. I often joke that the best way […] Read more
Learning from organic agriculture
These conventional farms are adapting techniques from organic agriculture — with a little time and care
Reading Time: 10 minutes Agriculture is always in search of the next innovation, but as most growers learn — some, the hard way — there is no silver-bullet solution. If you’re going to change things for the better, it’s going to take time, effort and likely a departure from the norm. Yet with lower crop prices, growers are also […] Read more
No till goes dairy farming
In many ways, it’s been an easy transition for this dairy family
Reading Time: 6 minutes The Loewiths don’t describe themselves as a crop innovators, but they’re certainly not hesitant to glean advice from others and, with some careful consideration, adapt a practice or an approach to the conditions on their farm. So, while the move to no till in a dairy operation might seem a little different to some, with […] Read more
Blending scores big with cover crops — and diversity
More growers are exploring more blends with specific goals in sight
Reading Time: 8 minutes At Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show this past fall, the cover-crop focus was on diversity. There was a high-diversity blend, a six-way blend, a Merlin (Ontario) Multi-Mix and a soil-building mix. There was even a cool-season N-fixing blend, just to gauge its potential. If it seems like a lot to take in, get used to it. […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
