Reading Time: 6 minutes When sixth-generation potato grower Devon Strang had potatoes that were too small for retail sales, he used to ship them to a dehydrator to be turned into potato flakes. It didn’t exactly pay. “There are a lot of farms in the area growing potatoes,” Strang explains. “There’s an abundance of smalls and the (dehydrators) won’t […] Read more
Cheers! Raise a glass to the farm-to-bottle trend
No one knows grain quality quite like a farmer
Feed weekly outlook: Offshore demand still lifting Prairie barley
Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Solid offshore demand for Canadian barley remains the key driver in the domestic feed market, keeping prices high. “It’s certainly not driven by southern Alberta, it’s driven by Vancouver and the export business,” said Allen Pirness, of Market Place Commodities in Lethbridge, on the continued strength in barley bids. Typically, arbitrage opportunities would […] Read more
Building interest for small grain cereals
This new initiative hopes to grow demand for small grains by recognizing their environmental benefits
Reading Time: 5 minutes It’s everything growers could ask for. Imagine market demand that’s driven by acknowledging the healthfulness of the crops you grow and their environmental and sustainability benefits, plus a premium return on investment so you can afford to plant even more. How many times have growers wanted this kind of market pull in exchange for excellence […] Read more
Detecting stripe rust in wheat before it strikes
Resistance is low in current varieties. An early warning system could allow for fungicide application only when needed
Reading Time: 5 minutes Stripe rust is wily and tough. For the longest time, Canadian farmers could depend on cold winters and a fairly hot, dry summer climate to keep it at bay. But stripe rust is also highly adaptable and around 2000, scientists noticed a change. “Pathogens always evolve,” says André Laroche, a research scientist with Agriculture and […] Read more
Wireworms a target for first Group 30 insecticide in Canada
BASF picks up registration for two broflanilide products
Reading Time: 2 minutes The list of insecticides cleared for use in Canadian crops now includes its first Group 30 chemistry, as BASF makes plans to launch it in new wireworm control products next year. BASF Canada Agricultural Solutions on Monday announced approval from Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) for broflanilide, a GABA-gated chloride channel allosteric modulator. […] Read more
Rye sees a resurgence
New high-yielding hybrids with better ergot resistance are finding a home in the pasture and feedlot
Reading Time: 6 minutes Rye — arguably the runt of the litter among Prairie grains in recent decades — has staged something of a comeback. But this isn’t your granddaddy’s rye. Since 2016, rye’s acreage across the Prairies has been on a steady climb. Statistics Canada pegs last fall’s seedings at 352,500 acres, up from 225,000 four years ago, […] Read more
Getting winter wheat back on track
Insurance coverage for later seeding could help reverse the acreage decline
Reading Time: 5 minutes For many years, Prairie producers have heard about the advantages of winter wheat — high yields, less disease and weed pressure and early harvest. It’s also more duck-friendly — there’s no spring tillage to disturb their nests. That’s the pitch, but in recent years farmers haven’t been buying it. Statistics Canada reports Prairie winter wheat […] Read more
Pest Patrol: Why growing cereals is bad for weeds
#PestPatrol with Mike Cowbrough, OMAFRA
Reading Time: 3 minutes The benefits of growing winter wheat in a crop rotation have been well established. Long-term research at the University of Guelph has shown a 10 bu./ac. increase in corn yields and a five bu./ac. increase in soybean yields when winter wheat is grown. Other benefits, such as increased soil organic matter when cereals are grown, […] Read more
Pest Patrol: Herbicide-resistant wild oats in spring cereals
#PestPatrol with Mike Cowbrough, OMAFRA
Reading Time: 4 minutes Q. Are there any solutions to control herbicide resistant wild oats in spring cereals? A. Wild oats have been an undesirable weed in spring cereal crops for many years, and its control has been limited to a handful of herbicides within the same mode of action (specifically, WSSA herbicide Group 1). Until recently, there have […] Read more
Lots of flour to go around, millers’ association says
System is 'doing extremely well' and should have no problem keeping up with demand, CNMA's Gordon Harrison says
Reading Time: 2 minutes The grain supply chain is working as it should during the COVID-19 pandemic, says the president of the Canadian National Millers Association. “From the milling industry vantage point, the movement of grain from farm to the producer to the elevator systems to mills is doing extremely well,” Gordon Harrison said Tuesday. “The grain supply chain […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
