aphids on a soybean leaf

Beneficial insects can fight in your corner, if you let them

A new field guide will be available both electronically and in print in time for you to use through the upcoming crop year

Reading Time: 6 minutes Farmers are only hurting themselves if they aren’t giving a helping hand to the natural allies in the fields that can assist them in controlling pests. Nature not only provides, as the old proverb says. Research proves that it also pays. In fact, new research even tells us how much it pays. Natural pest suppression […] Read more

Five years of midge tolerance

Five years of midge tolerance

As its acreage continues to climb, the message is to keep protecting the unique Sm1 gene

Reading Time: 3 minutes This summer marks the fifth anniversary of producers in Western Canada growing and protecting midge-tolerant wheat. Since the launch of the first commercial varieties in 2010, the industry has witnessed strong uptake of the technology that helps producers defend against orange blossom wheat midge, a pest that can significantly reduce crop yield and grade. Not […] Read more


images of canola, potato, wheat, and lentils

Abundant choices

There’s no shortage of crop protection choices for just about any problem a grower might face in the 2014 season, including a number of new options registered in time for this spring

Reading Time: 4 minutes We are a fortunate lot, here in Canada, when it comes to controlling pests in our crops. We have access to literally hundreds of products which can be used alone or in tank mixes to control just about any weed, insect, or disease we might encounter in any crop we are likely to grow. In […] Read more

Bee pollinating a purple flower.

Keeping bees

Neonicotinoid pesticides are under the spotlight following bee kills — but it’s not all doom and gloom

Reading Time: 5 minutes The southern Ontario spring of 2012 was an early one, and corn growers got busy as soon as they could get their planters out into the fields. Beekeepers got their troops mobilized early too, but high hopes for a good season quickly evaporated as the body count started piling up around the hives. It turned […] Read more