As much as companies have been communicating on stewardship, there are still issues in using newer technologies.

Are crop trait technologies simplifying your life, or complicating it?

Deciding how to use the technologies can turn into more of a challenge than deciding which of them to use

Reading Time: 6 minutes The arrival of a new herbicide-resistant technology is often greeted as an opportunity for growers and the industry. That isn’t really new. Roughly 30 years ago, Group 2 herbicides solved the problem of atrazine resistance, then LibertyLink and Roundup Ready technologies enabled growers to push beyond Group 2 resistance. Now that Xtend and Enlist systems […] Read more

Figure 1: Light green waterhemp plants approaching the top of the soybean canopy after two applications of glyphosate that proved ineffective. At this stage, no herbicide will adequately control waterhemp.

Pest Patrol: Plan to manage waterhemp in 2020

#PestPatrol with Mike Cowbrough, OMAFRA

Reading Time: 2 minutes Waterhemp has spread further across Ontario during the 2019 season and can now be found in eight counties (Bruce, Chatham-Kent, Essex, Haldimand, Lambton, Middlesex, Norfolk and Northumberland). A close relative of pigweed, waterhemp is a competitive annual broadleaf weed that has been found resistant in the province to four different herbicide groups (Group 9: Roundup, […] Read more


“We are in a complex herbicide and insect-tolerant landscape now,” says Drew Thompson of PRIDE Seeds.

The growing body of science for corn growers

There’s nothing easy about producing new traits and hybrids in corn, or about how to get the most out of them

Reading Time: 6 minutes When your parents got their start, farming was relatively uncomplicated. The farm season was pretty much divided into plowing, planting, cultivation and harvest. Weed management meant getting on top of quackgrass, Canada thistle and mustard, and soil organic matter was out-of-sight, out-of-mind. And transgenics was a word no one had ever heard. Some things make […] Read more

Figure 1: Purple deadnettle in a wheat field — October 2018 at a yield-reducing population density of around 500 plants per square metre.

PHOTOS: Pest Patrol: Purple deadnettle and henbit control in winter wheat

#PestPatrol with Mike Cowbrough, OMAFRA

Reading Time: 3 minutes Q: I’m seeing more henbit and/or purple deadnettle in my winter wheat crop. Should it be controlled, and how? A: Henbit and purple deadnettle are often discussed interchangeably because they look similar, are from the same genus (Lamium) and have similar emergence patterns (mainly in the fall, but henbit will also emerge in spring). Both […] Read more


The Bayer AG logo at the headquarters in France. Bayer AG has struck down its own plans to sell Nemastrike – a seed treatment designed to protect against nematodes – after reviewing experiences from farmers and applicators.  Photo: Reuters/Benoit Tessier/File

Bayer cancels plans to sell U.S. crop product in 2020 over safety concerns

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters – Bayer AG has scrapped plans for wide sales next year of a chemical that is intended to protect U.S. crops from yield-robbing worms, citing ongoing safety concerns. The decision is the latest setback for Germany-based Bayer following its acquisition of Monsanto for $63 billion in 2018. Bayer is separately battling thousands of lawsuits claiming Monsanto’s glyphosate-based […] Read more

Pre-harvest intervals can vary greatly between products so producers must know and adhere to intervals for each product applied to a crop.

Avoiding chemical residues now just two clicks away

Reading Time: < 1 minute Producers can ensure the chemical sprayed on their canola or pulses won’t leave unacceptable residues by adhering to the pre-harvest interval — or PHI — found on the product’s label. Often referred to as the “spray to swath” interval, the PHI is the number of days that must pass between spraying pesticides or desiccants and […] Read more


EU flags in front of the headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels. (Jorisvo/iStock/Getty Images)

U.S., Canada, 14 others slam EU farm product regulation at WTO

Reading Time: 2 minutes Geneva | Reuters — The United States and 15 other countries launched a broadside of criticism at the European Union on Thursday, saying its “hazard-based” approach to regulating pesticides and other “critical tools” used by farmers was damaging livelihoods worldwide. Their statement, submitted to the World Trade Organization, said the EU’s approach created great uncertainty […] Read more

A federal ban on plastic bags won’t extend to bags such as these, shown here at a recycling depot, stewardship group Cleanfarms says. (CNW Group/Cleanfarms photo)

Agricultural plastics not part of federal ban

Reading Time: 2 minutes The federal government’s plan to halt Canada’s consumption of single-use plastics such as shopping bags, straws and stir sticks over the next couple of years won’t extend to farm chemical containers and grain bags. Cleanfarms, the national industry stewardship body operating waste management and recycling programs for agricultural packaging, said Thursday that plastic products such […] Read more


Several factors relating to water quality can affect product performance in the field, often to the detriment of the crop.

Keep an eye on water quality

Water can play havoc with spray performance, especially with the rise in tank mixing

Reading Time: 5 minutes The 2019 growing season is now within sight and with it, another season’s worth of herbicide, fungicide and insecticide applications. Given the challenges that can arise with sprayers and their products, it’s worth revisiting the subject of water quality and the potential impact of factors such as temperature, hardness and pH on product performance. With […] Read more

Biobeds contain a mix of topsoil, compost and straw to absorb and then break down the pesticides to the point where they pose no further threat to the environment.

Cleaning up the leftovers

AAFC has prepared a comprehensive manual on how to use “biobeds” to process pesticide sprayer rinsate

Reading Time: 5 minutes Despite careful calculation to mix just the right amount of pesticide to cover a field, there’s sometimes that little bit left over, or the rinsate which gets dumped onto a grassy or non-crop area, which can harm the environment. Up to 80 per cent of contaminants found in water bodies trace back to farms, according […] Read more