When preparing for the spring planting season it’s important to ensure that your seed will have the best possible chance of becoming established and growing into a thriving crop. A couple of ways to work towards a great crop is to start with clean seed that has been tested for germination. What does “clean seed” [...]
As crop production becomes more complex and technically challenging, partnering with an agronomic specialist can be a valuable relationship for a farmer. Having a trusted partner available to offer suggestions and solutions to ongoing issues and challenges to improve crop production and profitability as well as the overall health of the land is valuable. Agronomy [...]
By Pat Toner One sunny afternoon in late December, one of my most “conversational” customers (let’s call him Bob) came into the office and introduced me to his son who was home for the holidays. The introduction went something like, “Bachelor of Science, Professional Agrologist, and Certified Crop Advisor,” followed immediately by a humbling debate [...]
Flying a drone is not something that should be entered into without some research and education. Recent “near miss” incidents reported over the last few months go to show that any vehicle, including flying ones, require regulation and training along with a big dose of common sense. Transport Canada regulates unmanned aircraft, or drones, on [...]
“Support local” is a term and movement that has become trendy in many major cities about everything from food to art and beyond. Ironically, it is even a term that is now being used by major corporations such as Loblaws and their Superstores and many other major large chain grocery stores, telling their customers that [...]
It’s going to be 200C today in Regina – it’s still just mid-April and the weather could change on a dime, but the reality is seeding is just around the corner. Getting everything ready and having it operate smoothly for what is a short but intense time frame is critical to the success of the [...]
Daniel Bezte has been surveying various forecasts available for years, and his conclusion on long-term outlooks…It’s like throwing darts at a dart board blindfolded. But, taking the Old Farmer’s Almanac, the Canadian Farmers Almanac, adding in a touch of U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) forecasting with some Environment Canada outlooks, he’s come up [...]
There have been a lot of questions this winter about whether or not conditions were conducive for winter wheat survival. Did the crop get seeded too late in some cases? Was it too warm? Was there enough snow cover? Ken Gross, Western Winter Wheat Initiative (WWWI) agronomist, has fielded all those concerns, and more, this [...]
As well as determining all of the crop rotations and pesticide group rotations to ensure a sound integrated pest management strategy on the farm, growers have to keep plugged in to new developments in pest control options, as well. This update focuses on new herbicides that are available for 2015. “The only brand new active [...]
There are no obvious or simple answers to crop planning for 2015, according to Jonathan Driedger, risk management portfolio manager at FarmLink Marketing Solutions. “Deciding on what to seed in 2015 will vary from one farm to the next,” he says. “What we advise is that growers have a really good understanding of their costs [...]
