Crops
Reading Time: 2 minutes Central Alberta farmers planning to sell low-tannin faba beans for export will need to beware of lower tolerance levels for lygus bug damage. Snowbird is a low-tannin variety of faba beans commonly sold into the human market overseas. Parkland Alberta Commodities, a grain buyer based in Innisfail, Alberta, set the tolerance level for lygus bug-damaged […] Read more
Watch for lygus bug damage on fababeans
The insects leave a black spot which is discounted by export customers
Doane sees whopper corn crop
Reuters — Doane Advisory Services on Friday forecast U.S. 2014 corn production at a record-high 14.443 billion bushels with an average yield of 172.3 bushels per acre, following its annual crop tour. “This is clearly the best corn crop we have seen in our rather long history of crop tours,” the firm said in a […] Read more
Wheat quality declines a mystery
Not all customers are happy with AC Harvest and AC Stettler, but it’s not known whether the varieties or growing conditions are the issue
Reading Time: 2 minutes Researchers at Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development are trying to get at the root of what’s causing quality problems in two popular hard red wheat varieties. “We cannot lose our reputation as a high-quality supplier,” said Sheri Strydhorst, agronomy research scientist with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development. “For us to compete as just a volume […] Read more
Grain commission bonding replacement plan stalls
After a year of negotiations to develop an insurance-based producer payment protection plan, the Canadian Grain Commission has called it quits, surprising and disappointing some farm groups. The CGC has been attempting to replace the current bonding system to protect farmers against payment defaults for grain delivered to merchandisers. It had been negotiating with with […] Read more
Check the bertha map, and if it looks like an alligator, leave it
Reading Time: < 1 minute In his weekly Call of the Land interview, Alberta Agriculture pest specialist Scott Meers says there is a high risk of bertha armyworm infestation in the Lacombe/Stettler area and moderate risk elsewhere. He suggests checking the bertha trap map and zooming in to check the risk in your area. Meers says there are some reports of wheat […] Read more
GRAINS: Soybeans, wheat firm on strong exports; corn weakens on weather
U.S. soybean futures rose on Thursday on signs that demand will keep domestic supplies tight until harvest, while corn weakened due to forecasts for more crop-boosting rain in the U.S. Midwest, traders said. “The beans firmed up due to some speculators taking advantage of the weakness earlier in light of the very strong demand we […] Read more
W. Canada spring wheat, durum yields look second-biggest ever: crop tour
Reuters — Western Canada spring wheat and durum yields this year look to fall from last year’s high levels, but the still bountiful production should offset some losses from flooded farms, leaders of a crop tour said on Thursday. The inaugural Cereals North America Canadian crop tour pegged spring wheat yield potential in the region […] Read more
New root rots slamming Alberta pea growers
Producers across the Prairies are facing devastating losses in their pea crops — and new species of root rots may be to blame
Reading Time: 5 minutes On bad years — those with cool, wet springs; years like this one — Donald Mueller is lucky if his pea fields yield three bushels an acre. He’ll make back his seed and not much else, losing north of $400 an acre in inputs. Still, the good years have made up for the bad, so […] Read more
Three keys to managing root rots in your peas
Reading Time: 2 minutes Managing root rots comes down to “three key pillars,” says Michael Harding, research scientist with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development. The first is field selection. “If you have a piece of land that has a heavy textured soil and doesn’t drain very well, that may not be a good spot to put peas.” Next is […] Read more
Aug. 1 brings grain grading and other changes
A number of grain grading and variety classification changes take effect Aug. 1, the first day of the new 2014-15 crop year, the Canadian Grain Commission (CGC) said in a news release. Producer cars also must now be ordered online, although farmers still have the option of ordering via fax. The new online ordering system […] Read more