Reading Time: 4 minutes Predicting crop disease problems is like taking a shot in the dark at a moving target. “For disease to develop, we need certain weather, certain hosts, and certain pathogens, so it can really be like looking into a crystal ball,” said Stephen Strelkov, a professor and researcher at the University of Alberta. “As a result, […] Read more
What’s your biggest disease threat this year?
The weather will tell the tale, but there’s one crop disease ‘producers should be thinking about and preparing for’
In the quest for ever-more production, have we lost our way?
Farmers in the developing world are impoverished while producers here are taking on ever-higher levels of debt
Reading Time: 3 minutes I strongly believe that our focus in the future should be on the nutrient density of plants and biodiversity. Pushing our soils to produce more is terminal because there is burnout of the soil and the plant, along with financial harm to the farmer. Instead, we should look at soil health, seed health with nutrient […] Read more
Tillage can effect your carbon payments
Reading Time: < 1 minute Tillage is expected to increase this year as producers deal with ruts caused by wet weather or installation of fire breaks. But that can have implications for producers involved in the Alberta Carbon Offset Program-Conservation Tillage Protocol. “If you till 10 per cent or more of your field, that field won’t be eligible to receive […] Read more
Unfarmed areas could offer yield boost
Reading Time: < 1 minute Does unfarmed land next to your fields boost yields? A new University of Calgary study aims to see if fields next to grassed areas, fencelines, wetlands, tree lines, and similar adjacent areas have higher yields. Studies in the U.S., U.K., Northern Europe, and Australia have found that, like shelterbelts, unfarmed areas give a yield boost. […] Read more
The next big thing? Pioneers of CTF have high hopes
Controlled traffic farming may be the biggest advance since no till, but even its fans don’t expect it to be an overnight success
Reading Time: 5 minutes Controlled traffic farming has many benefits, but it still hasn’t caught on big in Alberta. There are only a handful of farmers in the province who have adopted the practice and a recent conference drew just over 50 people — even though CTF, as it’s commonly called, is hailed by some as the biggest advance […] Read more
Controlled traffic farming can have a positive impact on soils
The practice of always running equipment on the same ‘tramlines’ is rare in Alberta, but study says it pays major dividends
Reading Time: 2 minutes Controlled traffic farming does improve soil, says a University of Alberta soil researcher who did his master’s thesis on the practice. “In our area of the North American Great Plains, we have areas that are experiencing soil degradation and it is being propagated further as production systems are intensifying,” said Kris Guenette at the recent […] Read more
What will make you money this year?
Reading Time: < 1 minute AgriProfit$ Cropping Alternatives has been updated for 2017. The crop-budgeting tool allows producers to project costs, margins and break-even yields for potential cropping choices. The data is presented by soil zones, with a mix of cereals, oilseeds, pulses and forage crops for each zone. Crop budgets include a projection of individual itemized variable costs as […] Read more
COVER CROPS: The potential is huge, but so is the learning curve
Those looking for a one-size-fits-all solution will be disappointed
Reading Time: 4 minutes Looking over at the emptied room that had been packed with attentive farmers a few minutes earlier, cover crops guru Kevin Elmy could only shake his head. “If I had given a talk here five years ago, maybe the front row might have been filled — maybe,” the Saskatchewan farmer said after his FarmTech presentation, […] Read more
What’s been your experience with precision ag?
Survey runs until March 4
Reading Time: < 1 minute Prairie farmers are being asked to take part in an online survey on precision agriculture to help advance innovation in Canadian farming. The survey, which runs until March 4, focuses on precision agriculture tools that western Canadian farmers use or are considering using in 2017, as well as barriers they face in adopting the technology. […] Read more
Lots on offer at agronomy update
Early-bird registration until Jan. 6
Reading Time: < 1 minute Weather and new varieties will be in the spotlight at 2017 Agronomy Update in Lethbridge on Jan. 17-18. “New varieties are always showing up with different growing seasons,” said provincial crop specialist Harry Brook. “We’ve got producers in the south who are successfully growing soybeans. There is new information every year when it comes to […] Read more
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