Reading Time: 4 minutes Lee Briese’s soil health principles build upon five pillars: soil armour, minimizing disturbance, diversity, continuous living roots, and livestock integration. “I don’t find these to be laws, commandments or requirements for soil health management,” the North Dakota crop advisor said. “These are nice guidelines to help guide some of the practices,” Briese said. “I’ve learned […] Read more
Assessing strength, building on foundation key to soil health
Crop advisor says soil health options will vary by farm and by economics
The under-recognized aphid eaters
The larvae of lady beetles are less commonly identified, but take just as big a bite out of crop pest populations
Reading Time: 3 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – The insect experts say that every farmer across the Prairies should have a huge picture of coccinellidae larvae on their machine shop wall. If the scientific name doesn’t sound familiar, the common name certainly will. It’s the family of beetles that includes ladybugs and Asian lady beetles. “Everybody recognizes the adults and […] Read more
Bugs get their due in new facility
Reading Time: < 1 minute The University of Saskatchewan is building a new facility specifically designed to conduct research on arthropod plant pests (such as aphids) and beneficial insects. The Insect Research Facility, a first in Western Canada, will be led by entomologist Sean Prager who was recruited four years ago “in response to increased need for entomological research, training […] Read more
There’s foreign workers in the bug world, too — and they attack weeds
Bringing in weed-attacking pests is a laborious process but it’s often the only option for pastures
Reading Time: 3 minutes There are many ways to control weeds. Rose De Clerck-Floate’s favourite is to reunite them with their longtime enemies from the old country. “All of the weeds here can come from other parts of the world, mostly Europe and some from Asia, and establish here without the organisms that keep them in check in their […] Read more
Next-gen DNA sequencing aims to find the best beneficial bugs
U of A researchers using advanced tech to find what’s on the menu of your insect allies
Reading Time: 3 minutes It’s like a scene out of the movie “Jaws.” The intrepid scientist reaches his hand into the gut of a shark and pulls out what it had for dinner — a different fish or maybe, in the case of sharks, a tin can. He knows, just by examining those contents, what this predator likes to […] Read more
Last year’s lousy weather had one beneficial side-effect
Conditions were good for ground beetles, a beneficial insect that is a friend to farmers
Reading Time: < 1 minute If you’ve seen large numbers of beetles this spring, researcher Kevin Floate would like to hear from you. One such report has been received from a location north of Edmonton, and more are likely. This outbreak is similar to one in 2010 when large numbers of ground beetles were reported in several locations in the […] Read more
Confusing canola council tweet ‘bugs’ farmers
Tweet suggested council and Ducks Unlimited were partnering in agronomy project on beneficial insects
Reading Time: 3 minutes A tweet that suggested the Canola Council of Canada and Ducks Unlimited Canada were working together on an agronomy project prompted a firestorm of angry comments. The tweet, posted on Feb. 1, was about a project on beneficial insects in wetlands, shelterbelts, and other insect habitats. The idea of the canola council and Ducks Unlimited […] Read more
Tiny warriors get nasty on Canada thistle
Stem gall flies love to feed on — and breed in — the much-loathed and fast-spreading invasive weed
Reading Time: 2 minutes The West Central Forage Association has another biocontrol that can help you win the war against Canada thistle. The proud warriors are called stem gall flies and they’re available for sale. “The gall flies act on a different portion of the Canada thistle than the weevils do,” said Rachael Nay, conservation agriculture and extension program […] Read more
They don’t wear capes, but beneficial bugs are superheroes
New campaign urges farmers to give a little more love to the good bugs that kill bad ones
Reading Time: 3 minutes They’re in your field, lurking there, doing their thing. But do you know who they are? Can you identify your beneficial insects? That’s the goal behind the Western Grains Research Foundation’s Field Heroes campaign. “It’s basically a social media campaign to increase the profile of the beneficial insects that are in your field crops,” said […] Read more
Seven beneficial insects on your farm
When making crop production management decisions, consider beneficial insect populations. These harmless bugs can provide adequate control if their populations are high enough. Some beneficial insects are hard to identify, but with some basic training producers should be able to spot them in the field. The following beneficial insects are found in most crops in[...]
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