Reading Time: 2 minutes Does variable-rate fertilizer application pay off? Sure it does — if you can find the areas of the field that need it, suggests a recent financial analysis of variable-rate technology (VRT) conducted in Lethbridge. “The more fertilizer you put on, the better results you get,” said Mark Wobick, a farm management consultant with MNP. “But […] Read more
Payoff from variable-rate technology is variable
Study of variable-rate fertilizer application finds it’s not a ‘slam dunk’ — sometimes it pays and sometimes it doesn’t
Ont. to allow land application of greenhouse feedwater
Spent nutrient solutions from Ontario’s commercial greenhouses will be made more easily available to crop growers for land application starting in 2015 under a new provincial regulatory framework. Greenhouse growers in the province are already required by law to safely dispose of the greenhouse nutrient feedwater (GNF) after it’s been used, circulated and reused to […] Read more
China looking to curb fertilizer, pesticide use
Beijing | Reuters — China, the world’s top producer of rice and wheat, is seeking to cap its use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides that have helped to contaminate large swathes of its arable land and threaten its ability to keep up with domestic food demand. More than 19 per cent of soil samples taken […] Read more
Crop prices down, but fertilizer prices not following suit
Supply and logistics issues are keeping fertilizer prices up even though demand in the U.S. has stalled
Reading Time: 2 minutes Despite low commodity prices, fertilizer prices have not been following the same trend, says an Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development’s market analyst for agriculture inputs. “Two of the reasons fertilizer prices have not trended down- ward as quickly as grain prices are world supply and U.S. transportation issues,” said Jennifer Stoby. “The world markets are […] Read more
Manitoba extends fertilizer application window
Manitoba crop producers who’d hoped to apply manure or fertilizers to their fields now have a couple of extra days before the province’s annual winter ban takes effect. Manitoba’s conservation and water stewardship department announced Friday it will delay the start of the annual provincewide winter nutrient application ban until Wednesday (Nov. 12). Soil temperatures […] Read more
Fertilizer warning: Don’t pay $12 an acre for ‘foo-foo dust’
Buyer beware, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency no longer tests fertilizers for efficacy and quality
Reading Time: 3 minutes A“streamlining” of federal oversight of fertilizers has opened the door to deceptive marketing claims and forced product testing on to farmers. “There have always been con men trying to sell you things with dubious claims. It’s just maybe easier for them now,” said Harry Brook, a crop specialist with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development. “All […] Read more
When should you fertilize winter wheat?
Research has shown that fertilizing at seeding can be very effective — and a big time saver come spring
Reading Time: 2 minutes AARD Release / Once the decision to grow winter wheat has been made, one question that frequently comes up is when to fertilize. “Traditionally, winter wheat has been seeded with very little fertilizer and then fertilized in the spring,” said Doon Pauly, agronomy research scientist with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development in Lethbridge. “Sometimes, however, […] Read more
Permaculture advocate says work with nature, not against it
Ferintosh producer Takota Coen says carefully designed mixed farms are the way of the future
Reading Time: 4 minutes The first thing you’ll notice as you drive by Grass Roots Family Farm is the orchard — an unlikely sight in rural Alberta, but somehow it seems right at home beside the sprawling vegetable garden. In a paddock near the house, a sow nurses a handful of nearly newborn piglets, and just down the lane […] Read more
When it comes to seed, we live in a land of giants
Straight from the hip: Big seed, chemical, trading and retailing companies dominate world commerce
Reading Time: 3 minutes When Jack’s mother threw the bean seeds out the window, little did she know of their powers. Overnight, a large stalk had grown and Jack promptly climbed up the beanstalk to their future fortune. That fairy tale now mirrors reality as we look at the massive growth in GM seeds and their place in gardens […] Read more
Three keys to successful on-farm research
Reading Time: 2 minutes The first critical step in research is to keep it simple. “Ask one question, and keep it very specific,” said Farming Smarter researcher Lewis Baarda. “It’s important to keep that as simple as you can and have one research question where you can look at one thing at a time. The simpler you make it, […] Read more
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