Reading Time: 3 minutes Seeding in late spring is fraught with variables beyond producers’ control, but there are some things they can do to hedge their bets, says a provincial crop specialist. Most come down to plant and variety selection, and canola in particular features some strong options, said Harry Brook. “There are varieties out there that do fairly […] Read more
Here are some options for late-spring seeding this year
Crop specialist Harry Brook says it’s worth taking a look at Polish canola, and checking historical frost dates for your area
Lack of maintenance could bite you hard this seeding season
Breakdowns hurt even more during a narrow seeding window — here’s some advice on last-minute servicing
Reading Time: 4 minutes Efficiency is likely to be more important this seeding season than ever for many Alberta farmers. To squeeze as many acres into the tight seeding window as possible, the temptation is to jack up travel speed and many wonder if they should invest in higher-tech equipment. Those farmers will be looking in the wrong direction […] Read more
Plant 2017: It’s all about making the best of a bad situation
It was never going to be good, but crop specialists say this seeding season may not be as bad as feared
Reading Time: 3 minutes To say that last year’s harvest season in Alberta was unusual would be putting it mildly. The exceptionally wet fall resulted in 967,569 unharvested acres reported to Agricultural Financial Services Corporation (AFSC) this past winter, representing millions of dollars in seed and inputs that have yet to be recouped. So the big question this spring […] Read more
Deciding on cover crop blends
Figuring out what to use in a cover crop blend can be an intimidating process. What species to use? What seeding rate? When should they be seeded? All would influence how the blend would look, work, and the success of it. There is some science involved, but making it work is as much art as[...]
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Handy calculators for canola seeding
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Canola Council of Canada has two new smartphone-friendly calculators — one for seeding rate and another for a target plant stand. The target plant stand calculator has several criteria that you select for your farm: Uniformity of the stand you expect on your farm, early-season frost risk, expected weed and pest situation, and length[...]
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Warm weather boosts crop emergence, surface moisture ratings good
Alberta crop conditions as of June 7
Reading Time: 2 minutes Crops and forages throughout the province benefitted from the warmer weather of the past week as temperatures rose into the mid to high 20’s and even the low 30’s in southern Alberta. The warm temperatures enhanced crop emergence to 91 per cent germinated and allowed emerged crops and forages to take advantage of the good[...]
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Cool conditions see slow emergence, seeding nears completion
Alberta crop conditions as of May 31
Reading Time: < 1 minute Cool conditions prevailed over the week. Precipitation was reported in all regions in the amount of 10 – 20 mm with the North East Region receiving between 30 – 50 mm. Seeding progress is nearing completion at 97 per cent seeded compared to last year at 99 per cent, the 5 year average of 96[...]
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Guenther: Seeding in home stretch for dry NW Saskatchewan
Seeding is drawing to a close in northwestern Saskatchewan, largely due to warm, dry weather this month. On average, seeding in the northwest was over half done early in the week, according to the latest Saskatchewan Crop Report. Provincially, farmers are 51 per cent done, putting them miles ahead of the five-year average of 28[...]
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Warm spring weather seeding interrupted by frost
Alberta crop conditions as of May 17
Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta Agriculture and Forestry – Unusually warm spring weather was interrupted by a brief frost which descended across most of the province, with the coldest temperatures occurring on May 13, 2016. Generally, the irrigated crops are looking good, dry land crops are in need of moisture and pasture and tame hay are under stress due[...]
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Prairie canola weathers early frost test
CNS Canada –– Despite freezing temperatures in some parts of Western Canada over the past few days, canola appears to be relatively healthy, according to crop watchers. While the true extent of freezing mornings that started last Thursday and stretched into the weekend isn’t yet completely known, two agronomy specialists from the Canola Council of[...]
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