The rate of degradation of soils in Canada has slowed, but it still is happening at a significant rate and there is still a lot to learn. There are no soil-perfect systems yet for crop production, attendees at the Summit on Canadian Soil Health held recently in Guelph heard repeatedly. No-till farming has declined in […] Read more
Canada’s soils still degrading, albeit more slowly
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
Seven new product reveals from John Deere
In early June John Deere invited members of the farm media to its Harvester Works facility in Moline, Illinois, to see the full line of equipment it was introducing in 2017. And all of it was parked on the lawn in front of that combine manufacturing facility for reporters to photograph and learn about from[...]
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Carbon price worries farmers, fertilizer makers
Winnipeg/Toronto | Reuters — Canada’s plan to price carbon emissions may weaken the farm sector in one of the biggest grain-shipping countries, raising farmers’ costs and discouraging investment in fertilizer production, industry groups say. Ottawa this month promised a price on carbon emissions by 2018, and will let provinces choose a tax or cap-and-trade system.[...]
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Kubota to buy equipment maker Great Plains
Japanese farm, construction, yard and landscaping equipment maker Kubota is set to expand its share in several of those sectors with a deal for Kansas equipment firm Great Plains Manufacturing. Kubota, which has had a strategic alliance with Great Plains for implements in the U.S. since 2007, announced Friday it will buy 100 per cent[...]
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Record-low summerfallow expected
CNS Canada — Changing farm practices and moving world markets over the years have seen shifts in the makeup of the crops grown in Canada — but the most noticeable change in the past three decades may be the amount of land seeded to nothing. Heading into the 2016 growing season, Canadian farmers say they[...]
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Tapping into nutrients and tackling compaction with tillage radishes
The forage brassica has big-time potential for rejuvenating tired, compacted pastures — but there’s a learning curve
Reading Time: 3 minutes How effective are tillage radishes in rejuvenating poor soil and pastures? Staff at Clearwater County have been experimenting with tillage radishes to see if their theoretical benefits hold up in the real world. The fast-growing brassica can be used in forages as a cover crop and as feed for cattle; its long taproot can open[...]
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Soil fertility is about more than nutrients
Expert says farmers need to learn more about the physical and biological structures of the soil
Reading Time: 2 minutes Many farmers tend to focus on the chemical composition of the soil, and ignore its other two key components — and that’s a mistake, says a crop and soil nutrient management specialist. “Farmers need to understand more about the physical and biological structures of the soil to manage their cropping systems,” said Yamily Zavala of[...]
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Canola growers get grim warning on clubroot threat
No varieties have strong resistance to new pathotypes, longer rotations are ‘the best management option left’
Reading Time: 2 minutes The Alberta Canola Producers Commission is urging producers to step up their efforts to contain clubroot in the province. “Since new data indicates some forms of clubroot resistance are no longer functioning well against new clubroot pathotypes in some of the heavily infested fields, we encourage you to consider a comprehensive management plan that includes all[...]
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Second avian flu control zone set up in SW Ontario
A federal control zone has been officially set up for a 10-kilometre radius around the Oxford County chicken farm that’s home to Ontario’s second outbreak of H5N2 avian flu. This control zone, which covers ground in both Oxford County and Waterloo County, is an “internationally accepted practice,” meant to allow export business to continue from non-infected[...]
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