Concern over volatilization losses from surface applied nitrogen are justified during periods of high temperatures, high winds and little rain in the foreseeable future. Agronomists advising growers can help farmers by reviewing conditions that favour high volatilization potential in deciding on the merits of using an enhanced efficiency fertilizer like Agrotain (NBPT) or ESN. Manitoba Ag … Continued
Forage yields are lost because of 3 main factors, old stands, poor establishment and low or improper soil fertility. Good fertility is essential to both yields and persistence of forage crops. Phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) fertility management is often overlooked, but is fundamental to producing enough forage to feed livestock and being competitive in … Continued
Spring is a very exciting time, it feels great to be back in the field, when all that crop planning and prep work during the winter is starting to be realized upon. It can be also be very frustrating when the weather does not co-operate, equipment breaks down, or other things go awry. Folks in agriculture … Continued
Be beneficial insect friendly and help yourself to some fantastic scouting resources and on-demand webinars for cereals, oilseed, and pulse crops. Offered by the Western Grain Research Foundation these tools can help you with your scouting program, identifying beneficial and determining economic thresholds. Learn More
The 2021 Virtual Crop Scouting School is now available from the Crop Protection Network(CPN). The school offers 22 self-paced webinars covering general scouting, insects, diseases, weeds in corn, soybeans, wheat, alfalfa. The CPN covers eleven USA Midwest Universities. The webinars can help in training students or staff in good general scouting practices and more in-depth … Continued
Mycorrizhae fungi are part of the enormous biology that is vital to crops and soil health. Mychorrizhae has a symbiotic relationship contributing to the glue holding soil aggregates, stable organic matter, induce plants to absorb nutrients and increase plants tolerance to environmental stress. Ambuscular Mycorrizhae (AM) are one of the most important and studied in … Continued
Soil Testing – Lots of Growth Opportunities While I’m a big supporter of precision ag as a means to collecting data for better decision making, I was reminded recently we can’t lose sight of the fundamentals like soil testing, as boring as this may sound to growers. A 2015 Olds College survey by students highlighted … Continued
Every few years it seems base saturation rises as a winter topic as a means of making fertilizer recommendations. While base saturation has been used to determine whether a soil should be limed or not, it’s not a soil testing index, nor should be accepted broadly as an indicator for nutrient fertility. Developed for low … Continued
I have been truly amazed by how agribusiness has transitioned to hosting grower seminars and other and on-learning opportunities this winter. One excellent recent webinar I was able to join was by Maizex Seeds featuring two leading Ontario agronomists, Paul Sullivan, Sullivan Ag, and Horst Bohner, OMAFRA Soybean specialists, debating early planting of soybeans, with … Continued
GPS-enabled equipment has greatly simplified the logistics for conducting on-farm trials. Farmers often rely on local agronomists to help in setting up, monitoring, harvesting, and analyzing results. They form the basis for some great discussions at winter meetings. Plots take time, and they must be set up correctly to produce meaningful results. Replication of treatments … Continued