Including insecticide with herbicides may seem like a proactive, time-saving measure — but the practice can cause more harm than good. “Using insecticide ‘just because’ kills insects that reduce pest insects. Spray insecticide only when absolutely necessary,” Scott Meers, Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development’s entomologist at Brooks, wrote during the most recent weekly bug chat […] Read more
Don’t sacrifice beneficial insects to kill the pests
Alta. pest watchers tweet on flea beetle presence
Alberta farmers, agronomists and entomologists reported flea beetle infestations during this week’s bug chat on Twitter — but so far spraying isn’t widespread. Farmers around New Norway and Viking wrote that they were seeing flea beetles in the area, but canola crops seem to be outgrowing the damage. Lisa Anderson, a sales representative with DuPont […] Read more
Guenther: Critical period now in sclerotinia cycle
Last year’s sclerotinia pressure on the Prairies means farmers should be prepared to spray again if conditions are right, and the economics and yield potential warrant it. Canola farmers in Alberta and Saskatchewan saw what was probably the highest sclerotinia pressure ever last year, says Todd Friday, pulse and oilseeds market segment manager with DuPont. […] Read more
Coming up in Grainews: Check water quality before spraying
Before filling up the sprayer, check your water quality. Spraying with hard water might still give you a kill, however, as former University of Saskatchewan professor Les Henry says, it may be “a lot less zippy than it could be.” Hard water, with high magnesium and calcium levels, is common in Saskatchewan because many wells […] Read more
Guenther: Don’t jump gun on flea beetle spraying
Farmers in parts of Alberta are spraying for flea beetles, and the pest is popping up elsewhere — but before spraying, farmers should make sure damage breaches economic thresholds. During a scheduled online insect chat, Scott Meers, entomologist with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development at Brooks, wrote that farmers were spraying for flea beetles in […] Read more
Alta. farmer tries ‘tramplining’ over tramlines
Farmers interested in tramlines may balk at the setup costs — but Josh Fankhauser has saved several thousand by using a standard GPS and paying close attention to detail. Fankhauser farms 10,000 acres and runs 500 cattle with three partners near Claresholm in southern Alberta. This year, all their acres are either under dedicated tramlines, […] Read more
Guenther: For problem fields, diagnosis in the details
Providing agronomists with detailed information on a problem field can help field visits go well — but farmers also need to know agronomists might not have a solution right away. “Your job is to collect the information to help with the diagnostics. A lot of times you’ll want to guess at what it is, but […] Read more
Sask. warns on grass fire risk
Saskatchewan has jumped straight from flooding into fire season this spring. The fire department at Meadow Lake, in the province’s northwest, stamped out a small grass fire on Monday that started in the ditch of a side road between two fields. “It was kind of causing some smoke conditions on the highway. That was the […] Read more
Guenther: Decisions to be made on spring weed control
As Prairie farmers gear up for seeding, yield-robbing weeds will be on their minds. Here are six tips for effective weed control. Residuals “It’s really important to think about what crops are safe to plant this spring,” said Kristen Phillips, agronomy specialist with the Canola Council of Canada, during a webinar Monday. Some residuals can […] Read more
Guenther: Evaluate cattle, protect pasture this spring
Winter was reluctant to relinquish its death grip on Saskatchewan this year, leaving ranchers with dwindling feed supplies and delayed pasture growth. “We heard a lot from producers right before the snow was melting there. People were getting a little concerned because they were running short on feed, quality was low. They were looking for […] Read more
Canadian Cattlemen Presents: Depth of Field
