Entries by Deanna

Ready – Set – Grow!

SEED TREATING Treating seed that gets put into the ground to grow a crop is nothing new.  Seed treatments have been utilized for many centuries. What is new in the game is applying nutrient seed dressings. Ensuring that the seed has the proper nutrients available early in its life cycle allows for maximum early season […]

Desiccation of Pulses

Legumes (pulses) are more susceptible to weather damage than cereals, so a delay in harvesting can lead to loss of yield and deterioration of quality. To reduce the time from maturity to combining, field crops may be desiccated. Desiccation is the chemical termination of plant growth at the stage when all growth functions, seed size […]

Diagnosing Crop Nutrient Deficiencies

One of the funny things about speaking with an accent is that you can sometimes be misunderstood. For example, my Google Nest Mini may try to order pizza when I’m asking to call my friend Peter. That is not as bad as the guy who I heard was praying to be bold and suddenly lost […]

How plants respond to stress and how you can help them!

Like other living things, plants can be stressed too. But unlike animals that can move away from adverse environmental conditions, plants must stay where they are, rooted to the spot. As a result, plants have had to develop mechanisms to cope with stress as much as possible. Unfortunately, this adaptation to stress usually means that […]

Improving Crop Productivity in Saline Soils

Dealing with saline soils is one of the most challenging problems in crop production both locally and globally. A recent report by the FAO with information from 118 countries shows that more than 424 million hectares (more than 1 billion acres) of topsoil and 833 million hectares (more than 2 billion acres) of subsoil are […]

More Than A Crystal Ball!

How digital agriculture can improve efficiency on your farm My heart sank when I scrolled through some Facebook photos and discovered a classmate had aged rather too quickly. But on reading his update, I was relieved to notice that the photo was of his “future self”. My friend had used the photo editing app that […]

Dealing with Possible Herbicide Carryover in 2022

None of us need reminding how difficult 2021 was for farming in Western Canada because of the severe drought experienced in most places, along with the disruptions of a global pandemic. If it were possible, I would have asked my high school bully if that offer to slap me into next year was still on […]

The Herbicide Resistance Battle Is On!

Herbicide resistance in the prairies has been rapidly increasing overtime. Currently in Saskatchewan 57% of the fields have herbicide resistant weeds, and Alberta is sitting at 59%. This means that it is more likely for a field to have herbicide resistance than not. There are many causes to consider when assessing possible herbicide resistance, some […]

Protect Your Investment – It is a Big One!

Now that harvest has come and gone for another year, and your grain is in the bin sitting patiently to be delivered, we need not forget about how valuable our bins are now more than ever. Maybe your bins are not as full as they have been before, but they are considerably more valuable than […]

Trick or Treat Your Seed

October is here, and as we’re out buying treats for the trick or treaters, it’s also time we start thinking about treats for our seeds. Seed treatment, that is. Fall to Winter is the optimal time to treat seed, as crops are being sold and the bins are emptying out, and it saves us time […]