Insights and Stories on Crops

Aug. 18, 2017 at 9:28 am CDT

There are some unusual crop combinations springing up southwest of Melita. Experimental intercrops are among the Westman Agricultural Diversification Organization (WADO) projects this year, including flax intercropped with soybeans and hemp intercropped with legumes. Pea-canola, an emerging combination already used on some Manitoba farms, and the already established wheat-legume mix […]

By Alexis Stockford

Jul. 21, 2017 at 1:13 pm CDT

To the uninitiated, the field of quinoa stretching out in front of Percy Phillips looks like acres upon acres of lambs’ quarters and, in fact, the common weed is a close genetic relative. This, however, is no patch of weeds. The 10-acre field near Portage la Prairie is one of […]

By Alexis Stockford

Jul. 14, 2017 at 8:49 am CDT

A Canola Learning Centre has been created to try to solve some of the challenges Ontario farmers have growing consistent, profitable canola. Canola is now the largest crop grown in Canada, this year overtaking wheat — but in Ontario, canola acres have been decreasing, by about a third in the […]

By John Greig

Jul. 7, 2017 at 10:32 am CDT

New research that could lead to a biological alternative to chemical fungicides began with work into food safety. “We were interested in whether food-fermenting lactobacilli would produce molecules that prevent fungal growth,” says Dr. Michael Gaenzle, who is leading the research into antifungal lipids at the University of Alberta. Gaenzle’s […]

By Angela Lovell

Jun. 2, 2017 at 9:40 am CDT

When it comes to diagnosing potential herbicide injury, record keeping is vital, say Canola Council of Canada agronomists. “With soil residual herbicides, herbicide history is really important,” says Ian Epp, agronomy specialist with the Council for northwestern Saskatchewan. Because soil residual herbicides are often applied the previous year, good record […]

By Lisa Guenther