Insights and Stories of Les Henry

May. 22, 2015 at 9:50 am CDT

The recent demise of big farms like wand Broadacre has been much in the news lately. This column predicted just that when the trend started several years ago. Big corporate farms with decisions made in the corner office of the 51st floor in Toronto or Calgary are destined for failure. […]

By Les Henry

May. 1, 2015 at 10:37 am CDT

In recent years there has been a great deal of hype about the 4Rs when planning fertilizer use: right source, right rate, right time and right placement. The first Grainews column I penned was in October 1976: “Nitrogen — when, what kind and how much to apply.” Back then, phosphorus […]

By Les Henry

Nov. 28, 2014 at 11:56 am CST

When soil-incorporated herbicides were all the rage, tillage was the main operation on many farms. For some granular soil-applied herbicides, the recommendation was to cultivate several inches deep at high speed and to go over it twice at right angles. In the best black soils it was not uncommon to […]

By Les Henry

Jul. 25, 2014 at 8:49 am CDT

Precision agriculture, including variable rate fertilizer, is commonplace in farm literature and has been for many years now. But despite the hype, the actual adoption of the practice has been slow. Ask for a show of hands at any farm meetings and the result surprises many. GPS and autosteer is […]

By Les Henry

Feb. 7, 2014 at 11:23 am CST

Record high land prices are still making the news in Saskatchewan. Will things be different this time? Coffee shops and bars have been buzzing for a couple of years now with new record highs for farmland prices and cash rents. This is what you hear: “Farmland is a superb investment and we must get in on […]

By Les Henry