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Farmers want canola-friendly weather

The Canola Council of Canada surveyed growers in late 2022 to check in on adoption of best practices, agronomy priorities and risks to canola production. Weather is the biggest risk factor. Flea beetles are the most costly pest. And of the CCC agronomy priorities, harvest management had the top score for impact on yield.

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Nasty weeds get an R rating

Weeds are turning. Herbicide resistance built up slowly and has finally hit a critical point where observation must become action. We need to turn down the R-rating on weeds – more Mister Rogers and less Larry Flynt. This article explains how.

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The rise of verticillium stripe

Verticillium stripe’s prevalence has been on a steady upward trajectory in the Eastern Prairies. In Manitoba, it was found in 38 per cent of canola fields surveyed in 2022 – a level similar to sclerotinia stem rot. But severity remains uncertain. Researchers don’t know if it causes sclerotinia levels of yield loss.

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Using data to map the profitability of VR

Wayne Schneider, an Alberta Canola director who farms at Nisku, is back using variable-rate (VR) fertilizer applications on his farm – but he doesn’t know whether it provides a return on investment. “Right now, I can’t answer that question,” he says. Schneider is working with Conservis, a farm data management company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota,...
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