The federal government has added polymer-coated urea to the list of enhanced efficiency fertilizer products approved for reimbursement from its On-Farm Climate Action Fund (OFCAF). The use of ESN — the trade name of the most commonly used polymer-coated urea product — was notably excluded from the list of beneficial management practices eligible for funding… Read More
Tag: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada has released an initial list of designated drought areas in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba where a Livestock Tax Deferral has been authorized for 2022 due to extreme weather conditions. The Livestock Tax Deferral provision allows livestock producers who are forced to sell a significant amount of their breeding herd due to drought… Read More
Disease management can make or break any given crop year, and on this episode of the Pulse School we are taking a look at chickpeas and the most important disease to scout for, ascochyta blight. Dr. Michelle Hubbard is a research scientist in pulse pathology with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. She says disease prevention starts before putting… Read More
Living in a world where everything from entertainment and fixes to problems are seemingly instantaneous, wheat breeding remains outside of these parameters, taking upwards of 10 years to have a concept come to fruition. This balance between what we know now and what may be needed in the future is what wheat breeders, like Richard… Read More
The details of how the Canadian government plans to reach its 30 per cent nitrogen fertilizer emission reduction target are still not clear, but the federal agriculture minister says the government has “no intention of going in a regulatory direction.” Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau also says farm practices that reduce emissions, but are not currently… Read More
Wireworms are one of the biggest insect pests for cereals across the Prairies. Not only can they cause extreme damage to the crop, they are incredibly difficult to control. John Laurie, research scientist of molecular biology with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), and Haley Catton, research scientist of field crop entomology at AAFC, have been… Read More
Growers in the western provinces are right on the cusp (if not in) prime fusarium season, and knowing the ins and outs of the fungus can give you a leg-up and allow you to get out ahead of the potential problem. There are several factors to consider when dealing with fusarium, including history of the… Read More
By early July, many canola fields across the Prairies are in the beginning stages of bolting. According to Héctor Cárcamo, research scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada at Lethbridge, Alta., that’s a great time to start thinking about the cabbage seed pod weevil. Before worrying about thresholds and spray timing for the insect pest that can… Read More
Our collective knowledge of a particular pest, and also its enemies, builds over decades of observations, questions, and sound research. Sometimes, such as is the case with lygus in canola crops, research has to wait for the right person or timing to really get rolling forward. In this episode of the Pests & Predators podcast,… Read More
The Ministry of Agriculture and Agri-Food has launched consultations for input in to a National Agricultural Labour Strategy. Opening June 27, and running until September 28, 2022, the agriculture and agri-food sector will have an opportunity to weigh in on labour shortages, challenges and obstacles through an online process. The National Agriculture Labour Strategy will seek to address… Read More
The federal government is increasing the interest-free portion of its Advance Payments Program (APP) from $100,000 to $250,000 for 2022 and 2023. Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau announced the change to the cash advance program on Thursday, June 23. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada says eligible producers will save an average of $5,500 in interest costs over… Read More
There are two main species of flea beetles across the Prairies: the striped flea beetle and the crucifer flea beetle. Both can have devastating impacts on the canola crop, however, they have a few differences between them. As Héctor Cárcamo, research scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) at Lethbridge, Alta., explains, the crucifier flea beetle… Read More
Validating economic thresholds for flea beetles can be tricky — especially when we know the damage the insect can do to the canola crop. Héctor Cárcamo, research scientist at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) at Lethbridge, Alta., recently completed a study that confirms an economic threshold. The team at AAFC found that 25 per cent… Read More
Several organizations that represent grain farmers from across Canada are raising concerns about the federal government’s push to add environmental incentives or criteria to business risk management (BRM) programs, such as crop insurance, AgriStability, or AgriInvest. As part of the negotiations for Canada’s next five-year agricultural policy framework, federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau is urging… Read More
If your idea of a beneficial insect is one that sits back and waits for dinner to crawl on by, you’ve likely never heard about the secret lives of lacewings. Green lacewings are nothing short of ferocious, and, as Dr. Tyler Wist of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada explains, they’re more like aphid-hunting lions than laid-back… Read More