The western prairies have been described as a sea of canola. Floating somewhere adrift are crops like flax. Crops that are full of potential, but are at risk of falling to more profitable crops like canola and soybeans. Keeping these fringe crops afloat to develop some of that potential means finding better cropping systems. One... Read More
Category: Research
Do you remember the story of the little red hen? No one would help her plant the seeds, harvest the grain, grind the grain and bake the bread, but everyone was willing to eat the bread when it was all said and done. That's a little bit like the story of certified seed. Everyone wants... Read More
The economics of farming naturally put "high yield" at the top of every plant breeders list, but something like yield is interwoven with a number of other factors. Just to allow a plant to maintain its intrinsic yield potential you have to develop it to be able to compete with weeds, stand well and have... Read More
After a chemical manufacturer discovers a new crop protection chemical family, the normal response within the industry is to focus research on better versions of the same chemistry. This typically results in several new brands being launched, each claiming to be slightly better than the last. This seems to be the case with DuPont’s new... Read More
When we talk about the total package approach in any crop breeding program, we mean that every effort has to balance a number of key elements, not taking away from any of them while trying to add to all of them. In chickpea, as with most crops, those efforts are directed at the areas of... Read More
Any crop breeding program is a balancing act. For every problem you look to address, you potentially open the door to new and unexpected ones or risk losing desired traits. The more traits you try and breed into a crop, the more you have to think about how those traits affect each other. That's the... Read More
Canola acreage has shot up over the past couple of years and with the price right now it can be one of the most profitable crops on the farm. The research that goes into canola is phenomenal and has allowed yield averages to soar in the last few years. But there are still some myths... Read More
Western Canadian Farmers will have more choices open to them in the cereal crop arena thanks to an agreement (see press release) between French based Group Limagrain and Western Canadian based Canterra Seeds. The partnership strengthens the already strong breeding programs of both companies providing farmers across the West with access to new and advanced... Read More
The fortunes of a new wheat variety rise or fall depending on their end use characteristics. The food industry in particular needs varieties that exhibit certain traits during processing. If they don't meet those specific needs in a commercial area like milling or baking, they simply can't be used. SEE MORE EPISODES OF THE WHEAT... Read More
When someone mentions precision agriculture, what do you think of? Do you think of autosteer, GPS, variable rate technology or prescription mapping? The truth is that all of those things and more are involved in what we currently term "precision agriculture." In fact, much of the technology that we associate with precision agriculture is so... Read More