Agronomist Notes
Hello Reader
I’m writing this from 37,000ft en route home after a full week of strategic farm planning through CTEAM. If you farm in Canada, I highly recommend this farm man...
Agronomist Notes
Hello Reader
I’ve spent the past week or so exploring a bit of Washington and Oregon with the family. You know you’re in a moist environment when you see fungus growin...
Agronomist Notes
Hello Reader
This week I’ve moved offices, otherwise known as “gone on vacation” to Washington and Oregon where winter tires are not required. By the time you re...
Agronomist Notes
Hello Reader
The winter chill has descended upon us as overnight temperatures dipped to -24C this week. We’re still busy soil/mud sampling, which has been a bit troublesome ...
Agronomist Notes
Hello Reader
Fieldwork has come to a brief and perhaps complete halt in many areas after snow fell last week. For us this is a welcome break and just in time for Agri-Trade, Alber...
Agronomist Notes
Hello Reader
We’ve been busy mapping with the Dual EM38, soil testing, meeting with clients and tweaking crop plans for next year. Soil test nitrogen levels, on the average,...
Agronomist Notes
Hello Reader
The big push to get harvest finished has now been replaced with the big push to get fall work done before the snow flies. Most of us feel like we’ve been on a d...
Agronomist Notes
Hello Reader
I’ve been away this week attending the Global Farmer Round Table in conjunction with the World Food Prize in Des Moines, Iowa. There are sixteen farmers in atte...
Agronomist Notes
Hello Reader
Harvest is drawing to a close with most farms finishing up this week. It has been a slow, tough grind and I know everyone will need a moment to regroup when the dust ...
Agronomist Notes
Hello Reader
We are nearing the 85% complete mark for harvest and it continues to be a slow grind. Rain delays and parts runs are all too common. Knives, guards, lifters and reel ...
Agronomist Notes
Hello Reader
We finished harvest last night in time for the dramatic lightening storm and rain showers this morning. I apologize for the late newsletter but it came down to a choi...
Agronomist Notes
Hello Reader
I’m back from my two-week writing break during which very little harvest occurred but a lot of weather happened. Total rain for the 30 days leading up to harves...
Hello Reader
On this two week break from writing, I'm filtering through the challenges and opportunities ahead of us in production agriculture.
I was wondering if you could take a second and r...
Agronomist Notes
Hello Reader
Pea and malt barley dust fills the air, my nose and my ears, as harvest is in full swing after a short rain delay last week. The start of winter wheat harvest has als...
Agronomist Notes
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Wet, stormy weather continues to roll through dropping rain and hail. We had another 1.5 inches at the farm last week bringing us to 7.25 inches for the month of Augu...
Agronomist Notes
Hello Reader
The hot weather is advancing crops quickly, bringing with it the start of pea harvest and canola swathing. Malt barley harvest is just around the corner with so...
Agronomist Notes
Hello Reader
The weather continues to be turbulent with localized hail and rain storms rolling through the area. Would you believe we’ve had 4.5 inches of rain at the ...
Agronomist Notes
Hello Reader
The weather continues to be turbulent with localized hail and rain storms rolling through the area. Would you believe we’ve had 4.5 inches of rain at the ...
Agronomist Notes
Hello Reader
A hot spell is challenging crops once again with daytime temps reaching 28-33C. Those who seeded late will welcome the hot weather although it will come at a cost of ...
Agronomist Notes
Hello Reader
We’ve finally come to a small break in the growing season since the mad dash started in April. Hail and summer storms continue to tear across the area with at l...
Agronomist Notes
Hello Reader
We hosted a successful and very warm field day on Tuesday with some excellent conversations. From CTF equipment set up to tram lines, inter-row seeding, side dressing...
Agronomist Notes
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Fungicide timing is over. Phew! Leaf diseases have remained low in the canopy but the humid weather has kept canopies wet into late morning. Insect pressure has been ...
Agronomist Notes
Hello Reader
We ran through herbicide season and have jumped straight into fungicide application. With 17 hours of daylight, temperatures in the high 20’s and excellent subs...
Agronomist Notes
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Heavy rains poured over much my territory dropping between 2 to 6 inches. The western areas have reached field capacity and the forecast is calling for more rain over...
Agronomist Notes
Hello Reader
I’ve toured across all the wheat, barley, canola, peas and faba bean acres for the first round and covered the RoundUp Ready canola twice. Crop establishment is...
Agronomist Notes
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Seeding has come to end and we’re off to a great start. The cooler overnight temperatures are forcing us to shut spraying down early, around 6:00pm, and wait fo...
Agronomist Notes
Hello Reader
Seeding has finally come to a close for nearly every producer in the area. It’s amazing to see- even though we’ve started off a touch late- how we’r...
Agronomist Notes
Hello Reader
We’ve hit the 90% complete mark with most farms just finishing by the end of the week. We may have had a late start but early seeded wheat and barley is n...
Agronomist Notes
Hello Reader
We made serious progress on seeding last week and we’re nearing the 60% complete mark for our area. Rain over the weekend did put seeding to a halt with rain to...
Agronomist Notes
Hello Reader
We've had a stretch of good weather over the last 5 days and are now roughly 30-40% done planting. After all the rumours of fertilizer shortages and logistical is...
Agronomist Notes
Hello Reader
Here we are May 7th and only a small fraction of farms have started seeding. Cold, wet, rain and snowy weather has hindered seeding progress across my territory. We&r...
Agronomist Notes
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We’re days away from a full on start to seeding with many waiting just a few more days for the soil to firm up. Soil moisture levels are sitting around 60% in t...
Agronomist Notes
Hello Reader
I’ve finished up the last of my spring soil sampling and it looks like we are in good shape to begin seeding next week. Soil temperatures are hovering around 4C...
Agronomist Notes
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The only snow left to melt is on south facing slopes and along windbreaks like shelterbelts, buildings, and seeding equipment (we’re parked on a windswept hill,...
Agronomist Notes
Hello Reader
The warmth has returned and the water is starting to run with snow melting at a quick pace. We’re still a few weeks away from seeding and I wonder if we’l...
Agronomist Notes
Hello Reader
The warmth has returned and the water is starting to run with snow melting at a quick pace. We’re still a few weeks away from seeding and I wonder if we’l...
Agronomist Notes
Hello Reader
Brrrr! That blast of snow brought spring to a grinding halt. Plans are laid, inputs are bought, and it’s a waiting game now until seeding starts.
The biggest...
Agronomist Notes
Hello Reader
My first stint on the CTEAM course finished last week and it was eye-opening in a very good way. Once again, my lens has changed for examining strategy and business p...
Agronomist Notes
Hello Reader
In a decisive move and after a couple quick phone calls, I embarked on a two-year farm management program on Monday night. We’re looking at risk management, fin...
Agronomist Notes
Hello Reader
Could it be true? Daytime temperatures forecast above zero for the next ten days? Wow! As thrilling as that sounds, I hope the snow melts slowly to avoid soil erosion...
Agronomist Notes
Hello Reader
Ah, yes, March. The daylight hours are getting longer and the sun is getting warmer. I’m trying to block out the memories of -37C plus wind chill temperatures o...
Agronomist Notes
Hello Reader
Ah, yes, March. The daylight hours are getting longer and the sun is getting warmer. I’m trying to block out the memories of -37C plus wind chill temperatures o...
Agronomist Notes
Hello Reader
Man alive it’s cold outside but the memory of Canada scoring two gold medals in Olympic hockey is keeping me warm! Those games were magnificent.
On the farmi...
Agronomist Notes
Hello Reader
I’ve wrapped up my whirlwind tour of Australia and I’m writing this issue on my 14 hour flight back to Calgary from Sydney. I’ve logged 40,000 km, s...
Agronomist Notes
Hello Reader
G’day from hot and sunny (+41C) New South Wales! It’s been a very busy week with a new host everyday and about half of my speaking engagements completed. ...
