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Wheat Profit provides Saskatchewan wheat producers with resources and information to increase profitability and sustainability on their farms. We will be interviewing experts in the field on current production issues and keep producers updated on the latest wheat research.
Episode Archive
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This three-episode feature podcast series about winter cereals comes after Sask Wheat officially amalgamated with the Saskatchewan Winter Cereal Development Commission on Aug. 1, 2023. In these episodes, Wheat Profit Host and Agronomy Extension Specialist with Sask Wheat, Carmen Prang, will interview experts on each crop to provide producers with everything they need to know. This includes basic agronomy knowledge, advantages and challenges to growing these crops and so much more!
EPISODE TWO: For the second episode, join Carmen as she discusses the most common winter cereal crop, winter wheat. Listeners can expect to hear about basic winter wheat agronomy such as fertility, disease, harvest and more. This episode also covers the challenges and advantages, as well as tips and tricks to adding this crop into a producer's rotation.
Carmen's guest for this episode is Senior Research Scientist at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's (AAFC) Lethbridge Research Centre in Lethbridge, Alta., Dr. Brian Beres! Dr. Beres also serves as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Alberta. Listeners might recognize Dr. Beres from his work on ultra-early seeding which he discussed on a previous Wheat Profit episode, The Research and Agronomics of Ultra-Early Seeding, or from his extensive work in winter wheat agronomy. LISTEN HERE
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Wild oat is among the most serious grassy weeds on the Prairies with losses as high as $500 million annually. As a tool to help farmers manage this issue, the Resistant Wild Oat Action Committee (RWOAC) was formed in partnership with the Canadian Weed Science Society (CWSS). The goal of RWOAC is to educate and engage farmers to develop and adopt approaches to managing wild oats. Sask Wheat is a proud funding partner of this initiative.
Dr. Breanne Tidemann joins Sask Wheat Agronomy Extension Specialist, Carmen Prang, to discuss wild oat and the RWOAC. Breanne is a research scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) in Lacombe, Alta. Her accomplishments include, but are not limited to, a B.Sc. in Biological Sciences, a M.Sc. in Plant Sciences and a Ph.D. in Plant Sciences. These were all completed at the University of Alberta, where her projects focused on weed science and weed management. Breanne started with AAFC in 2016 as a Weed Scientist/Field Agronomist. Breanne is currently focusing her research efforts on integrated weed management, weed biology, harvest weed seed control and managing herbicide resistant weeds. She also conducts research on agronomic decisions for crop production and weed control. LISTEN HERE
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This three-episode feature podcast series about winter cereals comes after Sask Wheat officially amalgamated with the Saskatchewan Winter Cereal Development Commission on Aug. 1, 2023. In these episodes, Wheat Profit Host and Agronomy Extension Specialist with Sask Wheat, Carmen Prang, will interview experts on each crop to provide producers with everything they need to know. This includes basic agronomy knowledge, advantages and challenges to growing these crops and so much more!
EPISODE ONE: Join Carmen as she sits down with Greg Stamp to discuss everything about hybrid fall rye agronomy. From picking a variety, to how to manage it throughout the season until harvest, this episode covers it all. Stamp is the Seed Sales Manager for Stamp Seeds, which is a second generation pedigreed seed farm, seed processor and seed retail located at Enchant, Alta. The farm consists of 5000 acres of irrigation and 2000 acres of dryland, growing 95 per cent of their crops for seed. They grow wheat (HRSW, CPS, SWSW, GP, HWSW, Durum), winter wheat, hybrid rye, malt and feed barley, peas, lentils, faba beans, oats, flax, mustard and seed canola. LISTEN HERE
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We are nearing the end of another harvest season. However, there are still decisions to be made to help set the farm up for success in the following year. In addition to evaluating decisions made throughout the year, we can begin addressing nutrient management, weed risks, insect pressure and more. Join host Carmen Prang as she sits down for another episode of the Wheat Profit podcast with farmer and agronomist Nancy Johns to hear her take on fall considerations.
Alberta Grains, Manitoba Crop Alliance, SaskBarley and Sask Wheat collaborated on a Fall Considerations document which provides producers with tips and helpful information about what decisions may have to be made or issues that need to be addressed in the fall to help set up their farm for success the following year. LISTEN HERE
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A common question in spring is whether to treat seed or not. While seed treatment cannot improve seed quality, it can preserve quality. Preserving seed quality can help with plant establishment. Seed treatments are not a silver bullet when it comes to disease management, however they can be a useful tool when used in combination with other best management practices (BMPs).
Join us as we chat with Derek Flad, with Nutrien Ag Solutions about the pros, cons and best management practices that come with treating seed.
Follow Derek Flad on Twitter to learn more about seed treating and more! CLICK HERE
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Producers are no strangers to dealing with water. Everything producers do on the farm ties back to moisture availability and utilization, so how can you best manage farm practices to make the most of that moisture? Join us on this episode of the Wheat Profit Podcast as we chat with expert and Research Associate Phillip Harder with the Centre for Hydrology at the University of Saskatchewan. Harder grew up on a farm around Clavet, SK giving him first-hand experience and knowledge of difficulties with moisture on the prairies before entering into hydrology as a profession. This episode is sure to teach you something new, as Harder touches on residue management, stripper headers, snow fences and predictions for 2023.
If you want to find out more about Phillip and hydrology, you can find more information on his Twitter page linked here.
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The Practical Guide to Navigating Grain Contracts assists farmers in understanding and negotiating the terms and conditions of their grain contracts. The Guide discusses topics such as delivery terms, grading and dispute resolution, declarations, and contract shortfalls, an issue that many producers dealt with in 2021. The guide also includes sample clauses and tips to help farmers make more informed decisions as contract terms continue to evolve.
Join us as we sit down with Janelle Whitley, Senior Manager of Trade and Marketing Policy with the Canadian Canola Growers Association, to discuss the latest edition of the Practical Guide to Navigating Grain Contracts.
Information sources:
o www.KnowYourGrade.ca
o Grain Contracts Guide: https://www.ccga.ca/knowyourgrade/pages/grain-contracts.aspx
o Practical Session on Grain Contracts: https://www.ccga.ca/hub/Pages/Watch_CCGA%27s_Practical_Session_on_Grain_Contracts.aspx
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Nutrient management is always top of mind for producers, but nitrogen fertilizer management has been receiving considerably more attention due to fluctuating prices of inputs, more products hitting the market and efforts to reduce emissions, nutrient leaching, and runoff.
As producers finalize their crop plan for the year, many might be wondering if an enhanced efficiency fertilizer product is a fit for their farm.
Enhanced Efficiency Fertilizers include a range of products that optimize nutrient uptake and prevent nutrient loss of volatilization, denitrification, or leaching by controlling the speed of release or altering soil-fertilizer reactions.
Join us as we talk with Associate Professor Richard Farrell from the University of Saskatchewan about the benefits of these products and the best management practices for applying them.
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The Fertilizer Use Survey assists in understanding the current state of fertilizer management in Saskatchewan and across Canada. It fills the gap in publicly available data for fertilizer use, management, and the adoption of 4R nutrient stewardship. The survey helps increase 4R awareness while providing unbiased data on fertilizer practices and trends.
Join us as we sit down with Sarah Healy, Market Research Manager with Stratus Ag, and Cassandra Cotton, Vice President at Fertilizer Canada, as we talk about the most recent wheat results of the survey. We will also discuss how this information can be used in various ways including at the farm level, as part of the ongoing fertilizer emission reduction discussion.
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This past growing season was the inaugural year for Sask Wheat’s “On Farm Trial” program. Through this program, our goal is to have producer-led farm scale research on wheat-related topics. These results will provide localized data to help producers make decisions on their farms under their conditions and management practices.
This year we evaluated seeding rates in spring wheat. Ideal seeding rates can vary significantly and are dependent on many factors including management, variety, and environment. We wanted to see if we could fine-tune the general seeding rate recommendations to help producers maximize their yield, quality, and economic return.
Join us as we chat with Christiane Catellier, Research Associate with the Indian Head Agricultural Research Foundation (IHARF), as we discuss our trial results, the importance of doing on-farm research, and how to produce meaningful results. Christiane provides some helpful tips for farmers and agronomists running trials on their farms.
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As the weather starts to warm up and the snow starts to melt, we are looking toward seeding the 2022 crop. After the extreme heat and drought of 2021, a long open fall, and variable snowfall, many are curious or concerned about the soil moisture outlook for 2022.
In this episode of Sask Wheat's Wheat Profit Podcast, we are again joined by Les Henry to talk about soil moisture for 2022.
Les is a legend in the agronomy world and is well known for his no no-nonsense, practical approach to agriculture. Les is a former professor and extension specialist at the University of Saskatchewan and has a small farm near Dundurn.
The topics covered include:
- The impact of the 2021 drought
- Historical comparisons of this year to others
- The impacts of snow on soil recharge - some areas have received a fair bit of snow since the new year
- How much moisture would it take to recharge the current soil moisture deficit
- Tips for risk management at seeding
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As we move towards spring, it's a good time to start thinking about herbicides and weed management for the coming season.
Looming supply chain issues and the glyphosate shortage and price increase may leave some producers scrambling for pre-burn options this spring. Over the last year, we have seen the price of glyphosate rise significantly due to a storm of factors, including COVID supply chain issues, environmental actions in China, which has reduced outputs, hurricane damage to Bayer's largest glyphosate plant, and extremely high global phosphate prices. The shortage and increased cost of glyphosate creates significant challenges for pre-burn this spring and creates higher demand for tank mixes and alternative products, which could lead to tighter supplies of these products as demands increase.
In this episode of the Wheat Profit Podcast, we will be discussing strategies to compensate for glyphosate shortage and how to make the most of the product we are spraying. We will speak to herbicide expert Eric Johnson and sprayer expert Tom Wolf to provide some insight into strategies for the coming spring.
Eric Johnson is the Research officer for the Crop Imaging and Agronomy Lab at the University of Saskatchewan, and Tom Wolf is the Managing Partner of Agrimetrix.
Resources:
https://sprayers101.com/dealing-with-pesticide-shortages-in-2022/
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With winter approaching, there has been little precipitation to recharge dry soils across the province. This has lead many prominent chemical companies to release additional re-cropping restriction statements, advising producers not to grow sensitive crops such as durum following the application of herbicides that pose a higher risk of carryover due to the extreme heat and drought experienced this growing season.
In this episode, Sask Wheat's Agronomy Extension Specialist, Haley Tetreault, is joined by the SaskCanola Agronomy Extension Specialist, Kaeley Kindrachuk, and the Saskatchewan Pulse Growers Agronomy Manager, Sarah Anderson, to discuss herbicide carryover risks with Clark Brenzil, the the Specialist in Weed Control with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture. In particular, they focus on group 2 imidazoline products. In addition to the podcast, we have also released a collaborative document detailing herbicide carryover risk and considerations- which is available at saskwheat.ca under the agronomy tab.
Resources:
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Fall is approaching, harvest is in full swing in many areas and has already finished in others. Aside from a few rainy days, and some thunderstorms over the past month, we haven't seen much for precipitation or soil recharge.
The 2021 growing season was filled with many agronomic challenges, the most notable being that it was one of the hottest and driest on record in Saskatchewan and yield was significantly impacted in many areas. Grain prices have risen, but with that, so have input prices. When looking ahead to the 2022 crop year, the 2021 drought will continue to have impacts on management decisions.
In this episode of Wheat Profit, we are going to focus on soil fertility and considerations after a drought. We know that yields fell sharply below targeted yield, which means there should be higher residual nutrients. Higher nutrient residuals can reduce next year’s fertilizer bill, but there are some considerations to be made around nutrient availability and variability. Severe moisture deficits can also create significant yield variability throughout a field. Drought effects nutrient cycling, nutrient availability, and can even skew soil test results. But how will all this impact management decisions for next year?
The guest for this episode is Lyle Cowell. Lyle is the Manager of Agronomy services with Nutrien in Northeast Saskatchewan. Lyle covers fertility considerations after a drought, residual nutrients and what you can expect, nutrient variability throughout the field and what the main causes are, soil testing, and considerations for fall fertilizer applications.
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As combines start to roll across the province, grain is headed to the bin or elevator, and grain quality is the next topic of consideration on farms. We know that dry conditions and intense heat can significantly decrease yield, but it can also potentially impact grain quality.
In this episode of Wheat Profit, we are joined by Daryl Beswitherick. Daryl is the program manager for National Inspection Standards at the Canada Grain Commission. We will cover some potential quality impacts in wheat caused by the heat and drought and what resources are available to producers to assess grain quality if they have concerns.
Our latest wheat watch on saskwheat.ca is about staging wheat for applying a pre-harvest product such as harvest aids and pre-harvest weed control. Staging wheat for pre-harvest weed control can be tricky, especially in years when the crop is uneven due to poor conditions. Pre-harvest staging is critical to avoid any herbicide residues in the grain, which can lead to Maximum Residue Limit (MRL) and marketability issues. A wheat plant is considered physiologically mature at 30% moisture; this means grain fill has stopped, and final yield and kernel weight/size has been determined. Spraying pre-harvest products such as glyphosate before 30% grain moisture can negatively impact grain quality and marketability.
If you are considering applying pre-harvest products, and have not yet done so, check out our website for more information: [https://saskwheat.ca/harvest-resources][0]
The Official Grain Grading Guide from the Canadian Grain Commission is available here: [https://grainscanada.gc.ca/en/grain-quality/official-grain-grading-guide/][1]
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This is a special episode produced in collaboration with Sask Barley and the Barley Bin podcast. Herbicide resistance is a growing issue across the Prairies. One of the largest concerns for herbicide resistance is wild oats. According to the Herbicide Resistant Wild Oat Action Committee, approximately 69% of wild oats across the Prairies display herbicide resistance; 62% to group 1, 27% to groups 1 & 2, and 34% to group 2.
In this episode we explore the Seed Terminator and some on-farm trials on Josh Lade's farm near Osler Saskatchewan. Josh grew up in Australia, which gives him a unique perspective on herbicide resistance. His background has led him to help adapt and prepare his farm for management of current and future development of new herbicide resistant weeds.
Josh came to Canada in 2010 on a farm exchange and moved to Canada and started farming with the Wiebe family in 2013. The farm has been dealing with herbicide resistant wild oats since 2013 and they have developed an impressive management program, including harvest weed seed control, patch targeted spraying, herbicide layering, and on farm trials.
Additional Resources:
Josh Lade
email: josh.lade86@gmail.com
EPISODE NOTES (Click Here)
This is a special episode produced in collaboration with Sask Barley and the Barley Bin podcast.
Herbicide resistance is a growing issue across the Prairies. One of the largest concerns for herbicide resistance is wild oats. According to the Herbicide Resistant Wild Oat Action Committee, approximately 69% of wild oats across the Prairies display herbicide resistance; 62% to group 1, 27% to groups 1 & 2, and 34% to group 2.
In this episode, we explore the management strategies employed to combat herbicide resistant wild oats on Josh Lade's farm near Osler, Saskatchewan. Josh grew up in Australia, which gives him a unique perspective on herbicide resistance. His background has led him to help adapt and prepare his farm for management of current and future development of new herbicide resistant weeds.
Josh came to Canada in 2010 on a farm exchange and moved to Canada and started farming with the Wiebe family in 2013. The farm has been dealing with herbicide resistant wild oats since 2013 and they have developed an impressive management program, including harvest weed seed control, patch targeted spraying, herbicide layering, and on farm trials.
Additional Resources:
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The price of wheat is on the rise and the push for higher yield is on. With the growing season starting out very dry across majority of the province, fungicides weren't really at the forefront of everyone’s minds. However, the last couple weeks we have been getting some much needed rain in many areas, and there’s more on the way. Last week was warm and humid, which can favor the development of disease. This brings forth the question of the most efficient and effective time to apply fungicide to protect your wheat crop from yield and quality robbing diseases.
Fungicide is a relatively expensive investment, so at what stage will you get the best return on that investment?
That’s what we chat about in this episode of Wheat Profit with our guest, Dr. Sheri Strydhorst. Dr. Strydhorst has recently joined Alberta Wheat and Barley commissions as their Agronomy Research Specialist and worked previously as a cereal agronomic research scientist with Alberta Agriculture. Her research focussed on maximizing the genetic potential of cultivars by using cultivar specific agronomic management.
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During spray season there are many things to consider: product, the active ingredient, crop staging, weather conditions, water volume, nozzles, speed, the list goes on. But one factor that is often overlooked is water quality. With so many factors affecting spray efficacy like environmental conditions, water volume, herbicide resistance, there are many things that can cause reduced efficacy, which means poor water quality is hard to point the finger at and often overlooked. But water makes up well over 90% of our spray volume and is an important factor to consider when looking at chemical efficacy.
Poor water quality can cause a significant tie-up of herbicides, so it is important to ensure you have a good water source.
This Wheat Profit will be discussing spray water quality and water treatments with Martin Carr of Winfield United Canada. Martin is part of the Agronomy team with Winfield United Canada.
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The less than average precipitation across many areas of Saskatchewan, means that some herbicides may not have broken down, and could potentially put this years wheat crop at risk for herbicide damage.
This is what we will be discussing today on wheat profit, with our guest Doug Fehr.
Doug has worked in the ag industry for many years. He is a professional agrologist, and spent much of his career working with Dupont, now Corteva, as a technical sales agronomist.
Additional Resources:
- Sask Guide to Crop Protection 2021 page 83
- Sask Crop Protection Lab in Regina
- “Recognizing Herbicide Action and Injury” 1986 (Yarish, Sharma)
- “How Herbicides Work” 1999 (Hall, Beckie, Wolf) AB Ag & Forestry $35
- Iowa State publications
- North Dakota State University Weed Control Guide
- CWSS Canadian Weed Science Society Vol-3 “Soil Residual Herbicides Science and Mngt” (2005)
- https://agbio.usask.ca/weedsresearch/index.php (good for group 3 especially) from College of Ag & Bioresources
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In this episode of Wheat Profit, Sask Wheat Agronomy Extension Specialist Haley Tetreault discusses the lifecycle, management, and research of wireworms with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada entomologist Dr. Haley Catton.
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In this episode, we discuss the soil moisture outlook for 2021 with Les Henry. Les is a legend in the agronomy world and is well-known for his no-nonsense, practical approach to agriculture. He is a former professor and extension specialist at the University of Saskatchewan. He farms near Dundurn.
The 2021 soil moisture map can be found here: https://www.grainews.ca/columns/les-henry-soil-moisture-map-for-2021/
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In this episode, we chat about the research and agronomics of ultra-early seeding with Dr. Brian Beres.
Brian is a Senior Research Scientist with AAFC based out of Lethbridge. He focuses on integrated crop management tools and solutions to sustain the economic and environmental viability of farming systems in Western Canada.
Today we cover the latest research into ultra-early seeding and what “ultra-early” actually means. We discuss the agronomics of it and how it can be adopted by producers across the province as a way to increase grain yield and yield stability.
For more information on ultra-early seeding and Brian’s research, check out this Real Agriculture video:
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With 2021 underway, it is a perfect time to take a look at your seed's quality for the coming season. Seed testing is an important tool for determining seedlot quality, seeding rates, and ensuring you’re starting the season with the best foundation for a strong stand establishment.
In the first episode of Wheat Profit, our guest, Shanna Stolhandske-Dale of Seed Solutions Seed Labs, discusses seed testing at a government accredited seed lab. Frost, sprouting, disease, and many other factors can affect seed quality. In this episode, we talk about what to look for in a seed test, the best time to seed test, the main potential causes of low germ and vigor, the difference in vigor and germ and what these tests entail, the benefits of seed treatments, and determining seeding rates. Shanna outlines why seed testing is such a valuable tool for producers and gives pointers on what to look for in test results.
You can find more information on Seed Solutions Seed Labs at the link below: