Weather conditions in recent years have made life tough for forage plants. Many farmers have had to completely change the way they do things. Some manage to continually improve their operation year after year, no matter the weather. Winter is a great time to ask questions, get informed and make a plan for more resilient forage systems on your farm. Here are a few ways you can get started.

Some weeds are tough. They are spontaneous, adaptive, colonizing, and invasive. However, they can be controlled or at least minimized by changing some farming practices.

The latest report shows that there are 14 resistant species in Québec. Nearly one in two samples tested in the province since 2011 showed at least one form of resistance. Common ragweed accounts for 47% of the confirmed resistance cases, with the remainder mostly made up of redroot pigweed, roughfruit amaranth, and volunteer canola.

An ongoing study on the use of alternatives to antibiotics in pork production could shed some light on potential solutions for pork producers.

For the last several years, Canadian farmers have been moving away from antibiotics in pork production. This is because antibiotic resistance represents a growing threat to global public health, and alternatives need to be examined.

Measuring your performance and comparing your results with others is the basis of sound management. Analyzing helps you improve. That’s why Sollio Agriculture has developed AgConnexion │Aviscan, an effective and user-friendly tool for poultry farmers.

Aviscan allows you to work on several levels, depending on your analysis needs. First, it compiles technical and economic performance data. This is essentially the equivalent of receiving a grade on a school report card.

You don’t need to be at your desk anymore to access all your farm management tools. Available online via your mobile device, AgConnexion | Portal goes where you go, so you can keep the situation in hand anytime, anywhere. AgConnexion also lets you know when new documents are available through email or SMS notifications.

Until recently, most of the seeds used in Québec were coated with an insecticide. But the trend is reversing, and an integrated approach is now used that includes scouting and probability models for infestation and crop damage. This means more intelligence and less chemicals, benefiting both farmers and the environment.

The AgConnexion digital platform is an essential tool that helps farmers analyze the data collected in a given growing season. With this analysis, farmers can better plan for their next season and make the right decisions at the right time.

First, it is important to take the time to transfer your data from your GPS data sensor to the AgConnexion | SmartFarm module so that you can conduct the analysis.

In our continued efforts to develop our technological capabilities to support farmers, our digital platform AgConnexion is launching the AgConnexion | Grain Portal.

Designed to facilitate grain merchandising, this new tool is being rolled out gradually at various cooperatives in Québec.

Analyzing soil in the field with a smart probe may not be such a distant dream after all. For some time now, staff at the Sollio Agriculture crop production research farm in Saint-Hyacinthe have been testing a probe from ChrysaLabs that could be used to adjust farming practices quickly and improve crop fertilization.

For the past two years, members of the research farm’s team have been lugging ChrysaLabs’ futuristic-looking, smart soil-analysis probe around their plots.

Farm businesses have many avenues to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, including soil management, farming and breeding practices, and the recycling of manure and organic waste. Sollio Agriculture is currently investigating how farmers can benefit by earning carbon credits for adopting these practices.