Posted: January 5, 2012

Canada's popular Clean Farms program that has helped tackle the challenge of empty pesticide container recycling is adding a new initiative to manage agricultural plastic waste.

The new service will be piloted in Ontario in 2012 in the Lake Simcoe watershed. It will provide an option for farmers who want to safely get rid of plastic agricultural waste, including bale wrap.

"This pilot project will lay the groundwork for a comprehensive program to responsibly manage all agricultural waste plastic across the province," says Barry Friesen, general manager of Clean Farms.

Clean Farms, an industry-led stewardship organization has conducted research showing that farmers in Ontario generate more than 14,000 tonnes of non-nutrient based waste on their farms each year. While there are stewardship programs in place for some agricultural waste products, there are many products for which no recycling options exist.

"Farmers don't want to burn waste or send it to landfills but it's difficult for them to be good stewards when there aren't programs in place to help them," says Friesen. "Where there are programs in place, farmers overwhelmingly choose to participate. The success of Clean Farm's empty pesticide container recycling program is a prime example."

Find more information Clean Farms is available on the program website.

Posted: January 5, 2012

A new Group 2 herbicide that offers a different mode of action to help manage Group 1 resistant wild oats has been introduced by Bayer CropScience.

Varro herbicide will be available for the 2012 growing season, says the company in a release. The product provides protection from grassy and select broadleaf weeds. It can be tank-mixed with many broadleaf herbicides to target specific weeds.

"Wheat growers now have access to a Group 2 grassy weed control solution that offers more wild oat control options in the face of serious Group 1 resistance concerns," says Lauren Davis, cereal grass herbicide manager at Bayer CropScience. "With Varro, growers can now battle Group 1 resistant wild oats and be able to plant a pulse crop the following year, which is an important option to have, especially for our customers in the brown soil zones."

Find more information on the Bayer CropScience website.

Posted: January 5, 2012

A new generation of the Everest herbicide is now registered in Canada by Arysta LifeScience.

The flucarbazone product, Everest 2.0, is billed as an advanced formulation that is highly concentrated and has "built-in safener technology."

The product, introduced to U.S. wheat growers, is registered for post-emergence use in spring and durum wheat crops in the Prairie provinces and B.C. Peace region. It provides control of green foxtail, wild oats and key broadleaf weeds.

"EVEREST 2.0 gives growers an extra measure of crop safety in a wide range of conditions," says Craig Brekkas, marketing manager herbicides, wheat, with Arysta LifeScience.

Learn more on the Arysta LifeScience website.