Rain…finally! And some unbelievable wheat yields being reported — Wheat Pete is fired up (even more than normal!) for this week’s update. After discussing rainfall amounts and early wheat results, Peter gets into the tight timeline for double-cropping soybeans, the impact this rain could have on corn, and much more. Listen or download below!
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Highlights:
Rain!
- “Yes, baby! It rained! The drought of 2016 has been broken, for most of southwestern Ontario.”
- Still incredibly dry in Niagara peninsula — only 1/2″ of rain since early April. Also still dry in Bruce peninsula, east of Toronto.
Early Wheat Harvest Results
- Awesome wheat yields being reported, especially considering dry conditions. 130+ bu/ac average across at least one field.
- Likely a new yield record for Ontario. Previous record was 85.5 bu/ac provincially. (Now that Johnson leaves OMAFRA!)
- Why the amazing yields? You might argue because Johnson is no longer the wheat specialist, but likely the main reason: planting early last fall, which is related to soybean maturity selection.
- Even down in Niagara, where it’s so dry, 80-90 bu/ac wheat. Other crops likely won’t come close on yield.
- Where growers didn’t control stripe rust, coming in at 45-50 bu/ac
- Fire risk is high! Be careful.
Haying
- Alfalfa is very short, but flowering — do we cut? Yes, it needs to be cut for new growth…pray for rain and watch for leafhoppers.
Soybeans
- Double-crop beans need high seed population. Now or never. July 15th is probably the cut-off date.
- Timing fungicides on soybeans
Corn
- Rain will have huge impact. First tassels are popping. If that happens under drought stress, you get poor pollination and poor cob set. Most corn is just days away from tasseling — big yield potential in areas that have received rain.
- Seeing leaf burn caused by actual urea toxicity on the leaf — took corn much longer to recover. Likely not a major yield impact.
- Do we put fungicide on corn or not? Look for rust. Watch how fast it develops. Haven’t seen much northern corn leaf blight. Could see some fusarium with this rain.
Cover crops
- Adjust mix based on seeding time.
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