The agronomic impacts of what has been a wild year for the Ontario growing season are beginning to accumulate, in the form of rock hard soil, fuzzy white plants, and double cobs. For this early August episode of Wheat Pete’s Word, host Peter Johnson tackles the big question of making oat hay after wheat, if… Read More
Buckle up, it’s time for Day 2 of Ontario Diagnostic Days! The annual Ontario field crop diagnostic days held at Ridgetown, Elora, and Winchester are again virtual in 2021. Cover crops, forage and wheat management is the focus of this episode. We get started with Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs soil management specialists… Read More
Success in certain crop systems can sometimes translate to other cropping systems; for example, using a planter in corn adds precision and accuracy to maximize yields and improve agronomic management. In recent years, not a lot of progress has been made in the area of irrigated durum wheat yields, and Farming Smarter is looking at… Read More
It’s possible Ontario could set a new wheat record for 2021, and that’s saying something, as reports are that many fields are yielding smaller than average seeds. Also this week on Wheat Pete’s Word, host Peter Johnson tackles if corn will yield double cobs, why you need to be out scouting the soybean canopy, and… Read More
It’s important to know what’s going well, and what’s not, especially with soil. Certain “canaries in the coalmine” can indicate existing, persistent problems with management practices that over time can be improved. Adam Ireland, who farms with his family near Teeswater in Bruce County, Ont., is joined by Bernard Tobin for this episode of Soil… Read More
Plot trials are a great way to gain preliminary research findings about a particular subject. Based just outside of Lethbridge, Alta., Farming Smarter’s primary focus is applied research that helps producers make informed choices around inputs, technology and management practices for their operations. Carlo Van Herk, research technician at Farming Smarter, walks Kara Oosterhuis through the… Read More
Bigger corn planters with on-board fertilizer deliver efficiency and cover acres quickly. All that weight, however, can produce yield-robbing pinch rows and compaction. On this episode of The Sharp Edge, we visit Jeff Cook who farms with his family at their Mapleview Farms operation, just southwest of London, Ont. Over the years, the Cooks have… Read More
Glyphosate resistant waterhemp has spread from Essex Country, Ontario, all the way to Leeds-Grenville County, nearly 700 kilometres away in just seven growing seasons. While the exact path of spread is not known, Dr. Peter Sikkema, weed management professor with the University of Guelph, says that introduction can be through wind dispersal, in livestock feed, or… Read More
There are plenty of buzzwords in farming and agriculture. More than just a word, however, is soil resiliency: what does it mean to have “resilient” soil? For this episode of The Agronomists, host Lyndsey Smith is joined by Anne Verhallen and Marla Riekman to discuss what makes a healthy soil, what makes up soil quality… Read More
It’s been a tough year for growers in the west — some crops are getting by rain to rain, and some are relying on soil moisture alone with the chance of rain being a hope. Drought can affect silage quality and yield, obviously, but how can smoke from wildfires affect the corn crop? Sara Meidlinger,… Read More
Wet, humid weather across Ontario this summer has required many soybean growers to apply two fungicide applications to help control white mould. On this episode of RealAgriculture’s Soybean School, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs plant pathologist Albert Tenuta discusses best practices to help manage the yield-robbing disease, including canopy construction. Tenuta points… Read More
The rain has come, and the corn crop is advancing fast. The crop is between tassel and silking stages, and the concern now is how to manage the crop for silage production. Will disease have an impact on the feed quality? Here to answer that is Albert Tenuta, OMAFRA plant pathologist, who joins Bernard Tobin… Read More
A few key things are lining up for the corn crop — but they are not necessarily all good. The western bean cutworm flight and pollination are lining up nearly perfectly, and that means an increased risk of gibberella ear rot infection. For this episode of Wheat Pete’s Word, host Peter Johnson discusses another hit… Read More
Spraying a fungicide requires considering the stage of plant a bit differently than when spraying a herbicide. At herbicide timing, the canopy of the crop is a lot shorter and less dense. “For fungicides, we’re now talking about a taller canopy, a canopy that’s probably closed in, and a canopy that’s a little bit diverse… Read More
If ever there was a year for timely applications of fungicides on the Ontario edible bean crop, this year is it. The 2021 growing season is shaping up as an ideal year for white mould development, increasing the importance of at least two timely fungicide passes to protect the crop. In this episode of the… Read More