Will bare fields and warm weather cause wheat to break dormancy? And if so, could we be looking at a wheat price rally for 2017? That’s where we start with Wheat Pete’s Word, and from there Peter Johnson takes us on a wild agronomy ride that covers strip-tilling dry beans into hay ground, what to… Read More
Author: RealAgriculture Agronomy Team
A team effort of RealAgriculture videographers and editorial staff to make sure that you have the latest in agronomy information for your farm.
Does it make sense to grow more bushels per acre of wheat? Only if it’s more profitable, says agronomist David Shortall. In this episode of Wheat School, Real Agriculture agronomist Peter Johnson talks with Shortall, a native of Ireland, who now works for Cargill in Ontario. They discuss the results of a recent case study… Read More
Do wheat varieties perform in line with the ratings provided during the registration process? When it comes to fusarium head blight tolerance, the short answer is yes, but the long answer is it depends on the year. Holly Derksen, plant pathologist with Manitoba Agriculture, explains that the province has been tracking resistance performance of wheat… Read More
Can we push feed and even malt barley varieties to sky-high yields? Steve Larocque, of Beyond Agronomy, has completed a four-year field trial that says yes, but there’s a catch. Inspired by what he saw on a 2010 trip to New Zealand, where feed barley averaged 207 to 210 bushels per acre, Larocque started digging… Read More
Tough to say and even harder to control, aphanomyces has the potential to significantly reduce pea and lentil yields, and can stick around in the soil for an extremely long time. It’s recommended that farmers not plant pea or lentil for five to six years if aphanomyces has been confirmed in a field, but that’s… Read More
Geographically speaking, Ontario and Western Canada aren’t actually that far apart. But agriculture within the two regions is incredibly different, though some may argue it’s getting more similar all the time. Picture Butte, Alberta-based Shaun Haney recently sat down with Guelph-dweller Norm Sutherland, a district sales manager for Syngenta, to celebrate the uniqueness of farming in… Read More
How have soybeans changed over the past century, and what can growers learn from this evolution? Purdue University agronomy professor Shaun Casteel has some answers. Speaking at the recent Ontario Certified Crop Advisor annual conference, Casteel shared insights from his research comparing varieties from 1923 to those available in 2011. In this episode of Real… Read More
As crop yields and nutrient removal rates continue to increase, many growers wonder whether it’s time to top up fertilizer rates. At the core of the discussion in Ontario is whether critical soil test values for corn and soybeans are still valid and whether they pack the nutrient punch needed to allow new hybrids and… Read More
Canola seed in Canada could soon come with a label describing the variety’s blackleg disease resistance package, similar to the labeling system used in Australia. After around four years of discussions between seed companies, researchers, and growers, an agreement-in-principle has been reached on blackleg resistance labeling, says Clint Jurke, agronomy director with the Canola Council of Canada,… Read More
Manure no-no’s, cleaning corn to reduce vomitoxin levels, and trying to rush nature — this week’s Wheat Pete’s Word is jam-packed with answers to your toughest questions! Peter Johnson kicks of the Word with a discussion on spreading dry vs. liquid manure on snow, and then gets specific on vomi reduction on corn (including why it’s… Read More
Western bean cutworm took a big bite out of many Ontario cornfields in 2016 as high populations of the pest caused increased levels of fusarium and gibberella ear rot. With the pest expected to overwinter and be a threat again in 2017, many growers are asking whether they need to spray and when. Real Agriculture… Read More
Put two great corn minds together and you come up with seven corn management concepts to help you boost yields in 2017. University of Guelph professor Dr. David Hooker and Maizex agronomist Greg Stewart shared the results of their brainstorm with growers attending the recent Southwest Agricultural Conference, held at the University of Guelph’s Ridgetown… Read More
As the winter learning season rolls forward, the agronomy questions are flooding in, and Peter Johnson, host of Wheat Pete’s Word, wouldn’t have it any other way. In this week’s episode, Johnson tackles some very complicated — but super important — ins and outs of nitrogen management. Confused about which crops leave a credit and why… Read More
Every wheat farmer has watched with glee as the number on their yield monitor jumps 20 to 50 bushels as the combine travels through the field. In this episode of Real Agriculture Wheat School, agronomist Phil Needham of Needham AG Technologies offers advice on how farmers can drill down through yield maps and soil tests… Read More
Ontario’s farmers are relatively familiar with using red clover on wheat to fix nitrogen and keep the soil covered into the fall, but cover crop use has quickly surpassed a one-species on one-crop approach. Lyndsey Smith, Ontario field editor for RealAgriculture, sat down with two farmers to ask them 4 Questions on cover crops: what’s… Read More