There’s plenty of Canadian content at Agritechnica, the world’s largest agricultural tradeshow for machinery and innovation. For Canadian manufacturers, the show provides an opportunity to explore markets and identify where their products could find success across the global agricultural landscape. In this report, RealAgriculture’s Shaun Haney catches up with Redekop Manufacturing president Trevor Thiessen. The… Read More
Author: Bernard Tobin
Bernard Tobin is RealAgriculture's Ontario Field Editor. A Ryerson University journalism grad, @AgBern was raised on a dairy farm near St. John's, Newfoundland. For more than two decades, he has specialized in agricultural communications, working for numerous farm media outlets, communications agencies and ag consulting companies. He is based in Georgetown, Ontario.
Crop researchers can learn a lot in 28 years. That’s how long crop rotation trials have been on-going at the University of Guelph’s Ridgetown campus. On this episode of the RealAgriculture Corn School, host Bernard Tobin and University of Guelph crop researcher Dr. Dave Hooker look at the importance of crop rotation and key corn… Read More
James Hammerton is looking for innovative ways to increase crop production efficiency. Hammerton, who farms with his family at Sweaburg, Ont., first appeared on The Sharp Edge in 2020 to share how he uses a stripper header to harvest and prepare wheat fields for double crop soybeans. In 2023, he returns to the program with… Read More
There’s a sense of satisfaction after tile has been installed and a field has a new drainage system. With sufficient outlet for drainage water movement, farmers can look forward to a more manageable, productive field and higher crop yields. But a new drainage system is not a “one and done” type of thing, says drainage… Read More
Good kernel set — from the tip to the butt of the ear — plays a key role in achieving high corn yield. But every year growers run into environmental and agronomic challenges the can lead to poor pollination, aborted kernels and a significant impact on yield. On this episode of the RealAgriculture Corn School,… Read More
Do you have sufficient outlet for drainage water movement? It’s a key question every farmer needs to ask before they start tiling land. On this episode of Talking Tile, Land Improvement Contractors of Ontario consultant Sid Vander Veen shares why it’s important for farmers to ensure they have a place where they can discharge tile… Read More
Every sprayer operator has the ability to mitigate sprayer drift. The first and easiest thing an operator can do is change their droplet size. “It’s simple physics,” says Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs application technology specialist Jason Deveau. “When you go to a larger droplet, it’s more likely to continue to travel… Read More
Weeds can cause up to 58 per cent yield loss in edible beans compared to 50 per cent in corn and 35 in soybeans. That’s just one brick in a wall of weed control insights University of Guelph weed science researcher Dr. Peter Sikkema has accumulated over a 30-year career that includes induction into the… Read More
Tar spot leaf disease has been a little tardy in 2023, but the later-arriving yield robber is still having an impact on the Ontario corn crop. Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs plant pathologist Albert Tenuta says a dry start to the growing year meant tar spot arrived a little late in 2023… Read More
When soybean plants lodge, bad things happen. Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs soybean specialist Horst Bohner says growers are okay with the “power lean” — that’s when pod-laden plants tilt slightly under the weight of their bean bounty. “But when they start to get close to the ground, and really lean over,… Read More
Covering 40,000 acres a year with a sprayer is a big job. At Shawridge Farms, a large cash crop and commercial grain elevator operation located in Arthur, Ont., that responsibility falls primarily to sprayer operator Matthew Musselman. So how does one guy get over all those acres? He gets a lot of help from the… Read More
Seven years ago, Chris Moore and Lyndsey Smith decided they needed more acres if they were going run a viable sheep farm. But rather than buy land, the partners opted to try their hand at solar grazing their Shady Creek Lamb flock at a solar power installation near their Kinburn, Ont., home farm. What started as… Read More
When the year starts early and starts dry, producers and researchers alike get pretty excited about the year ahead for edible beans. That was the story for the Ontario crop until July, when torrential and frequent rainfall began over much of the growing region and continued through August. The result, explains University of Guelph associate… Read More
When it comes to fertilizer a lot of things are changing — not just prices. At Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show (COFS), held at Woodstock, Ont., last week, fertilizer broadcast spreaders took to the field to showcase how the technology is evolving, where broadcasting fits on the farm and what farmers need to consider when investing… Read More
A wet growing season plus high humidity and moisture at tasseling has many Ontario corn producers asking about the potential for ear mould and gibberella when combines start to roll at harvest. On this episode of the RealAgriculture Corn School, host Bernard Tobin is joined by PRIDE Seeds product manager Matt Chapple for a look… Read More