If agriculture wants to reduce the potential impact neonicotinoid seed treatments have on pollinators, it has to modify standard vacuum planters. That’s the verdict from Ridgetown College, University of Guelph researcher Dr. Art Schaafsma. “Essentially, what we’ve created is a drift problem,” says Schaafsma, who spoke publicly about his research for the first time last… Read More
Category: Corn School
Real Agriculture’s Corn School provides you with everything you need to increase your corn yields. Each week we bring you the latest news and information from the corn market including corn futures, videos, articles and more. Join our Corn School email list and never miss a beat!
Ontario’s corn crop is holding its own as the final days of a hot, dry June slip past. But with moisture stress increasing, some ‘sins of the spring’ are taking their toll on cornfields, says Pride Seeds Market Agronomist Ken Currah. In this episode of Real Agriculture Corn School, Currah explains that much of the… Read More
Fine-tuning nitrogen rates promises to get easier with the arrival of ‘tailgate technology’ that allows growers to test for nitrates on the tailgate of their truck. That means no more couriering soil samples to the lab, or waiting for up to three days for results in the busy season. In this episode of the Corn School,… Read More
What impact will a cool April have on nitrogen availability for Ontario’s corn crop? Will the hot late May weather speed up nitrogen release and help soil levels catch up? On this episode of Corn School, Real Agriculture agronomist Peter Johnson is joined by OMAFRA Corn Lead Ben Rosser to tackle these questions. Rosser says… Read More
If a corn plant emerges one, two or three days after its neighbour, will it yield less? Real Agriculture resident agronomist Peter Johnson is determined to find out. At the SouthWest Ag Conference last January, National Corn Growers Association yield contest champion Randy Dowdy challenged growers to plant a flag test on their farm to… Read More
It was slow and steady, but farmers have won the race to get the 2016 Ontario corn crop in the ground. It’s been a cool spring that’s required lots of patience, says Pride Seeds Market Agronomist Ken Currah. On this episode of Real Agriculture Corn School, Currah looks back at spring planting conditions and discusses… Read More
When farmers search for ways to better manage cover crops, seed treatments such as neonicotinoids don’t readily come to mind. But that could change if research results from University of Guelph weed scientist Dr. Clarence Swanton are proven in field tests. In this episode of Corn School, Real Agriculture resident agronomist Peter Johnson sits down with… Read More
80 percent of planter setup should be done before the unit leaves the yard. That’s the work that can be completed before the weather and soil are ready for putting seed in the ground. But not everything can be calibrated before heading out to the field. In this Corn School episode, Shaun Dilliott of Kearney Planters… Read More
Consistent planting depth and even emergence — it’s every corn grower’s goal, but it can be difficult to achieve. In this Corn School episode, AGRIS Co-operative agronomist Dale Cowan takes a close look at the impact planter down force can play in helping (or hindering) growers in their quest for an evenly spaced, picket fence… Read More
In this episode of the Corn School, Real Agriculture resident agronomist Peter Johnson goes cover crop crazy. Standing in a residue-covered cornfield, Johnson sounds off on growers who insist on chopping corn stalks: “What a labour intensive, fuel expensive, ridiculous thing to do – it makes no sense whatsoever.” What makes better sense for growers,… Read More
What a difference a year makes. Back in spring 2015, Ontario farmers were scrambling to manage an abundance of corn stalk residue and grappling with questions about tillage and how to fix fields full of ruts caused by a challenging harvest. Fast forward to spring 2016 and farmers are facing a much more favourable planting… Read More
Is your planter ready to go? In this episode of Real Agriculture Corn School, Kearney Planters Service Tech Lead Shaun Dilliott gives you a short course in how to prep your planter for the coming season. Dilliott’s clinic starts with inspecting the row unit and the need to a take close look at the parallel… Read More
Talk of banding versus broadcasting nutrients is likely to become a much bigger conversation as Ontario works to reduce the impact farm phosphorous on the Great Lakes. In this Corn School episode, Purdue University professor Tony Vyn offers insights on why he feels farmers should consider banding nutrients as apposed to broadcasting. While attending the… Read More
Put down your popcorn, buckle your seatbelt and hold on as Real Agriculture’s Bernard Tobin and Peter Johnson rip through a 2016 Corn School preview. What’s up for Corn School 2016 on Real Agriculture? Where will we go? What will we cover? Who will you see? You’ll get it all in three minutes. The 2016… Read More
How do specific corn hybrids respond to intensive management practices? Do they deliver higher yields? Are those extra bushels profitable for growers? Those are some of the questions the Ontario Corn Committee (OCC) is trying to answer with its new intensive management corn trials. At the SouthWest Agricultural Conference in early January, OCC’s Dr. David… Read More