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!
After a cool July that felt more like September, much of Ontario’s corn crop will need a steamy August to make maturity. In this episode of the Corn School, Pride Market Agronomist Ken Currah explains that Ontario’s corn crop is about halfway to maturity and late-planted corn could be flirting with killing frost if Mother… Read More
The corn borer is a relatively low-level pest in much of the corn crop in Western Canada, but it certainly poses a risk. What’s more, just because you planted a corn borer-resistant variety doesn’t mean you get out of scouting — every farmer who grows corn should be scouting for the pest, says John Gavloski,… Read More
There’s a difference between new technology that becomes a useful tool and new technology that’s just a toy. The difference is largely in the practical application of what any given technology makes possible. Exhibit A: the smartphone — great and powerful technology, but likely also overwhelmingly used to share silly cat videos and status updates…. Read More
Growing a bumper crop of corn requires a big meal of plant nutrients. But if you’re going to feed a hulk of a plant, you’ve got to make sure you protect it too. Fungicides may not always be warranted, but if the yield potential is there and conditions are right for disease development, a fungicide… Read More
If you’ve been drooling over the neighbour’s corn field and wondering how they managed to get such a nice looking crop, wonder no more! As Aaron Stevanus, market agronomist with PRIDE Seeds, shows us in this Corn School episode, the wins of this spring are a combination of timing, patience, homework and, yes, luck. From… Read More
Perhaps we should go ahead and just call 2014 the year of variability. Manitoba farmers struggled with a late, wet spring, as did many parts of Saskatchewan. Alberta has largely fared far better, with the pendulum swinging the other way and into too-dry for the Peace region. Crops can grow their way out of the… Read More
If it’s not raining, maybe it’s time to tromps through the corn field. It doesn’t take long for weed pressure to accumulate in a crop, especially in conditions where the crop canopy is slow to close. But deciding on a re-spray is every bit as complicated as deciding what to spray. Assessments should include staging, health, invasiveness… Read More
What’s your nitrogen management system for maximum corn yields? Do you plan on two applications? More? How do you decide how much and when? There are several great reasons to split applications of nitrogen — it’s good risk management both to your pocketbook and the environment and a great way to capitalize on a crop… Read More
Patience wears thin as we head in to May and the ground is still wet and cold. The cost of going in too soon, based on soil conditions and not the calendar, can be mighty costly. If the ground is fit, but a little cool, that’s one thing, but ground that is both wet and… Read More
“You shouldn’t plant until your soil is fit.” It’s a great quote, but what does “fit” soil look like? Well, it’s not just what it looks like, soil fit for planting corn also needs to be warm, though we use the term loosely here in Western Canada. The fact is, regardless of how dry or… Read More
Just as in money management, investments you make in your farm’s soil nutrient bank account may be short or long term. Depending on the nutrient, crop yields, the weather and soil type, nutrient levels and availability may need immediate deposits or a long-term plan to ensure there’s enough “money” there when the crop needs it…. Read More
In this episode of the Corn School, Bernard Tobin and OMAF Corn Lead Greg Stewart turn to a chalkboard to draw up some nitrogen strategies for the 2014 corn crop. Throughout the winter meeting season, Stewart touted a split application approach to nitrogen. He recommends growers put down 100 lb of nitrogen pre-plant and then… Read More
It’s early April and farmers are itching to get the planter out in the field. For the precious few of you in Ontario that are nearly ready to roll, have at ‘er, but for most of the corn growing region, it’s not late yet, but it’s looking like the planting window may be slightly compressed…. Read More
No two farmers manage their corn crop the same way, yet can achieve top yields. This is great news, because it means that no matter what your goals are for the farm, from decreasing tillage, to using more cover crops, there’s a way to produce more corn per acre. That’s one of the take-home messages… Read More
Should you stick with silage specific hybrids or include a few (or more) dual purpose lines for good measure? Both strategies can work, says Aaron Stevanus, market agronomist for PRIDE Seeds, it simply depends on your management system. Leafy, highly digestible silage-specific lines are a great choice, especially near the barn on highly fertile ground,… Read More
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