Category: Soybean School

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

With the June 30 crop insurance deadline approaching, many Ontario farmers are wondering what they should do with their soybeans.Across the province, fields are struggling as seed lays in the ground in varying states of delayed emergence due to drought conditions. In this episode of Real Agriculture Soybean School, Pride Seeds Market Agronomist Ken Currah… Read More

A simple recipe for double crop soybean success during the hot, dry summer might be “seed to moisture and pray for rain.”But it’s not that simple says Syngenta agronomist Eric Richter, one of Canada’s leading experts on the double crop system. In this episode of Soybean School, Richter joins RealAgriculture resident agronomist Peter Johnson to… Read More

With Ontario’s winter wheat crop marching quickly to maturity, many growers are asking whether summer 2016 is a good time to try their hand at double cropping soybeans.In the first of a two-part Soybean School, Real Agriculture resident agronomist Peter Johnson and Syngenta agronomist Eric Richter, one of Canada’s leading experts on the double crop… Read More

Many soybeans growers will throw away the calendar and plant as early as possible this spring.That strategy works for agronomist Deb Campbell just as long as farmers pay close attention to soil conditions and the forecast. “These days, if we’re able to plant corn we can plant soybeans – ground conditions are very similar for… Read More

If you haven’t tested your soil for soybean cyst nematode (SCN) lately, it may be time to take a closer look.The yield-robbing pest is quietly expanding its traditional southwestern Ontario footprint to more northern areas of Huron County and as far east as Quebec.In this episode of Real Agriculture’s Soybean School, Syngenta agronomist Shawn Brenneman… Read More

Fifteen years ago, University of Guelph’s Dr. Clarence Swanton helped revolutionize weed control with his pioneering research on the critical weed-free period for soybeans and corn.Essentially, Swanton helped usher in the thinking that weeds that emerge with or shortly after the crop cause irreversible yield loss. He defined the critical weed-free period as 1st to… Read More

Are you paying enough attention to your soil? That’s the first question Iowa crop consultant Michael McNeill asks farmers when they want to talk about how to increase soybean yields.“Soil health is vital to optimizing profits in any crop we try to grow. Without good soil health we don’t have a chance,” says McNeill. He’s… Read More

What impact do bigger corn plants that stay greener longer have on soybean yield? That’s a question OMAFRA soybean specialist Horst Bohner hears a lot these days.The answer depends on a number of factors explains Bohner in this episode of Real Agriculture Soybean School. He notes that corn is indeed producing a larger amount of… Read More

The first secret of soybean success really isn’t much of a secret, confesses agronomist Ross Bender.It all comes down to the weather, specifically rain in August. But farmers do have an opportunity to impact the remaining production factors that make up the six secrets of soybean success, says Bender, senior agronomist for the Mosaic Company,… Read More