Grain growers are reporting that bluegrass is becoming a growing weedy issue in many Ontario field crops. There are three types of weedy bluegrass species that are being found: annual bluegrass, rough-stalk bluegrass, and Canada bluegrass. As Mike Cowbrough, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs weed specialist explains in this Wheat School episode,… Read More
Recent weather events in parts of Ontario have really flattened some wheat crops. There’s an awesome crop out there, but harvesting it will now be much more difficult. In this episode of the Wheat School, Peter “Wheat Pete” Johnson talks about combine set-ups, the possibility of applying a pre-harvest burndown, and is later joined by… Read More
Should growers sell their wheat straw after 2021 harvest? That’s a question RealAgriculture agronomist Peter Johnson has been asked often in recent weeks. With fertilizer prices up 125 per cent and straw prices hovering around three cents per pound, many growers say they would rather blow the straw back on the field, take the nutrient credit… Read More
Many Ontario farmers would have heard about Yield Enhancement Networks (YEN) for the first time about two years ago at the Southwest Agricultural Conference. ADAS, an independent provider of agricultural and environmental consultancy services in the U.K., formed the first YEN back in 2012, with the goal of setting up collaboration between industry partners, agronomists, and… Read More
You may recall from previous Wheat School episodes, the research trial using different seeder technologies looking at the effects on a wheat crop throughout the growing season. In this Wheat School episode, we’re joined for another Follings’ research farm report with Joanna Follings, cereals specialist with OMAFRA, and Peter “Wheat Pete” Johnson, RealAgriculture’s resident agronomist…. Read More
Wheat prices are amazing and everyone wants big wheat yields this year; so how do you achieve them? By paying close attention to your nitrogen applications, of course. Peter “Wheat Pete” Johnson is hopping mad in this Wheat School episode — mad at himself that is. In the video, he’s standing in a wheat field… Read More
With winter wheat progressing rapidly through its growth stages in Ontario, RealAgriculture agronomist Peter Johnson is advising growers to keep a close eye on the crop. With crop development running 10 days ahead of schedule, Johnson says wheat fields need to be scouted to make critical management decisions to optimize yield. On this episode of… Read More
Will precision planting pay when it comes to winter wheat yield? How do things like down force and row spacing contribute to a more uniform winter wheat stand? In this Wheat School episode, we’ve got our latest research update from the Follings Research Farm with Peter “Wheat Pete” Johnson and Joanna Follings, cereals specialist with… Read More
The winter wheat stand has greened up, come out of winter, and the growing degree days are accumulating, which has many thinking about a nitrogen application. “People are getting out, they’re looking at the number of plants per row, they’re checking for tillers, do they need to put their nitrogen on, can they wait,” says… Read More
Yield enhancement networks (YEN) for wheat have taken root in Canada and could play an important role in helping increase yields for the cereal crop. Many Ontario growers were first exposed to YEN in 2020 at the SouthWest Agricultural Conference (SWAC). These networks are the brainchild of the research scientists at ADAS, a UK-based independent… Read More
If better seed singulation, metering, and depth control improve uniformity of wheat emergence, growth, and crop canopy, will that add up to more grain in the bin? That’s a question that was asked back in September and that Peter “Wheat Pete” Johnson and Joanna Follings have been striving to answer. In this Wheat School episode… Read More
September wheat went in beautifully with nice conditions, and Peter “Wheat Pete” Johnson thought maybe record wheat acres would be set in Ontario for a 2021 harvest, but then the rains came. Even though it’s getting a bit late, Johnson knows you can still get high yields. It all comes down to management and in… Read More
Will precision planting winter wheat pay for Ontario growers? That’s a question RealAgriculture agronomist Peter Johnson and OMAFRA cereals specialist Joanna Follings are determined to answer with a new research trial they planted last week at Follings’ home farm at Ayr, Ont. At the 2020 CerealSmart conference last February at Kitchener, Ont., Michigan State University… Read More
Grow great wheat! It’s a catchy slogan, sure, but HOW do you grow great wheat? In this episode of the Wheat School, Peter “Wheat Pete” Johnson is fired up about the synergistic relationship between wheat inputs. “As we add all these fungicides, we add more nitrogen, we add these plant growth regulators, how does that… Read More
Fungicide formulation, timing and application. Get all those right and chances are you’ll have effective suppression of fusarium head blight (FHB) in your winter wheat crop. Syngenta Canada formulations and applications manager Doug Baumann notes that these three components of control all have to work together for growers to achieve optimum FHB control. On this… Read More