Agricorp is keeping a close eye on vomitoxin levels in Ontario’s corn crop and telling growers not to destroy any crop at this time. The provincial risk management program provider has indicated it will wait to see how the market and shipping season develops before making decisions on how to address damage claims as a… Read more »
Category: Agronomy
Wheat School: Keep planting… it’s not too late
With a little luck, RealAgriculture agronomist Peter Johnson believesOntario farmers could still plant one million acres of winter wheat this fall. In this episode of RealAgriculture’s Wheat School, Johnson says it’s not too late to plant wheat in most of the province. Late-planted wheat can still deliver strong yields, but growers have to pay strict… Read more »
Wheat Pete’s Word, Oct 17: Horsetail control, cleaning corn, and new answers for cereal rye
Harvest has picked up in both Western and Eastern Canada, though the challenges facing each region are unique. On this episode of Wheat Pete’s Word, Peter ‘Wheat Pete’ Johnson tackles late season weed control decisions (mostly: just don’t), diseased corn crop management, and shares some new findings on including cereal rye as a cover crop. Have… Read more »
Heavily diseased corn crop has farmers wondering how to market tonnage
The 2018 growing season has thrown Ontario farmers more than a few curve balls, including severe drought, but this latest at harvest is likely the toughest to manage. Ontario’s provincial agriculture department has released its annual corn crop toxin survey, and the numbers are not good. A whopping 25% of crop surveyed came in at… Read more »
Wheat School: Search continues for weapons in battle against wheat midge
Wheat midge is still a significant threat to wheat in Western Canada. While the threat has subsided a bit because of the discovery and use of the SM1 resistance gene, it’s important to remember that there is only one bullet in the chamber, and if it gets spent wheat crops will be, once again, at… Read more »
Maizex Seeds focused on the future of Canadian agriculture
Focus on growth by meeting the needs of farmers across Canada is the clear direction for the team at Maizex Seeds. Under the theme of “Together We Grow”, the joint venture between Maizex Seeds and La Coop fédérée will see Maizex assuming the management of the corn and soybean businesses for both the Maizex and… Read more »
Resistance Management School: Seeding rates to the rescue
Highly competitive crops that make it difficult for weeds to gain a foothold in fields play a key role in effective herbicide resistance management. One way to make your crop more competitive is to increase seeding rates to produce higher plant populations. In this episode of RealAgriculture’s Resistance Management School, University of Manitoba weed scientist… Read more »
Dryer catches fire at Saskatchewan grain terminal
A major fire broke out late October 11 at the North West Terminal approximately one kilometre east of the town of Unity, Sask. The terminal had just recently installed a new high capacity dryer, which is where the fire started. At this time, the fire is contained to this area, but is in close proximity… Read more »
Soybean School: Helping varieties ‘flex’ for higher yield
The concept of ‘flex’ corn hybrids has been talked about in seed circles for several years. The idea is quite simple: these corn hybrids have the ability to flex and create larger ears with more girth at lower populations. They produce higher yields when planted in the 28,000 seeds per acre range. The idea of… Read more »
Wheat Pete’s Word, Oct 10: Harvest woes, late planting for wheat, and big buggy decisions
Harvest woes aren’t just limited to Western Canada, as, while there hasn’t been snow (yet!), wet field conditions are keeping Ontario farmers out of the fields as well. Soybean harvest has hardly advanced since last week, and disease pressure continues to build in standing corn. This week’s Wheat Pete’s Word covers a harvest update, but… Read more »
Corn School: Plant deeper for higher yields
It might seem counter-intuitive, but slowing down corn emergence may actually boost yields. Plot results are in, and it would seem that optimum distance between corn plants matters far less than uniform emergence. And achieving perfectly uniform emergence takes planting deep. We already know that even emergence is key to top yields, but the mechanism… Read more »
Non-hybrids with hybrid vigour just one goal of biotech research
The joke in Saskatoon is that you come for the weather, but stay because you can’t get a flight out. Kidding aside, Saskatoon is actually a hub of biotech research and development with findings and products with the potential to benefit farmers all over the world. Because of this, Global Biotech Week is an event… Read more »
Check that ration — mycotoxin levels in Ontario corn creeping higher
Early indications from the 2018 corn silage crop indicate that mycotoxins, resulting from disease infection, in corn are and will be a concern heading in to the winter feeding season. As silage is sometimes the yellow flag ahead of grain corn harvest, agronomists and livestock nutritionists alike are encouraging farmers to get harvest wrapped up… Read more »
Wheat Pete’s Word, Oct 3: Soybean standstill, toxin problems, and strip till answers
There are not one, but two Alert! Alert! Alert! segments in this week’s Wheat Pete’s Word, and that’s just how she goes in a wet, snowy, long, drawn out harvest. Host Peter Johnson is talking wheat storage woes, mycotoxin trouble, and strip tillage tips and tricks in this early October edition of the Word. You’ll… Read more »
Guardian sprayer delivers tons of torque
More power and manoeuvrability top the list of improvements to New Holland’s Guardian sprayers. At the recent Farm Progress Show at Boone, Iowa, New Holland rolled out its SP370F and SP410F front-boom sprayers. Don Keller, sprayer product marketing manager, explains that both models come with a Cursor 9 FPT engine as well as an enhanced propulsion system. Ground drive… Read more »