It’s time to talk soil health, nutrient management, and more on Day 5 of Ontario Diagnostic Days! The annual Ontario field crop diagnostic days held at Ridgetown, Elora, and Winchester are again virtual in 2021. Cover crops, soil compaction, topsoil sampling and soybean fertility are the focus of this episode. We’ll kick it off with cover… Read More
A lack of late-season nitrogen and denitrification has been a concern this year, which is causing less than optimal growth in corn crops in parts of Ontario. Matt Chapple, market agronomist at PRIDE Seeds, has been getting plenty of calls this growing season about the issue, and in this Corn School episode, Bernard Tobin joins… Read More
Bigger corn planters with on-board fertilizer deliver efficiency and cover acres quickly. All that weight, however, can produce yield-robbing pinch rows and compaction. On this episode of The Sharp Edge, we visit Jeff Cook who farms with his family at their Mapleview Farms operation, just southwest of London, Ont. Over the years, the Cooks have… Read More
Normally a week or so behind the winter barley crop, Ontario farmers are nosing into the wheat harvest a little early as the two crops are ready at about the same time. From an aphid alert on soybeans, to sneaky root rots, and potash deficiency showing up in corn, Peter “Wheat Pete” Johnson has the… Read More
Every conversation on soil health these days eventually comes around to the topic of organic matter. Does it really matter? What percentage should farmers have in their soil? How do you conserve organic matter? How do you build it? On this episode of Soil School, Bernard Tobin and University of Minnesota soil extension specialist Jodi… Read More
It’s been more than 30 years since Caterpillar launched the first tracked tractor for farming. A lot has changed since those first basic tracks and under carriages rolled into farm fields. Most of those early tractors were in the 200 to 400 horsepower range. In the past decade however, many of those smaller tractors are… Read More
If you’re looking for the magic formula to growing great wheat, you’ve come to the right place. In this week’s Wheat Pete’s Word, host Peter Johnson sums up how the soybean year finished off yield-wise for Ontario, why corn yields failed to impress, and then he digs in to the best crop ever — wheat!… Read More
It’s time for our premiere episode of The Agronomists! This hour long, prime-time live show will run every Monday evening and be full of commentary, insight, and likely a few laughs. For this first episode, we kick things off with Peter “Wheat Pete” Johnson, RealAgriculture agronomist, and Marla Riekman, soil specialist with Manitoba Agriculture and… Read More
It might be very dry in Ontario, but that means the crop can come off quickly and we can get the 2021 wheat crop locked and loaded. In this week’s Wheat Pete’s Word, host Peter Johnson has answers to seeding pinch points on meeting soil fertility needs, a few scouting tips on new and old… Read More
Does southern Alberta ever get wind? Hmm, is rain wet? Leaving bare ground exposed to wind erosion in southern Alberta just doesn’t seem like a good idea, says Peter Johnson, host of “Wheat Pete’s Word.” Johnson and RealAg Radio host Shaun Haney talked through an agronomy problem sent in by a listener earlier this week…. Read More
It’s time for Day 4 of the virtual Ontario Diagnostic Days! This week we focus on soil snippets — a series of soil management insights delivered by a host of Ontario soil researchers, agronomists, and extension specialists. The lineup includes Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs soil management specialists Anne Verhallen and Sebastian… Read More
There comes a time when the questions, comments, and follow ups become so numerous, you’ve simply got to dive in and start handing out answers. For this week’s Wheat Pete’s Word, host Peter Johnson is taking the “Farmer Rapid Fire” approach and answering as many listener questions as possible in 16 short minutes. In this… Read More
When planting soybeans after corn does the oilseed benefit from pre-plant tillage? A little spring tillage certainly enhances yield, says Horst Bohner, soybean specialist for the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA). Based on accumulated OMAFRA trial data, growers can expect plant stands to be 10 per cent higher and fields to… Read More
The hangover effects from a wet fall are giving farmers in parts of Western Canada a headache this spring. Saturated soil conditions right until freeze-up forced fieldwork that normally happens in fall to be delayed until spring. As a result, heavy harrows, vertical tillage machines, traditional cultivators, and even fire — all the tools in… Read More
Rolling right after planting has become a common practice on soybean fields in Western Canada over the last decade, but there are some good reasons to consider delaying the timing of rolling until after the crop is up. Rolling right behind the planter or drill improves seed-to-soil contact and is definitely less unnerving than rolling… Read More