Is liquid fertilizer more or less available to the plant than granular? Is planting barley after potatoes a bad idea? Why would some soybean plants be green in a field of yellow plants? There are just a handful of the questions posed this week to the host of Wheat Pete’s Word, Peter Johnson. In the… Read More
Category: Cover crops
This post is part of a series of short introductions of Students of Agriculture. From undergraduates, to PhDs, or those learning out in the world, this series will share snippets of different journeys in agriculture education. Know a student with a neat story? Send Lyndsey a message ([email protected]) to have them recognized as a Student… Read More
The end goal of using cover crops varies from farm to farm, but if using cover crops, there’s always one thing to consider: how and when to terminate the crop for maximum benefit and minimum headache. To tackle the topic of spring management and termination of cover crops, host Lyndsey Smith is joined by Ontario… Read More
Someone get the man a party hat — Peter Johnson has hosted 400 episodes of Wheat Pete’s Word! For anyone doing the math, Pete records 50 to 51 episodes a year (depending on if he takes any holidays), so this is a real milestone for Johnson. On this episode of the Word, Johnson doesn’t spend… Read More
When people think of Atlantic Canada, they often think of the abundant potatoes grown in the area. While there’s a reason this comes to mind, as potatoes are a key crop, there are several other crops grown in rotation to ensure soil health and overall crop health. This is one of the messages the Atlantic… Read More
There’s no silver bullet when it comes to managing weeds, and managing herbicide resistant populations is even tougher. One of the best ways to get ahead of weeds is crop competition. Jim Stute, independent research agronomist, has been evaluating the role of cereal rye as a weed suppressing crop to surprising results. Recorded at the National… Read More
Ahh, the wonders of healthy soil. From water-holding capacity, pest and disease regulation, to nutrient cycling and physical stability, a robust and resilient soil gives farmers a huge advantage in crop production. But what makes a healthy soil? How can we measure its fitness and whether it’s in top farming shape? That’s a question soil… Read More
Waterhemp that’s resistant to multiple herbicide groups continues to march across Ontario, but growers still have options to control the weed. There’s also emerging proof that integrated management could help growers take the fight to the spreading yield robber, says University of Guelph weed scientist Dr. Peter Sikkema. At the Ontario Agricultural Conference earlier this… Read More
When it comes to improving soil health and carbon sequestration, cover crops have been heralded as a key practice. But research to prove out the impact is coming to a rather underwhelming conclusion on cover crops’ ability to actual build organic matter. Gabriel Popkin has published a report on the Food & Environment Reporting Network… Read More
How cold does it need to be to try and harvest snowed-in corn? That answer depends on the combine you’re running, says Peter “Wheat Pete” Johnson on this episode of Wheat Pete’s Word. This week’s episode also features a discussion on nitrogen management, losses, cover crop tie-up of nutrients, and an increase in fines on… Read More
Effectively integrating a cereal rye cover crop into corn is not for the faint of heart. Cereal rye can deliver tremendous benefits for a corn production system but there are challenges. Many growers wrestle with how to get uniform establishment in the fall; determining the best nitrogen and tillage plans; and finding that sweet spot… Read More
Cover cropping — and then planting into that green cover crop in spring — has become more common in pockets of the U.S. and Canada over the past decade, but the adoption rate has tended to be slower in more northern areas with short or dry fall seasons. These also happen to be areas where… Read More
Warren Schneckenburger is a big proponent of no-till and optimizing soil health, but he also has a disc cultivator that he turns to in times of need. The Morrisburg, Ont. farmer likes to say he farms in reality — he and his family have been focusing on soil health for a decade, but the clay… Read More
The annual Ontario crop diagnostic days were back in the field on July 20 and 21, 2022, but only at Ridgetown campus University of Guelph. Not everyone could attend these two field days, so the organizing committees of these highly successful in-field education and learning events are again partnering with crop researchers and extension, along with… Read More
The On Farm Climate Action Fund (OFCAF) is a federal program being administered by 12 organizations across Canada. In Ontario, the funding for nitrogen management, cover cropping, and rotational grazing is largely being administered by the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association (OSCIA). EcoCert is also administering a portion of funds for organic growers. Margaret… Read More