Are you farming vertically? That’s a question Illinois-based agronomist Ken Ferrie believes every grower needs to ask when making soil and field management decisions. At the CropSmart 2019 conference held earlier this year at Kitchener, Ont., Ferrie, who operates Crop-Tech consulting, explained that vertical farming refers to the ability for water to move up and… Read More
It must be April — farmers in Alberta are starting to roll out and farmers in Ontario are ready to pull the plug on wheat. This early April edition of Wheat Pete’s Word is bursting with great questions from across Canada, including PEI, and even down in the U.S., including Pennsylvania and Indiana! Host Peter… Read More
It’s too bad we can’t go a week or so without some troubling news, and this week is no exception after reports of European corn borer developing resistance to a hybrid trait. But, don’t fret, as this week’s Wheat Pete’s Word features some real neat and positive discussions, including some soil chat about the hard… Read More
Where is wheat number one? Do you have a planter plate that’s going to work for soys (maybe not!)? Plus, do you know which spring-seeded cereal gets the biggest bump from early planting? If you’re looking for the answers to these questions and so much more, you don’t want to miss this week’s Wheat Pete’s… Read More
You can’t get to a thousand episodes without first hitting 200, and here we are at episode 200 of Wheat Pete’s Word! Host Peter Johnson dedicates this episode to proper nutrient management, and tackles the topic from a few different angles. After all, when people are started to lobby that bodies of water have the… Read More
North Carolina farmer Russell Hedrick is trying to make money in agriculture. That’s one of the reason’s why the first-generation farmer, who started with just 30 acres in 2012, believes in farming for profit, not max yield. Fast forward to 2018, and Hedrick’s operation has grown to more than 800 acres while his crop inputs… Read More
As we march in to February, Peter ‘Wheat Pete’ Johnson is busy making the rounds at the winter conferences: from FarmTech last week in Edmonton, to Ontario Soil and Crop’s AGM at Kingston this week. In this episode of Wheat Pete’s Word, Johnson shares some of what he’s heard on the show circuit, as well… Read More
The Ontario Soil Network (OSN), a farmer-led extension effort, now has a second group of 40 farmers from across the province who will work to adopt and promote soil-building best management practices. The group kicked off the two-year peer-to-peer knowledge exchange in Kingston last month. Framed as a leadership challenge, the participants seek to increase the adoption… Read More
When it comes to planting corn into cover crops, cereal rye is a popular option for Ontario growers. It’s also a top choice for Illinois growers, says Crop-Tech agronomist Ken Ferrie who shared cover crop strategies at the CropSmart 2019 conference held earlier this month at Kitchener, Ont. In this episode of RealAgriculture’s Corn School, Ferrie… Read More
New funding has come through for the Ontario Soil Network (OSN). The funding, from the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, is designated to support 40 farmers’ participation in the 2019 peer-to-peer leadership and learning program. Following a successful pilot in 2017-18, the OSN 2019 program will be overseen by the Rural Ontario Institute (ROI) and is supported… Read More
As 2018 winds down, so does Ontario’s corn and bean harvest — finally. It’s been a trying harvest across much of Canada, and more than a few weary farmers are absolutely relieved to finally be able to park the combine for a another year. But just because harvest is finally done doesn’t mean the field… Read More
The Canadian Prairies are exactly that — prairie. Rich soil supports incredible crop production now, but the climate, soil, and plants that have mingled and grown here long before agriculture moved in were all about permanent ground cover. Annual cropping leaves soil exposed or even bare if tillage is part of the equation, and while… Read More
It’s nearly Christmas and finally — finally! — corn harvest is done for many, but there are actually many acres of soybeans still yet to be harvested in Ontario. Could soybean seeding be impacted? It’s quite possible given some fields that are still left out are seed crops. Peter Johnson, host of Wheat Pete’s Word, is… Read More
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
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