In this first-of-the-year episode of Wheat Pete’s Word, host Peter Johnson discusses Ontario Ag Conference (on now), soil nutrient bank accounts, and low volumes going through a combine. Plus, Johnson works through a tiling/drainage problem for clay textured knolls. Have a question you’d like Johnson to address or some yield results to send in? Disagree… Read More
When glyphosate-resistant waterhemp was first discovered in Lambton County in 2014, University of Guelph weed scientist Peter Sikkema never imagined the course the weed would take across Ontario, or the speed it would travel. Fast forward to 2022 and glyphosate-resistant waterhemp has moved 700 kilometres east to Leeds & Grenville County. The invading resistant weed, often… Read More
Farmers across the country are getting creative in trying to find the answer to high fertilizer prices and tight supply for 2022. Including manure can be a part of the plan to decrease the fertilizer bill, but there are some considerations when including it as part of the overall fertility plan, says Peter “Wheat Pete” Johnson…. Read More
We can be fooled by a plot demonstration side-by-side comparison when we use a visual response to evaluate products. Whether it’s an in-crop fertilizer application, a fungicide application, or something else, a visual response in a crop doesn’t necessarily translate to a yield bump. Peter “Wheat Pete” Johnson gives the example of fusarium trials in… Read More
At this point in the year, plenty of growers have booked their canola varieties for the upcoming season or are trying to sort that decision out as quickly as possible. There’s been increased focus over the past few years on reducing seeding rates, and it’s a good question to explore says Russell Trischuk, InVigor technical… Read More
It’s the last Wheat Pete’s Word of 2021! For this season-ending episode, host Peter Johnson tackles a few questions from the audience, including some phosphorus immobilization questions, and an encouragement to focus on the positive. Wheat Pete’s Word will be back the first week of January, and in the meantime make sure you take that… Read More
Planters add a level of precision depth, seed placement, and seed spacing that’s rather difficult to duplicate in a drill, but adapting planters to a canola growing strategy does require shifts in management. Doug Moisey of Pioneer Seeds Canada says that row spacing is the first of several considerations for planter success. Super wide rows… Read More
The Canola Council of Canada (CCC) has secured over $1.8 million in funding through the federal AgriMarketing Program to fund market access and development activities. The funding, under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP), will be combined with contributions from the canola industry for a total of $3.6 million over the next two years to work on differentiated value… Read More
I’ve been having this conversation a lot lately, as I’m sure many of you have been too — I’m not sure how we’re at the end of December already. Although the last couple of weeks have shown some true winter temperatures, it has been abnormally warm (and dry) in my area, which I’m convinced has… Read More
It’s time to wrap up the 2021 growing season, with a discussion on the most challenging agronomic topics of the year: from soil management, to determining yield capacity, to managing plant growth regulators. For this special year-end edition of The Agronomists, host Lyndsey Smith is joined by Jeremy Boychyn with the Alberta Wheat and Barley… Read More
The 2021 growing season was one of challenge and opportunity, and Ontario’s soybean specialist, Horst Bohner, says that it all added up to a record average yield for the province at 51.6 bu/ac over 2.9 million acres. The record isn’t a surprise, given that early field tour estimations pegged yield potential well above average. On this… Read More
How do you measure soil heath? On this episode of RealAgriculture’s Soil School, OMAFRA soil scientist and land use specialist Dan Saurette joins Bernard Tobin to look at some of the assessment tools available to farmers and the type of insights they provide. One of the most well known soil health tests is Cornell’s Comprehensive… Read More
Protein Industries Canada (PIC) is announcing a project to establish lupin as a staple crop in the Canadian agri-food sector. Lupin Platform Inc., Hensall Co-op, Lumi Foods, and PURIS have come together to establish an integrated ecosystem to increase the production and processing of lupin in Canada. The $7.3 million project will develop a lupin… Read More
As the holiday season approaches, it’s important to take the time to reflect on just how lucky we are to live in this part of Canada. This last week of wild weather in the U.S. is a reminder of that. And let’s not forget the hundreds of livestock producers may not be back home after… Read More
A comprehensive survey of farmers in Ontario suggests that once farmers incorporate cover crops in to the cropping strategy, they tend to stay in the rotation. That’s according to the Ontario Cover Crop Feedback Survey, completed by graduate student Callum Morrison and advisor Yvonne Lawley with the University of Manitoba. They collaborated with the Ontario Cover… Read More