The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural affairs has tapped Colin Elgie as the province’s new soil fertility specialist. Elgie fills a gap created in the OMAFRA soil management team in 2019 with the retirement of long-time OMAFRA soil management specialist Adam Hayes. Jake Munroe, who formerly handled the soil fertility duties, moved into… Read More
When it comes to determining the right rate of nitrogen for your farm there’s nothing better than on-farm data. After a winter of talking with growers about escalating nutrient prices and the most economic rate of nitrogen (MERN), Ben Rosser, corn lead with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) is encouraging… Read More
The Agriculture Demonstration of Practices and Technologies (ADOPT) program has received a $885,000 boost from the Governments of Canada and Saskatchewan, which will be put towards 43 projects the program is spearheading. The program looks to develop, evaluate, and demonstrate new agriculture practices and technologies and the ones that are proven to be successful, are then… Read More
Glyphosate supply has been a hot topic this winter as growers look for ways to navigate through short supplies of this critical weed control tool. On this episode of RealAgriculture’s Soybean School, University of Guelph weed scientist Dr. Peter Sikkema joins Bernard Tobin to discuss best practices and strategies to help growers make the most of… Read More
When should growers apply nitrogen during the growing season to help their soybean crop optimize yield? That’s a question Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs soybean specialist Horst Bohner tackles in this 2021 Ontario Diagnostic Days video report. Bohner kicks off the discussion with help from Aaron Stevanus, agronomist and Mosaic technical sales manager. For Stevanus,… Read More
With strong farm commodity demand and high crop prices, confident farmers attending the National Farm Machinery Show (NFMS) at Louisville, Kentucky in February look to be eager to replace equipment and upgrade technology. In this interview from the floor of the NFMS, Kurt Coffey, Case IH vice president for North America, tells RealAgriculture’s Bernard Tobin that the Association… Read More
How might a changing climate affect soybean production across Canada? On this episode of RealAgriculture’s Soybean School, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada scientist Ward Smith shares how he and his colleagues have been studying agroecosystem models to predict the impact changing climates have on soybean production. During the virtual Northern Soybean Summit hosted by last month… Read More
The Weston Family Foundation has launched a $33 million challenge for Canadian producers in an effort to spur development of long-term fruit and vegetable production. The Homegrown Innovation Challenge will run until 2028, supporting new ideas, technology, and business models that will help offset the 80 per cent of fresh fruit and vegetables currently supplied… Read More
The practice of variable rate seeding for corn continues to increase as growers attempt to match seeding rates and hybrid characteristics to the varying yield potential across their fields. With the growth of precision agriculture, every year more growers adopt variable rate seeding strategies but are they effectively evaluating and fine-tuning this strategy on their… Read More
Planting corn into a cultivated strip provides many soil health and management benefits, but dealing with residue from the previous crop can prove challenging. In this video report from 2021 Ontario Diagnostic Days, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs corn specialist Ben Rosser and Anderson Agronomy Services agronomist Chad Anderson share what they’re learning from… Read More
Soil sensors can provide a multitude of information, but not all soil sensors are created equal. As part of Olds College’s Smart Farm applied research programs, the accuracy and functionality of five different soil sensors and their capability to measure soil properties were evaluated. Daniel Stefner, Smart Ag Research project lead and farm liaison at Olds… Read More
Cover crops deliver significant soil health and ground cover benefits, but they can often cause spring headaches when growers fail to kill them off in advance of corn and soybean planting. In this video report from Ontario Diagnostic Days 2021, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs soil management specialists Anne Verhallen and Jake… 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
As farmers continue to look for answers to questions they are faced with on their farm, the need for on-farm research programs continues. One of these on-farm research programs is the Alberta Wheat and Barley Commissions Plot2Farm program. Jeremy Boychyn, agronomy research extension specialist with Alberta Wheat and Barley Commissions, was at the Prairie Cereals… Read More
The soil health benefits of growing a forage crop, such as alfalfa, are well documented. Traditionally a staple crop on livestock farms, alfalfa delivers increased biomass, especially in its root structure where the plant boasts a large tap root which contributes to soil health, while reducing compaction. There’s also increased organic matter and water-holding capacity,… Read More
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