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
Category: Research
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
Fertilizer Canada and Results Driven Agriculture Research (RDAR) have come together with matching funding of $257,252 towards a soil health project that will provide Alberta grain, forage, and crop producers with tangible results realized at the farm gate. A multi-year soil health project led by Dr. Miles Dyck at the University of Alberta will aim… Read More
Results Driven Agriculture Research (RDAR) has announced $110,291 towards CBS Bio Platforms’ development of enhanced, sustainable feed. RDAR funding will drive research led by CBS Bio Platforms, a leading international feed technology company headquartered in Calgary, to develop processes that release previously inaccessible plant components and make them usable in poultry and swine diets. The… Read More
The Great Lakes Yield Enhancement Network (YEN) has announced its winning wheat growers after completing its pilot project year in 2021. Grain Farmers of Ontario, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Michigan Wheat Program, Michigan State University, and the University of Guelph, launched the Great Lakes YEN to help farmers and the industry… Read More
How could precision planting technology impact Ontario winter wheat yields? Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs cereals specialist Joanna Follings and RealAgriculture agronomist Peter Johnson are back with a final report on precision planting trials Follings conducted on her home farm at Ayr, Ont. RealAgriculture first visited the site in September 202o when… Read More
Splitting nitrogen in a corn crop can increase profitability and benefit the environment, but to be successful on both counts growers need to keep a sharp eye on the weather. That’s the conclusion drawn by University of Guelph researchers Tasmia Kabir, Aaron Delaporte, Joshua Nasielski, and Alfons Weersink after looking at 19 years of weather data… Read More
The governments of Canada and Ontario will spend $2.6 million on Ontario-led agri-food research to develop new technologies, practices, and solutions for the sector. Funding through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP) will support programs focusing on enhancing food safety, developing innovative production systems, and increasing plant health and protection, the province says. Some of the… Read More
It’s time for the season finale of Ontario Diagnostic Days! The annual Ontario field crop diagnostic days held at Ridgetown, Elora, and Winchester are again virtual in 2021. On this live broadcast, University of Guelph professors Dave Hooker and Francois Tardif join host Shaun Haney to talk three hot topics that are sure to grab growers’… Read More