It’s possible Ontario could set a new wheat record for 2021, and that’s saying something, as reports are that many fields are yielding smaller than average seeds. Also this week on Wheat Pete’s Word, host Peter Johnson tackles if corn will yield double cobs, why you need to be out scouting the soybean canopy, and… Read More
Bigger corn planters with on-board fertilizer deliver efficiency and cover acres quickly. All that weight, however, can produce yield-robbing pinch rows and compaction. On this episode of The Sharp Edge, we visit Jeff Cook who farms with his family at their Mapleview Farms operation, just southwest of London, Ont. Over the years, the Cooks have… Read More
It’s been a tough year for growers in the west — some crops are getting by rain to rain, and some are relying on soil moisture alone with the chance of rain being a hope. Drought can affect silage quality and yield, obviously, but how can smoke from wildfires affect the corn crop? Sara Meidlinger,… Read More
The rain has come, and the corn crop is advancing fast. The crop is between tassel and silking stages, and the concern now is how to manage the crop for silage production. Will disease have an impact on the feed quality? Here to answer that is Albert Tenuta, OMAFRA plant pathologist, who joins Bernard Tobin… Read More
While it’s important to stay current on new and emerging diseases of the corn crop, it’s still important to keep tabs on the old standbys, such as northern corn leaf blight. “We know the weather’s been favourable for diseases, and we get lots of calls on that,” says Alberta Tenuta, plant pathologist at OMAFRA. There’s… Read More
The annual Ontario field crop diagnostic days held at Ridgetown, Elora, and Winchester will again go virtual in 2021. The organizing committees of these three highly successful in-field education and learning events are again partnering with crop researchers and extension, along with support from RealAgriculture and a host of sponsors to bring you a series… Read More
When it comes to strip tilling, is it better to plant corn into fall strips or spring strips? Ben Rosser, corn lead with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, has been working on this question for a while now, and in this Corn School episode, Bernard Tobin catches up with him in… Read More
What’s the weirdest colour you’ve ever seen a crop turn? This week in Ontario, at least one farmer is reporting very dark straw where the wheat crop was touched by frost in late May. An agronomist also reports purple stems in another area. What the heck is happening here? Never fear, as Peter “Wheat Pete”… Read More
What if corn, like soybeans, could fix its own nitrogen? It’s a question agronomist Dale Cowan and his team at AGRIS Co-operative are tackling this summer as they test a biological product that promises to help corn plants fix nitrogen, when applied directly on the seed, in pop-up fertilizer, and through foliar application between the… Read More
Everyone enjoys a good spirit or two, and many Canadians, when looking for a bottle of their favourite spirit, will check to see if it’s been produced from Canadian grains. A recent policy change in Alberta could lead to fewer markets for Alberta cereals and more imports of the raw materials from elsewhere. Jan Westcott… Read More
Normally a week or so behind the winter barley crop, Ontario farmers are nosing into the wheat harvest a little early as the two crops are ready at about the same time. From an aphid alert on soybeans, to sneaky root rots, and potash deficiency showing up in corn, Peter “Wheat Pete” Johnson has the… Read More
There is tremendous yield potential in Ontario corn fields right now. With recent rainfalls, subsoil moisture has been replenished and the crop has jumped in the last few days. Great looking acres and strong corn prices both weigh into the decision to apply fungicides. In this Corn School episode, Bernard Tobin is joined by BASF… Read More
Some farmers practice strip till in their cornfields, some plant corn in twin rows, while others plant multiple hybrids. Then there’s Mike Strang — he does it all in the same field and even adds cover crops to the management mix. On this episode of The Sharp Edge, Strang, who farms with his family near… Read More
Soybeans are beginning to flower and corn is waist high in parts of Ontario, and it’s not even July. Crop staging, lush and humid canopies, and field history all play a key role in disease development and suppression, and our guests for this episode stress the importance of genetic selection and scouting as the first… Read More
Weather is the ultimate source for small talk, and rainfall is perhaps the most talked about — from how much, to when, to not enough, and on too much. For this episode of the Corn School, Bernard Tobin asks Dale Cowan, senior agronomist at AGRIS C0-operative, about how much rain a corn crop needs throughout… Read More