Crop researchers can learn a lot in 28 years. That’s how long crop rotation trials have been on-going at the University of Guelph’s Ridgetown campus. On this episode of the RealAgriculture Corn School, host Bernard Tobin and University of Guelph crop researcher Dr. Dave Hooker look at the importance of crop rotation and key corn… Read More
Category: Corn
Mother Nature is not smiling on Ontario corn growers trying to get the ’23 crop out of the field. Concern over increasing DON levels is high and dry-down is slow. Plus, there’s concern over rutting or compacting the fields if conditions stay wet. That’s just one conversation in this week’s episode of Wheat Pete’s Word… Read More
As combines push through the Ontario corn crop, growers are being advised to focus their first harvest efforts on fields where gibberella fungus could produce higher levels of deoxynivalenol (DON) in the grain. On this episode of the RealAgriculture Corn School, agronomist Peter Johnson shares tips for identifying fields at higher risk for gibberella and… Read More
No one likes snow in October, but it’s especially unwelcome when there is still crop in the field. For Manitobans, it looks more like December than November 1 out there, but at least harvest is done. For Ontario, however, so many thousands of acres of corn are now very wet and covered in snow, and… Read More
Unlike some other North American ports, the St. Lawrence Seaway shipping corridor is seasonal, and the labour dispute holding up product movement is putting serious stress on Ontario’s agriculture sector during the harvest period. An estimated $20 million per day of grain isn’t moving through the St. Lawrence Seaway after members of UNIFOR went on… Read More
Corn harvest is finally underway in Ontario, and plenty of optimism abounds when it comes to the yield potential of this crop. There is a concern, however, that the challenges of a wet summer are showing up in deoxynivalenol (DON) levels in the grain. A mycotoxin produced by the gibberella fungus, DON levels over 2… Read More
A frosty week in Ontario and a snowy one out west means all those pre-winter jobs just moved up the priority list a notch or two. For Peter “Wheat Pete” Johnson, that just means there’s more time-sensitive topics to cover on this week’s episode of Wheat Pete’s Word. From an alert on corn harvest field… Read More
Farmers across Ontario are facing concerns over the level of toxins that could be in this year’s corn crop, due to wet conditions in-season and through this fall. Many farmers have not-so-good memories about 2016 and 2018 and the levels of deoxynivalenol (DON) that was present in the corn crop. Early testing results at the… Read More
The sun might come out tomorrow, or the next day, or another day, we hope, as Ontario farmers are hoping to wrap up bean harvest and get at corn in earnest. Not being in the field means Peter Johnson, host of Wheat Pete’s Word, has plenty of questions to tackle from the audience, including compaction… Read More
Tar spot leaf disease has been a little tardy in 2023, but the later-arriving yield robber is still having an impact on the Ontario corn crop. Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs plant pathologist Albert Tenuta says a dry start to the growing year meant tar spot arrived a little late in 2023… Read More
If you’re waiting for a sign to pick up the phone and check in with a friend, this is it. Yesterday was Mental Health Day and host Peter Johnson wants you to take the Wheat Pete 15 challenge and call up someone just to chat. That’s just one tidbit from this episode of Wheat Pete’s… Read More
What do you call an early October that feels more like summer than early fall? A lucky break for those with corn that’s a fair ways away from black layer, that’s what. Ontario’s corn growers are counting their blessings this week, as very warm sunny days are helping move the crop to maturity. But all… Read More
Seed corn harvest in southern Ontario typically gets underway in early September. Why so early? It’s all about protecting seed quality, says PRIDE Seeds field production manager Mike Bechard. On this episode of the RealAgriculture Corn School, host Bernard Tobin returns to Chatham, Ont. for part three of our series on the critical points of… Read More
There are some problems you just can’t avoid — like ending up with wheat roots in drainage tile after big yields — but every challenge has a solution and it comes down to making hay while the sun shines. No, not actual hay, as we are in the critical harvest period, but if the soil… Read More
Kubota showed off its new precision planters at Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show at Woodstock, Ont., earlier this month. The Kubota PP1641TF is an eight-row precision planter with 30-inch spacing designed mainly for corn growers. Kubota product specialist Jeff Fuller says it’s a good fit for small- to medium-sized farms, including smaller acreage corn and soybean… Read More