You’ll have to excuse Peter “Wheat Pete” Johnson’s voice for this episode of Wheat Pete’s Word, as the poor lad is suffering from a terrible cold. But a little frog in his throat isn’t going to stop him from tackling the week’s questions, updates, and challenges. Get a quick summary of some of the recent… Read More
Add wheat to your crop rotation and it will increase corn and soybean yields, put more money in your pocket, improve soil health, and make your soil more resilient. That’s a big, bold statement but University of Guelph-Ridgetown professor Dave Hooker can prove it. All the data comes from a 25 year long-term tillage and… Read More
Following the June announcement of a proposed merger, the boards of Canadian International Grains Institute (CIGI) and Cereals Canada are moving closer to a vote on full amalgamation of the two entities. Dean Dias, interim CEO of CIGI, says that both organizations have been in conversation over what a merger would look like, what governance… Read More
Syngenta recently rolled out Miravis, a brand new fungicide available for the 2020 growing season. RealAgriculture’s Kara Oosterhuis caught up with Syngenta Canada’s Randy Retzlaff at the Crop Production Show at Saskatoon, Sask., to talk about Miravis Ace — a version of the fungicide that is targeted at spring wheat, winter wheat, and durum wheat…. Read More
It’s been a week of wild weather: extreme cold in the west, and warm and very wet weather in the east. Understandably, overland flooding in Ontario has many farmers asking about the impact on the wheat crop. Peter Johnson has the answer you need in this week’s Wheat Pete’s Word. Johnson shares some of the… Read More
The Canadian Wheat Research Coalition (CWRC) is pledging more than $9.6 million over the next five years to a core breeding agreement (CBA) with the University of Saskatchewan’s (USask) Crop Development Centre (CDC). The funding will go towards the development of spring wheat cultivars and provide expanded “core” support for the CDC’s wheat breeding programs,… Read More
Are Ontario cash crop growers making effective use of tissue testing to enhance yield and crop performance? The answer requires a little perspective says Jack Legg, agronomist with Guelph-based SGS Agri-food Laboratories. Tissue testing, which provides an accurate measurement of the nutrients within a plant at a given time, has traditionally been used to confirm… Read More
Have you ever wondered how countries that buy Canadian wheat learn about each crop-year’s characteristics? The story of each crop begins with the harvest sample program, involves a careful analysis of the crop, and continues with crop missions to countries such as Singapore, Ecuador, China, and Mexico. Cam Dahl, president of Cereals Canada, and Gary Stanford,… Read More
If you’re a farmer on the prairies, there’s a good chance falling number at the elevator was brought up at least once over harvest. With that in mind, this episode of RealAgriculture’s Wheat School is focused on better understanding falling number and what — if anything — you can do when it comes to variety… Read More
Shorten soybean maturity, plant early, add a seed inoculant, topdress humic acid, bump up the sulphur, and add in some 20-inch rows — it’s all part of what makes Dan Petker a ‘Real’ wheat farmer, says RealAgriculture agronomist Peter Johnson. On this Wheat School episode, Johnson travels to Port Rowan, Ont., to get the scoop… Read More
Will relay intercropping work in Ontario? For a second year, RealAgriculture agronomist Peter Johnson has been keeping a close eye on relay intercropping trials planted in the province. The objective of the research is to evaluate whether Ontario farmers could effectively plant soybeans into standing wheat versus double cropping soybeans that are planted after wheat is… Read More
If you’ve been waiting for Peter ‘Wheat Pete’ Johnson to answer your question about soil sampling, you’re going to have to wait another week, because this week is mostly about corn, corn, and more corn. And that’s just the kind of week it’s been in Ontario, as corn harvest ever so slowly creeps towards complete… Read More
If this harvest season keeps up, Wheat Pete’s Word host Peter Johnson is going to have to change his name to Corn Bjorn. Because, yes, that’s nearly all he talks about in this week’s edition, but we promise it’s still interesting stuff, even if wheat hardly gets a mention. From what to do with high-fine… Read More
When send soil samples for testing, what do you ask for? If you’re following Ross McKenzie’s advice, there’s likely some real value in testing more than just nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and sulphur (NPKS). The former soil scientist with Alberta Agriculture says it’s not too late to test soil this year, as frozen ground may require… Read More
No one wants to see crop under snow, especially when that crop is either a) not really ready to harvest or b) most of your acres. Western Canada has been hard hit by snow cover this fall, and it seems the early start to winter now extends to most of Ontario, too. The recent snowfall… Read More