Ontario’s winter wheat crop has soldiered through some tough conditions and heads into the heart of spring with some handsome yield potential. But growers have plenty of management decisions to consider and execute as the calendar turns from April to May. On this episode of the RealAgriculture Wheat School, our own Peter “Wheat Pete” Johnson… Read More
Category: Wheat
As growers look to squeeze every dollar of return from their wheat acres in 2025, decisions made at seeding time carry season-long implications — both good and bad. One of the most foundational decisions is whether or not to use certified seed, and it’s a choice that shapes yield outcomes, disease risk, and overall profitability… Read More
Managing weeds effectively, especially during the critical early stages of crop development, is one of the most important decisions a grower can make. When is that critical stage, and is it possible to get away with a once-over pass, or is a pre-seed burn-off necessary? In this episode of Wheat School, RealAgriculture’s Amber Bell catches… Read More
As wheat crops across Ontario break dormancy and get growing in earnest, farmers and agronomists need to be on alert for symptoms of micronutrient deficiencies — particularly manganese. On this week’s Agronomic Monday edition of RealAg Radio, Peter “Wheat Pete” Johnson dug deep into why manganese matters, why timing is critical when correcting a deficiency,… Read More
Chris Mansiere, an agronomic solutions manager with Bayer, wants to broadcast the message that herbicide resistance is something that just about every grower in Western Canada is dealing or will grapple with at some point. “I think in the last weed survey, there was 70 per cent of fields that have a resistant weed in… Read More
Seed treatments are a very useful kind of insurance policy that help to build the strong foundation of a plant stand to start the growing season. What seed treatments do within a plant can be compared to putting on a Saskatchewan ‘bunny hug’ (that’s a hoodie to the rest of us!) over a t-shirt in… Read More
Mother Nature is taking her sweet time in bringing in spring, but slowly and surely we are marching towards putting crop in the ground. For this week’s episode of Wheat Pete’s Word, host Peter Johnson rifles through several agronomy answers, including: what to do with cover crops that didn’t die, why sulphur matters and why… Read More
Cereals Canada has published a new series of sustainability reports for the Canadian cereals value chain. The reports cover Canadian non-durum wheat, durum wheat, barley, and oats. Six environmental indicators were used as markers of sustainability in the reports — carbon footprint, soil organic carbon, fertilizer use, irrigation, pesticide use, and soil erosion. These same… Read More
Weather is a central topic in many coffee shop conversations, plays a large role in the success or failure of a crop, and is outside of a wheat grower’s control. But that doesn’t mean farmers can’t at least try and out-maneuver Mother Nature. Dr. Brian Beres, senior research scientist at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC)… Read More
Peter “Wheat Pete” Johnson brought home more than just a tan from Costa Rica; there were lessons to be learned, even while enjoying a rejuvenating vacation. In this episode of Wheat Pete’s Word, Pete talks about some of these lessons, such as the need for a break, the difference that climate can make, Canadian pride,… Read More