We should know better than to be surprised by the weather, but wow, some areas of the province have gone from too dry to rain, rain, rain. In some areas, reports of up to six inches of rain is causing ponding, flooding, and is delaying first planting, let alone replanting. And so, we can think… Read More
Category: Wheat
>It can be hard to know when to spend the money and when to save the cost in the weeks leading up to harvest, and even more challenging when you’re dealing with a crop that doesn’t look quite right. For some winter wheat producers in Ontario right now, that means a crop of rather short… Read More
As we found out in the last episode of Wheat Pete’s Word, frost hit many fields in eastern Canada in the last couple of weeks, even affecting some wheat crops. In this Wheat School, Peter Johnson walks a wheat field and shows you the different ways frost can impact the wheat crop so late in the… Read More
There’s no shortage of heartache or questions stemming from last week’s extreme frost event across much of Ontario’s growing region. Temps dropped as low as -8 degrees C, if you can believe it, and it wasn’t just corn and soybean crops hit hard by the cold weather — tender fruit, horticulture and vegetable crops have… Read More
The 2015 planting season is moving right into spraying season, as this week’s update from Wheat Pete includes discussion about early weed control in dry conditions, critical weed-free periods for corn and soybeans, and manganese deficient wheat. Whether it’s lamb’s quarters, pigweed, ragweed or foxtail, “you name it, it’s out there coming gangbusters,” says Peter Johnson. And… Read More
What a week! The planting is going fast and furious, and farmers are getting itchy for rain. In this week’s Wheat Pete’s Word, hosted by Peter Johnson, we tackle why a dry spring is a-OK and why not to worry too much about rain just yet. What’s more concerning is the downright cool weather forecast… Read More
Grains this we week were mostly pressured by a lower U.S. dollar, as the Canadian Loonie rebounded to a whopping 83 cents, and seeding conditions across most of North America remaining pretty good. U.S. export sales showcased more international buyers canceling old crop wheat contracts and switching things over to buying new crop. Despite that,… Read More
After a 41 year career with Agriculture & Agri-Food Canad, and building his reputation as a world-class wheat breeder, Dr. Ron DePauw has joined SeCan in the position of Science Advisor. DePauw recently retired from AAFC, a career marked by the successful breeding of prairie-farm-staple AC Barrie. DePauw was also a co-developer of AC Lillian,… Read More
We’re about to flip the calendar to May, and, perhaps surprisingly, soil moisture is becoming a bit of an issue for those rolling in the fields, says Peter Johnson, in this week’s Wheat Pete’s Word. What can you do about soil that’s drying out too quickly? Well, you’re doing to have to adjust planting depth… Read More
Did you know it’s Soil Conservation Week? Here we are just one day after Earth Day, and in that spirit Peter Johnson kicks off this week’s crop update with a challenge for farmers. When’s the last time you sat at the kitchen table and talked about your farm’s biggest asset, the soil? Johnson says if… Read More
The pictures are rolling in and it appears that the wheat that did get in the ground last fall (or was it winter?) did actually make it. Maple syrup season has wrapped up, to mixed reviews on volume (but you can bet it still tastes great), but that also means it’s warming up — and a… Read More
Ergot (often refered to as “Ergot of Rye”) is a disease caused by the plant fungus Claviceps pururea. It’s history with humans is rich and painful, believed to be a contributing factor in the Salem Witch Trials, and the diagnoses of “Holy Fire,” later termed “St. Anthony’s Fire.” Today, it is regarded as a highly… Read More
Ontario farmers with wheat in the ground are having to adjust their management practices to accommodate the late start to spring, especially after the cold, wet fall of 2014. Weather conditions this spring have hampered efforts to apply nitrogen or frost-seed cover crops in winter wheat, explains Peter Johnson, a.k.a. @WheatPete, in this conversation with… Read More
Responding to demands from both the Canadian wheat industry and international customers, the Canadian Grain Commission has proposed creating a new class of milling wheat for Western Canada. As part of this Wheat School West episode, Daryl Beswitherick, program manager for quality assurance with the CGC, explains they believe the creation of a new milling class with lower… Read More
In the Canadian context, when someone says wheat, we think bread or pasta and maybe crackers and cookies. But for huge portions of the world’s population, wheat means noodles, steam buns and dumplings. While all these products do come from the same crop, it’s possible that each product requires a specific class of wheat, with… Read More