Have you set your western bean cutworm (WBC) traps yet? Setting traps is the most effective means of determining whether the yield-robbing pest is setting up shop in your cornfields. In this episode of RealAgriculture Corn School, OMAFRA field entomologist Tracey Baute shows growers how to set traps and discusses the growing importance of the WBC Trap… Read more »
Category: Corn School
Real Agriculture’s Corn School provides you with everything you need to increase your corn yields. Each week we bring you the latest news and information from the corn market including corn futures, videos, articles and more. Join our Corn School email list and never miss a beat!
Corn School: Will drone sprayers fit your farm?
Is the clock ticking on the future of your ground sprayer? Could it eventually be replaced by a swarm of UAV sprayers that could better target weeds and deliver herbicide to exact locations in the field? These are questions we explore with AGRIS Co-operative agronomist Dale Cowan on this episode of RealAgriculture’s Corn School. Cowan recently… Read more »
Corn School: How deep should you plant your corn?
What’s the ideal depth for planting corn? What happens if you plant too shallow? In this episode of RealAgriculture’s Corn School, PRIDE Seeds agronomist Aaron Stevanus digs into a seeding depth trial to show how planting depth can impact early-season growth. We catch up with Stevanus at the company’s Elmira, ON, research site where he evaluates the… Read more »
Corn School: A 3-point post-planting scouting checklist
Hot, humid weather across much of corn-growing areas of Ontario has the crop adding a leaf stage about every four days. As corn pops in to that 4-leaf to 5-leaf stage, it’s time to get some dust on the boots and check three key aspects of early crop establishment: plant health, weed escapes, and planter… Read more »
Corn School: When to switch to shorter-season hybrids
When should you consider switching corn and plant a shorter-season hybrid? That’s a question many growers in some southwestern regions of Ontario are wrestling with as the calendar pushes ever closer to June. Spring weather conditions in many areas of the province have been good and planting is proceeding at a strong pace. However, heavy… Read more »
Corn School: How Ontario stacks up in the corn production world
Is corn growing greener beyond Ontario boarders? How does corn profitability and cost of production in the province stack up with other growing regions around the world — from the U.S. to South America, Ukraine, and China? These are some of the questions Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs business analysis and cost… Read more »
Use active math when evaluating nitrogen stabilizers
When growing corn, many farmers utilize nitrogen stabilizers to protect their fertilizer investment. Agrotain has become a popular stabilizer choice for its ability to inhibit nitrification and protect nitrogen from ammonia volatilization. There are also products that protect against losses from denitrification and nitrate leaching. AGRIS Co-operative agronomist Dale Cowan says farmers can see a yield… Read more »
Corn School: Six questions to ask before upgrading your planter
Planting season is just around the corner, but many farmers are still contemplating their planter needs for 2018. Kearney Planters service manager Shaun Dilliott says he gets consistent calls from corn growers who are making planter upgrade decisions or contemplating buying new or used planters. “One of the things we get a lot of is… Read more »
Neighbourhood nutrient plans share the load to better manage manure
Your farm has a nutrient management plan, but does it include your neighbours? A larger-scale plan is a great idea for intense livestock neighbourhoods that struggle to use manure efficiently. It also ensures nutrients stay in the field and out of tiles and waterways, says Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs field crop sustainability… Read more »
Corn School: Protect cob row numbers for highest yield potential
How important is the number of rows on a corn cob? When row numbers shrink from 20 to 18 you could be looking at a 20-bushel per acre yield loss, says Illinois-based BASF agronomist Jeremy Hogan. On this edition of RealAgriculture’s Corn School, Hogan breaks down four components of yield – protecting row numbers, maximizing ear… Read more »
Corn School: Doing the math on multi-hybrid variable rate planting
Many Ontario corn fields have high levels of variability; soil profiles can change from sand to highly productive loam in a matter of footsteps. One way to tackle this variability is to identify management zones in the field and plant multiple hybrids at variable rates. In this episode of RealAgriculture Corn School, we catch up… Read more »
Corn School: Boost kernel size for more yield
If you’re targeting maximum corn yield, you need to fine-tune plant nutrition for a particular two-week period of the corn growing season, says Tony Vyn, professor of agronomy at Purdue University. That’s because while we’ve been focused on more rows and kernels per row per ear, modern hybrids can pack tonnes of yield in if… Read more »
Corn School: How much corn residue should you remove?
Do your corn fields yield less than 170 bu/ac? If so, you have to be careful when removing corn residue from those fields because you could be depleting the field’s soil organic matter. That was the message USDA research agronomist Shannon Osbourne shared with those attending the recent Southwest Agricultural Conference at the University of… Read more »
PowerRich: Micros key to yield and profit
In 1840, J. Von Liebig, a German chemist described as the father of the fertilizer industry, stated that “the rate of growth of a plant, the size to which it grows, and its overall health depend on the amount of the scarcest of the essential nutrients that are available to it.” Since its inception in… Read more »
Corn School: Understanding 30 years of rising yields
Ontario will set a new corn yield record in 2017 with the crop expected to hit an average of 180 bu/ac or better. Where is all that yield coming from? Corn physiologist Dr. Thijs Tollenaar has poured over the data and identified three key factors driving corn yield improvement. A long-time University of Guelph professor… Read more »