If you’ve ever adopted a new way of doing things after attending a field day or conference, do you let the researcher or extension staff know? Sometimes, research can be a rather thankless job, and many researchers don’t hear back on their work being applied on-farm. Peter “Wheat Pete” Johnson came across just such an… Read More
Wide vs. narrow rows — which is best for top yields? As always, it depends. It depends on the crop you’re growing, your climate, and the architecture of the variety or hybrid you choose. There are other factors too, as discussed in this episode of Wheat Pete’s Word, with host Peter Johnson. Available equipment, what… Read More
Do you adjust plant populations, fertility, or other product applications on headlands? If not, why not? In this week’s Wheat Pete’s Word, Peter Johnson answers questions on liquid vs. dry fertilizer and fertilizer set ups, plus what to do with soil test results on sandy soils. He also throws down the challenge of using precision… Read More
Have you thought about how much time you spend just re-filling during planting and seeding? Fill times for spraying often get plenty of attention, but there’s actually plenty of hours to gain at planting too, depending on your set up. In this week’s edition of Wheat Pete’s Word, a much healthier Peter Johnson is talking… Read More
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
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
It’s a new year, and we’re back with the first Wheat Pete’s Word of the decade! Peter Johnson, host of Wheat Pete’s Word, says that although we are only eight days in, 2020 is already roaring ahead steadily. The mantra for 2020 according to Wheat Pete is “perfect vision.” If we can see clearly, we’ll… Read More
It’s December 18th, have you checked your corn bins lately? Host of Wheat Pete’s Word, Peter Johnson has more than a few public service announcements this week, and one of them is all about high moisture corn turning into big blocks of ice (and, conversely, yucky heated hot spots) in the bin. But before we… Read More
Here we are, just a few weeks from the holidays and the end of the calendar year, and many farmers are using every last bit of daylight to get the crop harvested and dried, if they can. When you’re pushing long hours in less than ideal conditions, sometimes safety gets thrown out the window, and… 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
There was a time when most hoped that 2019 would turn out better than past challenging years, but the term “being 2019’d” has come to mean…well, insult being added to injury. From the ‘harvest from hell’ in the west, to wet, nasty weather hindering Ontario’s harvest, and now a rail strike already limiting propane access… 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
Are you a hand-shelling corn kind of farmer, or do you like a hand-held moisture meter kind of person? We’ve got something for everyone in this episode of Wheat Pete’s Word, including some neat devices for moisture testing, why corn is drying down faster than many thought possible, and what’s up with funky-coloured wheat. In… Read More
There are a few treats out there in among the tricks of this harvest season. Surprisingly, mature corn and decent soybean yields are making some farmers happy as they put the 2019 growing season to bed, but there are plenty of areas still struggling with immature and wet corn and super low soybean yields. In… Read More