The warnings about tar spot that started several years ago were, unfortunately, bang on. In this week’s episode of Wheat Pete’s Word, host Peter Johnson shares some scouting stories from several counties where tar spot has been found in corn, and what farmers will likely have to plan for in 2022. Also in this episode,… Read More
Have you checked your corn cobs lately? On this week’s episode of Wheat Pete’s Word, host Peter Johnson laments the state of some corn in the Ottawa Valley that is quite heavily infested with western bean cutworm. What happens with WBC and corn? Why, gibberella and DON production, of course. It’s all bad! Johnson also… Read More
September first marks the beginning of meteorological fall, but that doesn’t mean that summer is over. The growing season is still chugging along, and this week’s agronomy update even includes an insect outbreak alert (just when you thought it was safe to put the sprayer away!). In this episode of Wheat Pete’s Word, host Peter… Read More
Summer is winding down and many farmers are gearing up for the next stage of harvest. For some, that means swathing or timing a pre-harvest pass, and for others it means getting the cover crop seed down. For this episode of Wheat Pete’s Word, host Peter Johnson has a few cautions for late-summer pesticide applications,… Read More
The host of Wheat Pete’s Word, Peter “Wheat Pete” Johnson, is urging Ontario wheat growers to get those final yields reported so we can say once and for all if the province set a new record average wheat yield. There’s that in this week’s Word, plus a frank discussion on revenge spraying fungicide, why the… Read More
What’s the difference between weeds and a cover crop? You’ll have to listen on to this week’s episode of Wheat Pete’s Word for the punchline. Listen below or download for later and hear host Peter Johnson who can’t believe the beans are turning already, wants to make Hay West happen, and talks clover success and weed… Read More
The agronomic impacts of what has been a wild year for the Ontario growing season are beginning to accumulate, in the form of rock hard soil, fuzzy white plants, and double cobs. For this early August episode of Wheat Pete’s Word, host Peter Johnson tackles the big question of making oat hay after wheat, if… Read More
It’s possible Ontario could set a new wheat record for 2021, and that’s saying something, as reports are that many fields are yielding smaller than average seeds. Also this week on Wheat Pete’s Word, host Peter Johnson tackles if corn will yield double cobs, why you need to be out scouting the soybean canopy, and… Read More
A few key things are lining up for the corn crop — but they are not necessarily all good. The western bean cutworm flight and pollination are lining up nearly perfectly, and that means an increased risk of gibberella ear rot infection. For this episode of Wheat Pete’s Word, host Peter Johnson discusses another hit… Read More
What’s the weirdest colour you’ve ever seen a crop turn? This week in Ontario, at least one farmer is reporting very dark straw where the wheat crop was touched by frost in late May. An agronomist also reports purple stems in another area. What the heck is happening here? Never fear, as Peter “Wheat Pete”… Read More
Normally a week or so behind the winter barley crop, Ontario farmers are nosing into the wheat harvest a little early as the two crops are ready at about the same time. From an aphid alert on soybeans, to sneaky root rots, and potash deficiency showing up in corn, Peter “Wheat Pete” Johnson has the… Read More
Lodged crops, flooded crops, and burning crops — there’s no shortage of crops under stress this week in Canada. Of course, there are also some tall, fast-growing corn crops, and in this week’s Wheat Pete’s Word, host Peter Johnson is covering the top agronomy questions of the week. From available nitrogen causing some issues to… Read More
The weather continues to deliver some real disappointment but also hope for farmers across Canada. In Ontario, a late May frost was bad enough, but mid-week saw night time temps dip low enough again to hurt crop on muck soils. Other areas hard up for moisture got perhaps too much rain all at once. For… Read More
Wheat in Ontario is in grain fill, and that means scouting for cereal leaf beetle. There’s also been plenty of rain in certain parched parts of the west, but it’s too much and way too late to save the crop. In this week’s edition of Wheat Pete’s Word, host Peter Johnson discusses some insect alerts,… Read More
Another insect alert (this time for potato leafhopper), weather whammies and the effect on corn, corn nitrogen side-dress timing, and weed science research results all headline this week’s episode of Wheat Pete’s Word. Will host Peter “Wheat Pete” Johnson get through all his chosen topics before he runs out of time? Listen in to find… Read More