We’ve got our first ALERT of the season, and it’s a great one! Yup, that’s right, there’s rhubarb poking through the soil, and even some asparagus is up in Ontario. Our apologies to large parts of Western Canada that got a foot of snow this past week. The somewhat ahead-of-schedule warmth has the questions flooding… Read More
We’re glad to see that most people went easy on the April Fools jokes, as it seems that life right now is one big prank — what with COVID-19 tanking the economy, taking lives, and adding so much uncertainty to the economy. But, dear friends, all is not awful, and there’s still a crop to… Read More
If there’s one thing farmers should understand, it’s biosecurity — and yet, somehow there are many who aren’t taking the physical distancing protocol seriously. Wheat Pete, for one, is having none of it. Of course, the host of Wheat Pete’s Word, Peter Johnson, only spend a little bit of time on that topic for this… Read More
There’s no denying that the COVID-19 outbreak is having a huge impact on our daily lives. But even among the negativity and scary unknowns, there is some good — like maple trees pushing out buds and soil warming up and drying out in southern Ontario. In this week’s Wheat Pete’s Word, host Peter Johnson has… Read More
Wheat Pete’s Word host Peter Johnson is a lot of things — dynamic and opinionated for starters — but he’s also rather humble. This episode marks 250 episodes of this podcast and he’s likely not going to make a big deal of it, but the rest of the RealAgriculture team is! In this 250th episode,… Read More
Welcome to March, which seems to be coming in like a lamb — we’ll have to see if the “out like a lion” holds true! March also means maple syrup, frost seeding, red clover applications on the wheat fields, and starting to nail down crop rotations and fertilizer rates. With many feeling the cash flow… Read More
While eastern Ontario is expected up to 50 cm of snow over the next few days, other parts of the province are starting to tap maple trees and get the frost-seeding equipment ready. It may be the last week of February, but there’s some serious spring fever happening all over the country! In the west,… Read More
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