Category: SWAC '16

If a corn plant emerges one, two or three days after its neighbour, will it yield less? Real Agriculture resident agronomist Peter Johnson is determined to find out. At the SouthWest Ag Conference last January, National Corn Growers Association yield contest champion Randy Dowdy challenged growers to plant a flag test on their farm to… Read More

The first secret of soybean success really isn’t much of a secret, confesses agronomist Ross Bender. It all comes down to the weather, specifically rain in August. But farmers do have an opportunity to impact the remaining production factors that make up the six secrets of soybean success, says Bender, senior agronomist for the Mosaic… Read More

Ontario crop yields have exploded over the last 35 years. Corn yields have increased by 80% during this time and soybeans are not that far behind at 65%. Those big yield gains create a much greater draw on soil nutrients. In the case of corn, for example, the average corn crop now removes 63 lbs… Read More

Wide row soybeans are poised to make a comeback in Ontario, says OMAFRA soybean specialist Horst Bohner. Whether it happens will likely depend on how farmers evaluate the importance of four key factors. Speaking at the recent SouthWest Agricultural Conference at Ridgetown College, Bohner explained that equipment is the first thing to consider. “We have… Read More

It’s hard to believe that a mere century ago, Canada was still in the process of installing phonelines. In fact, in February of 1916, Montreal and Vancouver were connected by telephone for the first time ever, a feat that took over 6700km of circuit. The first flip phone appeared 80 years later, followed closely by the first “smart… Read More

How do specific corn hybrids respond to intensive management practices? Do they deliver higher yields? Are those extra bushels profitable for growers? Those are some of the questions the Ontario Corn Committee (OCC) is trying to answer with its new intensive management corn trials. At the SouthWest Agricultural Conference in early January, OCC’s Dr. David… Read More

If farmers want to supersize their corn yields, they have to challenge conventional thinking and become students of the crop. That was the main message National Corn Growers Association yield contest champion Randy Dowdy shared with hundreds of farmers at the 2016 SouthWest Agricultural Conference in Ridgetown, Ontario earlier this week. In 2014, Dowdy set… Read More