Can you tell the difference between annual ryegrass and cereal rye? How about radish and kale? If you can’t, it’s time to bone up on your identification skills if you want to get serious about planting cover crops mixes on your farm, says Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs soil management specialist Anne… Read more »
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RealAg Radio, June 11: Precision irrigation, soybean protein & the true yield impact of weeds
This week’s Agronomic Monday show, with host Shaun Haney, features: Ron Osborne of Farmers Edge on the company’s new partnership with Lindsay Corporation, bringing remote sensing technology to irrigation Glenda Clezy of SaskPulse sits down with Dale Leftwich to discuss early season pulse crop issues and scouting tips Dennis Lange of Manitoba Agriculture and Kelvin… Read more »
Can Doug Ford make populism work in Ontario?
Ontario’s provincial election is shaping up to be a two-horse race. Major polls this week show the Progressive Conservative party and Doug Ford holding the lead but Andrea Horwath’s campaign for change is gaining ground as voters leave the fading Liberals and consider the front-runners. An Ipsos poll earlier this week pegged PC popular support at… Read more »
Corn School: How Ontario stacks up in the corn production world
Is corn growing greener beyond Ontario borders? 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 »
Aerial application on the rise in Ontario
Thinking about using an aerial applicator this year to fly on fungicide, fertilizer, or cover crops? If so, you better grab your phone and book a supplier, says Dan Haupt of Blenheim, ON, based Zimmer Air Services. The family-owned company, currently operated by Paul Zimmer, has been serving Ontario agriculture since 1974. Haupt says farmers… Read more »
John Deere counting down to celebrating 100 years
March 14, 2018 marks the 100th anniversary of John Deere’s tractor business, and the company has big plans for its centennial celebration. John Deere entered the farm tractor business in 1918 through the acquisition of the Waterloo Gasoline Engine Company. At the recent National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville, Kentucky, John Deere product marketing manager… 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 »
Take a closer look – it may be waterhemp
Waterhemp has set down roots across Ontario, from Essex and Lambton County, and reports indicate it may have migrated as far east as Quebec. Controlling the invader poses several challenges for growers, says BASF agronomist Richard Anderson. The first problem is a high level of herbicide resistance. Some waterhemp is resistant to up to three… Read more »
Keeping cover crops out of tile drains
Will the growth of cover crops lead to an explosion of plugged tile drains? According to Ohio State professor and farm drainage specialist Dr. Larry Brown, there’s little evidence to suggest that cover crops are going to cause drainage headaches for farmers. At the recent Ontario Certified Crop Advisors annual meeting, Brown says he often gets… 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 »
Do we really need to double food production by 2050?
If you’ve been attending agricultural and food conferences over the last decade you’ve likely heard countless references to “feed the 9 billion” or to double production by 2050 to meet the appetite of a growing global population. Is it time we revisited this oft-cited food prediction? Penn State University’s Mitch Hunter thinks so. Hunter and… Read more »
Wheat School: ‘Real’ Wheat Farmers — Hugh Dietrich
Peter Johnson is back with another episode in our ‘Real’ Wheat Farmers series. This time our RealAgriculture’s resident agronomist is gleaning management tips from Hugh Dietrich who farms with his family at Lucan, Ontario. Dietrich’s advice for Johnson starts with the need to put phosphorus down with wheat in the fall. Tile drainage is also a… Read more »
Soybean School: Investment needed to fend off nematodes
Soybean cyst nematode (SCN) is the leading cause of yield loss for the oilseed crop across North America. And unless a new source of resistance is found to fend off the pest, growers can expect to see SCN gobble up an increasing percentage of their yield in the years ahead. That was the message delivered… Read more »
Corn School: Using your drone to make better management decisions
Recent advances in the availability and quality of satellite imagery is providing powerful in-season management insights for corn growers. Many growers feel it’s no longer necessary to fly their own drone to capture aerial images of their fields. They can simply rely on a growing number of agronomic services to scout their crop using drone… Read more »
To January we go! — This week in the grain market
Grain markets this week headed mostly lower on some bigger production numbers. The big news in outside markets was that the U.S. Federal Reserve bumped their interest rate up by 25 basis points (or 0.25%). It’s expected that the Fed will raise rates again another three times in 2018. However, there are some who think… Read more »