Farm Credit Canada (FCC) has announced that it will be offering support to customers in parts of eastern Ontario and western Quebec. The regions were affected by excessive rainfall this growing season, which meant many producers were unable to seed on time or at all. Others were forced to replant. And a number who did… Read more »
Category: Weather
Corn School: Evaluating late-season northern corn leaf blight control
With late planting and slow maturity, much of Ontario’s corn crop may be in for a challenge as leaf diseases arrive in fields across the province. In this episode of RealAgriculture Corn School, we catch up with Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Rood and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) field pathologist Albert Tenuta in his leaf disease nursery… Read more »
CCA urges federal response for ranchers affected by B.C. wildfires
With an estimated 10,000 to 20,000 cattle left behind in areas evacuated due to wildfires in B.C.’s central and southern interior, the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association says it has asked the federal government for a quick response to help affected ranchers. “As an initial start, the CCA is requesting the federal government provide a tax deferral… Read more »
Corn School: ‘Wins’ of spring 2017
2017 may well be remembered for the spring that just kept on giving. From flooding to hail, Mother Nature threw just about every challenge imaginable at Ontario farmers during the early portion of the growing season. But despite difficult conditions that wreaked havoc on spring tillage, planting, weed control and nutrient application, farmers have persevered…. Read more »
Soybean School: Getting fungicide timing right
A stretch of sunny, dry weather in Ontario has soybeans on the comeback trail. That also means that soybean fungicide timing is sneaking up on many growers as the crop picks up steam in mid July. In this edition of RealAgriculture Soybean School, BASF agronomist Ken Currah takes a closer look at the soybean fungicide… Read more »
Corn School: Fungicide strategies for 2017
When it comes to plant development and yield potential, Ontario’s corn crop is all over the map. With pollination quickly approaching, many growers are now wrestling with fungicide strategies for a highly variable crop. In this episode of RealAgriculture Corn School, BASF agronomist Ken Currah reviews the struggles of the 2017 crop and discusses where,… Read more »
Corn School: Does wet soil need more nitrogen?
The rain keeps falling in Ontario and all the water-logged soils make it tough to get a good read on how much nitrogen is available to the province’s corn crop. In this edition of RealAgriculture Corn School, agronomist Peter Johnson discusses whether corn acres need supplemental nitrogen and how much they might need. It depends on… Read more »
Drew Lerner’s summer forecast for Canada and the midwest United States
The weather feels like it has been the story of 2017 across North America. Many areas have felt the extremes of mother nature this growing season — too hot, too cold, too dry, too wet, too windy, depending on where you are. There was significant rain in Ontario last week, parts of the Great Plains… Read more »
Corn School: Getting to the bottom of rootless corn
Dan Foster has seen a lot of agronomic head scratchers in his career, but he witnessed a first in a cornfield near Sarnia, Ontario this spring. On this episode of Real Agriculture Corn School, Foster, Pride Seeds market development agronomist based at Chatham, takes you to a field with rootless corn syndrome. Foster describes how… Read more »
Soybean School: Late-planted crop playing catch up
It’s been a rugged start for Ontario’s soybean crop. With cool, wet growing conditions, late planting, insect feeding and soil crusting, many growers find themselves squarely behind the eight ball. According to OMAFRA soybean specialist Horst Bohner, most soybeans have been planted but some growers are still struggling to get seed in the ground. What… Read more »
Corn School: Cool weather calls for more sidedress nitrogen
Ontario’s cool, wet spring not only delayed planting, but also put the brakes on nitrogen mineralization, limiting the nutrient’s availability to the growing corn crop. According to OMAFRA pre-sidedress nitrate testing (PSNT) survey results released this week, corn growers are looking at the lowest rates of available nitrogen since the survey began in 2013. In… Read more »
Volatile times — how innovation and climate change impact risk management programs
Crop yields continue to increase across North America, but so do yield and market volatility. According to Dr. Alan Ker, director of the University of Guelph’s Institute for the Advanced Study of Food and Agricultural Policy, increased volatility is something farmers will have to get used to as the impact of innovation and climate change… Read more »
Corn School: Cold and wet means less available nitrogen
What a difference a year makes. In 2016, Ontario’s cold and dry spring conditions produced plenty of available nitrogen for the emerging corn crop. But when you fast-forward to 2017, those cold soils are now waterlogged and the wet conditions mean there’s very little nitrogen available to the crop. The wet soil conditions have a… Read more »
More rain means more soybeans for Ontario
Ontario corn planting isn’t finished, but it’s probably done. With more rain sweeping across the province – and pushing total spring accumulation to record levels in many areas – it’s unlikely that farmers will be planting corn when things dry out, says Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) corn lead Ben Rosser…. Read more »
Canola School: Options for seeding canola in wet conditions
For some farmers in some southern parts of Western Canada, seeding is starting to wrap up. But others are still have the challenge of getting last year’s crop off, all while trying to get this year’s crop in the ground. In this Canola School episode, we talk to Brittany Hennig, agronomy specialist for the Canola Council of… Read more »