It’s a great problem to have, but gains of an average four to five bushels per acre per year is possible with today’s corn crop if modern genetics are managed properly. Of course, “managed properly” is too general — if Ontario’s average corn yield per acre is set to surpass the 200 bushel mark in just 10 years, what factors matter most to achieve this?
To tackle that question, RealAgriculture’s Bernard Tobin headed to the back 40 with Dr. David Hooker at the University of Guelph-Ridgetown for this latest Corn School episode.
First off, just where is this fabled four to five bushels per acre going to come from? As Hooker explains in the video below, improving genetics accounts for 65% of these gains, but the balance is going to come from the agronomic decisions farmers make — from field prep, to weed control, to planter choice, and planting management.
In this Corn School, Hooker challenges the idea of the “picket fence” corn crop being the ideal, what may matter more than spacing, and also walks us through what you’re looking for when doing corn stand assessments.
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