Will strip tillage find a home in Ontario soybean fields? AGRIS Co-operative agronomist Dale Cowan certainly believes there’s a fit. Last June on RealAgriculture Soybean School we visited Cowan in a field of strip tilled soybeans near Mount Brydges, Ont., where Cowan’s brother, Larry and Larry’s son, Chris, of Chimo Farms, had created an integrated strip till program… Read More
Strip tillage in corn is growing in popularity in Ontario, but we don’t often see the tillage strategy employed in soybeans. On this episode of RealAgriculture’s Soybean School, AGRIS Co-operative agronomist Dale Cowan takes us to a strip-tilled field, which features twin row, 7.5-inch soybeans planted on 30-inch centres. In the field, Cowan’s bother, Larry… Read More
Is the clock ticking on the future of your ground sprayer? Could it eventually be replaced by a swarm of UAV sprayers that could better target weeds and deliver herbicide to exact locations in the field? These are questions we explore with AGRIS Co-operative agronomist Dale Cowan on this episode of RealAgriculture’s Corn School. Cowan recently… Read More
When should you consider switching corn and plant a shorter-season hybrid? That’s a question many growers in some southwestern regions of Ontario are wrestling with as the calendar pushes ever closer to June. Spring weather conditions in many areas of the province have been good and planting is proceeding at a strong pace. However, heavy… Read More
Ontario ag retailers need to provide leadership in helping farmers adopt 4R nutrient stewardship and a new audit program can do just that, says AGRIS Co-operative agronomist Dale Cowan. In 2015, OMAFRA, the Ontario Agri Business Association, Fertilizer Canada, and ag retailer stakeholders signed a memorandum of understanding stating that 4R nutrient stewardship – right source,… Read More
When growing corn, many farmers utilize nitrogen stabilizers to protect their fertilizer investment. Agrotain has become a popular stabilizer choice for its ability to inhibit nitrification and protect nitrogen from ammonia volatilization. There are also products that protect against losses from denitrification and nitrate leaching. AGRIS Co-operative agronomist Dale Cowan says farmers can see a yield… Read More
Are we doing enough to reduce the herbicide-resistance weed seedbank on Ontario farms? That’s a question AGRIS Co-operative agronomist Dale Cowan wants farmers in the province to consider when they’re planning their weed control programs for this year. Cowan recently attended the Commodity Classic in Anaheim, California, where he talked with farmers from Mississippi who… Read More
Are the roots of your corn crop running into a cement pad six inches below the surface? It’s time to find out. In this episode of RealAgriculture’s Corn School, AGRIS Co-operative agronomist Dale Cowan demonstrates how growers can effectively use a soil penetrometer to locate a soil hardpan and help eliminate the compaction so plant… Read More
Have you ever spotted an area of vigourous plants in your cornfield and wondered why they’re a growth stage or two ahead of neighbouring plants? There are plenty of agronomic insights we can glean from our fields to improve farm management and yield, says AGRIS Co-operative agronomist Dale Cowan. Quite often the opportunity is right… Read More
The N-P-K conversation – nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium – is the focus of most corn nutrient management discussions. But is it time for the letter S (sulphur) to be a routine part of that conversation? In this edition of RealAgriculture Corn School, AGRIS Co-operative agronomist Dale Cowan is joined by crop sales specialist Mike Veenema to… Read More
An agronomist from southern Ontario is receiving an international recognition from his peers. Dale Cowan, senior agronomist and sales manager with AGRIS and Wanstead Cooperatives, has been named the 2016 International Certified Crop Adviser of the Year. The award recognizes a certified crop adviser (CCA) who “delivers exceptional customer service, is highly innovative, has shown… Read More
Fine-tuning nitrogen rates promises to get easier with the arrival of ‘tailgate technology’ that allows growers to test for nitrates on the tailgate of their truck. That means no more couriering soil samples to the lab, or waiting for up to three days for results in the busy season. In this episode of the Corn School,… Read More
Consistent planting depth and even emergence — it’s every corn grower’s goal, but it can be difficult to achieve. In this Corn School episode, AGRIS Co-operative agronomist Dale Cowan takes a close look at the impact planter down force can play in helping (or hindering) growers in their quest for an evenly spaced, picket fence… Read More
Harvest is wrapped up and your yield monitor has accumulated another year of data. What should you do with it? In this episode of Corn School, AGRIS Co-operative agronomist Dale Cowan shares his thoughts on how you can use that yield data to guide soil sampling and create management zones in your fields. Many farmers… Read More
Harvest is in the homestretch and it’s time for farmers to start thinking about how the precision agriculture data they’ve accumulated can help build a winning strategy for 2016. In this Corn School episode, AGRIS Co-operative agronomist Dale Cowan looks at how farmers can combine performance data and field observations to diagnose issues that contribute… Read More