Great Lakes Grain’s annual Crop Assessment Tour has wrapped for the year and included over 500 corn fields and nearly 400 soybean fields. Reports from the tour suggest that the Ontario corn crop is shaping up to be a new provincial record. Early planting and less stress than past years means the corn crop is… Read More
Welcome this Agronomic Monday edition of RealAg Radio. On today’s show, you’ll hear: Ken Currah, agronomist at BASF, on fungicide strategies in corn; Meghan Vankosky, field crop entomologist at AAFC, Saskatoon, for a chat about pea leaf weevil; Dale Cowan, AGRIS Co-op agronomist, talks about nitrogen fixation in corn; Nate Ort, agronomy specialist at Canola… Read More
What if corn, like soybeans, could fix its own nitrogen? It’s a question agronomist Dale Cowan and his team at AGRIS Co-operative are tackling this summer as they test a biological product that promises to help corn plants fix nitrogen, when applied directly on the seed, in pop-up fertilizer, and through foliar application between the… Read More
Wheat harvest is 10 days earlier for many Ontario wheat growers, and that opens a window of opportunity to plant double crop soybeans. But that window will close quickly. When it comes to double cropping success, there are plenty of best management practices to consider. Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs soybean specialist… Read More
It was a dry start to the year for soybeans in Ontario as a lot of seed went into dry conditions, but the crop seems to have come along. A dry spring in Ontario can make for easier planting though, and coupled with timely rains the season’s start hasn’t been too bad. In this Soybean… Read More
Weather is the ultimate source for small talk, and rainfall is perhaps the most talked about — from how much, to when, to not enough, and on too much. For this episode of the Corn School, Bernard Tobin asks Dale Cowan, senior agronomist at AGRIS C0-operative, about how much rain a corn crop needs throughout… Read More
With the winter wheat crop advancing quickly and soybean prices hovering around $18, there’s a lot of chatter in Ontario about double cropping soybeans in 2021. The topic commanded the attention of agronomists, researchers and agribusiness reps for almost 20 minutes at this week’s virtual Ridgetown Agribusiness meeting. With the stars aligning, Ontario Ministry of… Read More
The roller coaster ride continues for Ontario’s winter wheat crop. It’s been a spring full of weather highs and lows but AGRIS Co-op agronomist Dale Cowan says the development of the crop is running about 10 days ahead of schedule in the southwest region of the province. Cowan told agronomists, researchers, and agribusiness reps gathered… Read More
Welcome to this Monday edition of RealAg Radio. On today’s episode we have an agronomic Monday theme where you’ll hear: Ashley Smith of BASF Canada, on pulse crop inoculant storage; Joel Basinger of John Deere, on new sprayer technology; Since a new episode of The Agronomists airs tonight, we’ll have a replay of our planter… Read More
Achieving a perfect planting pass requires fine-tuning equipment, fit soil, and patience. To discuss how to get there, The Agronomists’ host Shaun Haney is joined by Dale Cowan, senior agronomist for AGRIS Co-op, and Matt Chapple, market development agronomist for PRIDE Seeds. The trio tackle set up, down force, soil conditions, monitoring and so much more…. Read More
As Canada celebrates Victoria Day, fieldwork is going full-steam ahead. For this Agronomy Monday on RealAg Radio, we’ve got: Improving canola seedling survival and resilience, with Russell Trischuk; Growing soybeans for high-protein forage, with Clare Kinlin; Estimated corn emergence based on CHUs, with Dale Cowan; and, A deep-dive into soybean best management practices, with Horst… Read More
How many crop heat units (CHU) does corn need to emerge? That’s a question many growers are asking as their corn seed shivers through the cold spring 2020 growing conditions. On this episode of RealAgriculture’s Corn School, we put that question to Dale Cowan, AGRIS Co-operative agronomist. He says that corn seed typically requires 165… Read More
What happens in your fields during the growing season plays a critical role in determining the numbers that pop up on the combine yield monitor at harvest. One way to better understand those final yields and improve future management decisions is to utilize digital agronomy tools that are now widely available to both growers and… Read More
In 2019, many Ontario soybean fields showed signs of severe manganese deficiency. Many of the problem areas were a direct result of growing conditions that featured both soil temperature and moisture extremes, says AGRIS Co-operative agronomist Dale Cowan, who notes that many soils in southwestern Ontario tend to be naturally low in manganese. Any time… Read More
August rains make soybeans — it’s more than just a cliche, it’s a crop management fact that rings true whenever timely moisture finds soybean fields during a pivotal growing month for the oilseed crop. On the episode of the RealAgriculture Soybean School, AGRIS Co-operative senior agronomist Dale Cowan tells us why and how August rains… Read More