That’s a question many growers ask when they see parts of their soybean fields prematurely turning yellow in August and early September. In this episode of Real Agriculture Soybean School, OMAFRA’s Albert Tenuta and University of Guelph researcher Dave Hooker team up to answer the question and provide management tips. When his phone rings, Tenuta… Read more »
Tag: Dave Hooker
Soybean School: Corn is King but Soys Can Deliver in Drought
Many Ontario growers are witnessing the punishing affect that hot, dry conditions are having on corn crops, but soybeans are better able to weather the stress. In this episode of Real Agriculture Soybean School, Ridgetown College, University of Guelph field crop agronomist Dave Hooker takes a look at the components of soybean yield and explains why… Read more »
Corn School: 250 Bushels or 70 Bushels — Measuring Drought Impact
How much corn yield could Ontario’s hot, dry summer cost growers? In this episode of the Corn School, Ridgetown College, University of Guelph field crop agronomist Dave Hooker explains that drought stress can have a tremendous impact on yield, especially during the two-week period that “brackets” silking. Hooker says that the number of rows on a… Read more »
Wheat School: Are We Winning The Fusarium Fight?
Ontario farmers continue to wage war with fusarium head blight (FHB). The battle is far from over, as evidenced by the disease’s impact on the provincial wheat crop in 2013. But with an ever-expanding management toolbox farmers are now in a much better position to defend their crops, says University of Guelph Associate Professor David Hooker. Vivid… Read more »
Big Yields. Are They Impacting Soil Fertility?
Ontario crop yields have exploded over the last 35 years. Corn yields have increased by 80% during this time and soybeans are not that far behind at 65%. Those big yield gains create a much greater draw on soil nutrients. In the case of corn, for example, the average corn crop now removes 63 lbs… Read more »
Corn School: Specific Hybrids Respond to Intensive Management in OCC Trials
How do specific corn hybrids respond to intensive management practices? Do they deliver higher yields? Are those extra bushels profitable for growers? Those are some of the questions the Ontario Corn Committee (OCC) is trying to answer with its new intensive management corn trials. At the SouthWest Agricultural Conference in early January, OCC’s Dr. David… Read more »
Soybean School: The Costs of Continuous Soybeans
Tough conditions last fall resulted in fewer acres of wheat being planted than planned in Ontario. Some of those fields could end up defaulting back to soybeans for 2015. In this Soybean School episode, Dave Hooker, field crop agronomist and assistant professor at the University of Guelph-Ridgetown, and Bernard Tobin discuss the implications of back-to-back soybean crops, and… Read more »
Soybean School: Getting the Biggest Bang for Your Buck on Fungicides in Soybeans
While research shows fungicide applications in wheat and corn can often be justified by higher yields, the yield response to fungicides in soybeans is not as clear cut. Timing of fungicide application might be part of the formula for getting better than break-even returns, says Dave Hooker, field crop agronomist and assistant professor at the University of… Read more »
An Ag Education is Just the Beginning: Sparking a Love of Life-Long Learning
How did your ag education shape your career choices? Your interests in other areas of agriculture? Your willingness to continue to learn and keep learning? Watch more: Check out our corn production video series, the Corn School, here In this video, RealAgriculture’s Ontario field editor, Bern Tobin, speaks to Dave Hooker, professor at the University… Read more »
This Week on RealAg — The November 29th Edition
I’ve got to tell you, this week has been a bit of a marathon, maybe only a little bit because it started off in the rosy afterglow of a Rider win in the 101st Grey Cup championship (sorry Ti-Cat fans!). That, and we were everywhere this week. Everywhere! The RealAgriculture team was in Banff for… Read more »
How Social Media is Extending Extension
Just a few years ago, Dave Hooker, professor at University of Guelph-Ridgetown Campus, started a Twitter account as @CropDoc2. Like many, however, it sort of was just there and he didn’t do much with it. Then, at the urging of a colleague, Hooker started Tweeting, asking questions, pushing out research findings and started a true… Read more »
Corn School: Sifting Through Trial Data & the Importance of Careful Hybrid Selection
Hybrid selection is a critical piece of the corn crop management puzzle — one mistake could cost as much as 80 bushels per acre in yield. Really, you say? Well, that’s perhaps the most extreme case, but it’s a valid possibility if you take a look at the top and bottom varieties in the GoCorn.net… Read more »
Wheat School: Wheat in Rotation Bumps Nitrogen Use Efficiency of Corn
Not only does wheat bump corn and soy yields when included in rotation, but adding the crop also means the nitrogen used in that rotation goes further. What does that really mean? Well, at least one way to look at it is that you can still hit high yields in a continuous corn or corn-soy… Read more »
Wheat School: The Corn/Soy Yield Bump from Wheat in Rotation
There are some topics, like fungicide responses or herbicide efficacy comparisons, that really only need a few years of work before you can begin to draw conclusions. Other agronomic considerations, like crop rotations and tillage practices, require years and years of data to fully capture the value of a particular tactic. Ontario has two long-term… Read more »
Soybean School: Tips for Double Cropping Soy in Ontario
2012 was an excellent year to evaluate the very real opportunity of double crop soybeans in Ontario. A relatively early wheat harvest can open the door to just enough time for a soybean crop planted in early July to reach maturity. With bean prices where they are, it’s a gamble some farmers are willing to… Read more »