The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural affairs has tapped Colin Elgie as the province’s new soil fertility specialist. Elgie fills a gap created in the OMAFRA soil management team in 2019 with the retirement of long-time OMAFRA soil management specialist Adam Hayes. Jake Munroe, who formerly handled the soil fertility duties, moved into… Read More

When it comes to determining the right rate of nitrogen for your farm there’s nothing better than on-farm data. After a winter of talking with growers about escalating nutrient prices and the most economic rate of nitrogen (MERN), Ben Rosser, corn lead with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) is encouraging… Read More

After a methodical march north from the Corn Belt, tar spot has now gained a foothold in Ontario. Last year, the yield-robbing leaf disease was confirmed in five counties in the southwestern, stretching from Essex to Simcoe. Characterized by tar-like speckling on the upper surface of corn leaves, the fungal pathogen has been delivering yield… Read More

Potassium powers soybean yield. Nitrogen and phosphorus make key contributions and then there are the micros like sulphur and boron that pitch in and help. How much of these nutrients should growers apply in 2022 to optimize their soybean acres? How do you navigate the challenge of skyrocketing fertilizer prices and availability versus lucrative market… Read More

Originally announced in the fall 2021 budget, the $25 million Strategic Agri-Food Processing Fund Program will launch April 1, 2022. “Ontario’s food processing sector faces challenges to their ability to process more of the food that is grown in the province, including aging technology and facilities,” the government says in a press release. “Many aging food… Read More

What can growers do to reduce crop injury in soybean fields where they rely on soil-applied herbicides for weed control? Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs weed management specialist Mike Cowbrough sees this type of injury every year in soybean fields, but he says there are always other factors at play including untimely rain, compaction… Read More

The governments of Canada and Ontario are supplying $900,000 — through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP)  — to launch an innovative tool to connect meat and poultry farmers with abattoirs that have available processing capacity and to support recruitment, retention, and training initiatives in the industry. The new Farmer-Processor Connections Initiative, led by Meat and… Read More

The Ontario government is increasing loan limits for the Feeder Cattle Loan Guarantee Program from $500,000 to $1 million for individual co-op members, and up to $1.5 million for corporations that participate in feeder cattle co-operatives. The government says the increase applies to “experienced” individuals and corporations only. The loan guarantee is designed to help beef… Read More

Will a plant growth regulator help wheat growers harvest a better wheat crop? That’s the question Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) cereal specialist Joanna Follings and RealAgriculture agronomist Peter Johnson tackle in this 2021 Ontario Diagnostic Days video report. We join Follings and Johnson at a wheat trial in Arva, Ont. —… Read More

How can you build soil organic matter? How long does it take and what’s the impact on yield? University of Guelph researcher Laura Van Eerd and Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) soil management specialist Anne Verhallen tackle these questions in this 2021 Ontario Diagnostic Days video report. The researchers visit Van Eerd’s… Read More

Ruts are compaction we can see, but what about the yield-robbing compaction you don’t see? What can we do to prevent compaction, and how do we manage already-compacted ground? For this episode of The Agronomists, host Lyndsey Smith is joined by compaction action gurus Jodi Dejong-Hughes, extension specialist with the University of Minnesota, and Ian McDonald, crop… Read More

Planting corn into a cultivated strip provides many soil health and management benefits, but dealing with residue from the previous crop can prove challenging. In this video report from 2021 Ontario Diagnostic Days, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs corn specialist Ben Rosser and Anderson Agronomy Services agronomist Chad Anderson share what they’re learning from… Read More

The governments of Canada and Ontario are funding two new multi-year mental health initiatives, specialized to support the agriculture sector. More than $7 million dollars through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership will go towards The Guardians Network, a new program modelled after the Farmer Wellness Program, pioneered by mental health specialist Deborah Vanberkel. The program will… Read More

The Ontario government will spend $25 million over three years to strengthen the agri-food supply chain through the Strategic Agri-Food Processing Fund. The funding is designed to “incentivize industry investment in projects that help address the processing capacity shortage and increase the sector’s competitiveness and resilience against future disruptions,” the province says. Lisa Thompson, Minister… Read More

 

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