Lisa Thompson, MPP representing the Ontario riding of Huron-Bruce, recently stepped up to lead the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. In Premier Doug Ford’s cabinet, Thompson has held two other cabinet posts, including Minister of Education. She says that even though she is only now moving into the agriculture post, agriculture and… Read More
Wet, humid weather across Ontario this summer has required many soybean growers to apply two fungicide applications to help control white mould. On this episode of RealAgriculture’s Soybean School, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs plant pathologist Albert Tenuta discusses best practices to help manage the yield-robbing disease, including canopy construction. Tenuta points… Read More
The rain has come, and the corn crop is advancing fast. The crop is between tassel and silking stages, and the concern now is how to manage the crop for silage production. Will disease have an impact on the feed quality? Here to answer that is Albert Tenuta, OMAFRA plant pathologist, who joins Bernard Tobin… Read More
While it’s important to stay current on new and emerging diseases of the corn crop, it’s still important to keep tabs on the old standbys, such as northern corn leaf blight. “We know the weather’s been favourable for diseases, and we get lots of calls on that,” says Alberta Tenuta, plant pathologist at OMAFRA. There’s… Read More
The annual Ontario field crop diagnostic days held at Ridgetown, Elora, and Winchester will again go virtual in 2021. The organizing committees of these three highly successful in-field education and learning events are again partnering with crop researchers and extension, along with support from RealAgriculture and a host of sponsors to bring you a series… Read More
Originally announced in the provincial budget earlier this year, the Ontario government has officially launched the new Winery Agri-Tourism COVID-19 Relief Initiative. The fund of $10 million will be distributed to Ontario wineries and cideries with on-site stores whose business were impacted by COVID-19 safety measures to stop the spread of the virus. Businesses that saw a… Read More
Harvest weather and the forecast have not been kind to Ontario’s wheat growers, and calls are coming in from several counties looking for advice on what to do with a stranded wheat crop. Joanna Follings, cereal specialist with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, says that a few oddities are showing up… Read More
When it comes to strip tilling, is it better to plant corn into fall strips or spring strips? Ben Rosser, corn lead with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, has been working on this question for a while now, and in this Corn School episode, Bernard Tobin catches up with him in… Read More
Grain growers are reporting that bluegrass is becoming a growing weedy issue in many Ontario field crops. There are three types of weedy bluegrass species that are being found: annual bluegrass, rough-stalk bluegrass, and Canada bluegrass. As Mike Cowbrough, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs weed specialist explains in this Wheat School episode,… Read More
The Ontario government has announced changes to biogas rules in an effort to expand the biogas and renewable natural gas market in the province. The regulation changes will enable new on-farm biogas systems and expansion of existing systems to be approved more easily and at a lower cost, to help ensure that Ontario continues to… Read More
Ontario is moving ahead with changes to the AgriStability program for farmers in the province, regardless of the federal government’s support or the agreement of other provinces. Last November, the federal government proposed removing the Reference Margin Limit (RML) and increasing the compensation rate from 70 per cent to 80 per cent. Because of how the… Read More
With about a year left before a provincial election, Premier Doug Ford is shuffling his cabinet to replace MPPs who have resigned, those that aren’t running again, and changing the roles of others. Of particular note, current Minister of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) Ernie Hardeman has been replaced by MPP Lisa Thompson, who… Read More
Provincial governments across Canada are consulting with farmers and the agriculture industry as they prepare to hammer out a new five-year federal-provincial-territorial agricultural policy framework. The Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP) — the $3 billion 5-year investment by federal, provincial and territorial governments — is set to expire in 2023. While federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau… Read More
4-H Ontario will receive $700,000 per year for the next two years to support the growth of the province’s next generation of agri-food leaders, thanks to a grant from the Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP). The organization will use the grant to develop educational content and first-hand learning experiences to “inspire the next generation to explore exciting… Read More
A cross-border initiative between the Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO), Michigan State University, Michigan Wheat Program, the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA), and the University of Guelph will see the creation of a Great Lakes Yield Enhancement Network (YEN) for wheat growers. Announced June 9, the Great Lakes YEN is part… Read More