How can growers adjust their combines to reduce vomitoxin levels when harvesting the 2018 crop? RealAgriculture agronomist Peter Johnson has some answers. In this episode of Real Agriculture’s Corn School, Johnson visits with custom combine operator David Killins, of Killins Custom work, at Dorchester, Ontario. Johnson acknowledges that while cleaning corn does help, it’s not… Read More
Happy Halloween, everyone. Did you corn crop dress up as a high yielding, but also high mycotoxin-infused monster? Do you dress up as a Wheat Pete’s Word listener a little tired of hearing about what to do with this corn crop? Well, we only partially apologize, as there are still so many questions about how… Read More
When you don’t have something nice to say you’re supposed to say nothing at all, but if you’ve ever met Peter ‘Wheat Pete’ Johnson you already know that’s not his style. Besides, the Ontario corn crop is such a mess there’s no way to NOT talk about it. This week’s Wheat Pete’s Word isn’t all… Read More
Agronomist Peter Johnson has been visiting cornfields and elevators to get a handle on the extent of vomitoxin levels in the Ontario corn crop. In this episode of RealAgriculture’s Corn School, Johnson discusses Ontario’s recent Grain Corn Ear Mould and Vomitoxin (DON) Survey, and notes that some samples coming off the combine have tested as… Read More
EDITOR’S NOTE This situation is evolving daily — please contact Agricorp directly for the latest parameters on dealing with high-ppm corn. ** Agricorp is keeping a close eye on vomitoxin levels in Ontario’s corn crop and telling growers not to destroy any crop at this time. The provincial risk management program provider has indicated it… Read More
With a little luck, RealAgriculture agronomist Peter Johnson believesOntario farmers could still plant one million acres of winter wheat this fall. In this episode of RealAgriculture’s Wheat School, Johnson says it’s not too late to plant wheat in most of the province. Late-planted wheat can still deliver strong yields, but growers have to pay strict… Read More
Harvest has picked up in both Western and Eastern Canada, though the challenges facing each region are unique. On this episode of Wheat Pete’s Word, Peter ‘Wheat Pete’ Johnson tackles late season weed control decisions (mostly: just don’t), diseased corn crop management, and shares some new findings on including cereal rye as a cover crop. Have… Read More
The 2018 growing season has thrown Ontario farmers more than a few curve balls, including severe drought, but this latest at harvest is likely the toughest to manage. Ontario’s provincial agriculture department has released its annual corn crop toxin survey, and the numbers are not good. A whopping 25% of crop surveyed came in at… Read More
Harvest woes aren’t just limited to Western Canada, as, while there hasn’t been snow (yet!), wet field conditions are keeping Ontario farmers out of the fields as well. Soybean harvest has hardly advanced since last week, and disease pressure continues to build in standing corn. This week’s Wheat Pete’s Word covers a harvest update, but… Read More
It might seem counter-intuitive, but slowing down corn emergence may actually boost yields. Plot results are in, and it would seem that optimum distance between corn plants matters far less than uniform emergence. And achieving perfectly uniform emergence takes planting deep. We already know that even emergence is key to top yields, but the mechanism… Read More
There are not one, but two Alert! Alert! Alert! segments in this week’s Wheat Pete’s Word, and that’s just how she goes in a wet, snowy, long, drawn out harvest. Host Peter Johnson is talking wheat storage woes, mycotoxin trouble, and strip tillage tips and tricks in this early October edition of the Word. You’ll… Read More
This week’s episode of Wheat Pete’s Word runs nearly coast to coast, with questions from out west, down south, out east, and everywhere in between. From the on-fire soybean yields in Ontario, to the evergreen crop in Western Canada, to fungicide timing on forage crops, you won’t want to miss Peter Johnson’s answers to this… Read More
The 2018 harvest in Western Canada started early for many, given the hot, dry conditions earlier in the summer, but September has turned ugly — but in very different ways in different regions . While some are struggling with snow and wet conditions, still others are getting frustrated with a crop that was roaring to harvest,… Read More
Harvest is underway in southern Ontario and the early soybean yields are spectacular compared to the five year average and earlier 2018 expectations. According to RealAg Agronomist Peter Johnson, farmers are hitting 70 bushels an acre and, in some cases, even 80. Johnson speculates the Ontario soybean average yield will be 51.3 bushels per acre… Read More
Can dissolved urea increase your wheat yield? If it burns the crop will it still put more bushels in the bin? In this episode of RealAgriculture’s Wheat School we catch up with our resident agronomist Peter Johnson as he inspects a field of winter wheat that received 15 gallons per acre of dissolved urea with… Read More