Late May means two things in Ontario: black flies and hybrid corn heat unit swaps. While the week's forecast is nothing to write home about, the market wants more corn acres. If you are sticking with corn, and you should, when do you decide to trim back on heat units? The key in capitalizing on... Read More
Category: Agronomy
It'd be fantastic if this Wheat Pete's Word update included a milestone planting progress update, but 2019 is proving to be a slow one for much of Ontario. And while Western Canada is having much more luck getting the crop in, areas are still dry to very dry. Questions submitted for this week's show involve... Read More
With the abundance of chilly, wet conditions, growers in Ontario and Quebec have seen very limited progress in planted acres to date. Tuesday on RealAg Radio on RuralRadio 147, Peter Johnson said that he estimates planting in Ontario is only five to 10 per cent completed at this time. "There were a few guys that... Read More
It might seem counter-intuitive, but slowing down corn emergence may actually boost yields. Last fall, RealAgriculture agronomist Peter Johnson took a close look at corn research plots and concluded that optimum distance between corn plants matters far less than uniform emergence. He also discovered that achieving perfectly uniform emergence takes planting deep. We already know... Read More
Ten years of soil data suggests that regardless of soil texture, pH, or crop rotation, there's one thing that impacts soil carbon more than anything else — temperature. Dr. Ed Gregorich, soil research scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) based at Ottawa, Ont., is drawing on data from a long-term, national soil study. Gregorich... Read More
Planting is rolling on, even if it is verrrry slowly for parts of Ontario. Meanwhile, crops are emerging well in many parts of the Prairies. This week's Wheat Pete's Word tackles some timely topics, such as creative ways to apply N to hungry wheat, why starter fertilizer is almost always worth it on corn, and... Read More
If you have weeds pop up prior to planting soybeans you can control them with a burndown herbicide application. But what happens when rain and wind conspire to prevent you from applying a burndown and you have to control weeds after planting? That's the situation many Ontario growers are facing in 2019 as the wet... Read More
As May 15 approaches and the rain continues to fall across Ontario, growers need to start thinking about whether they should be dialling back their chosen soybean maturity range. Research shows growing a longer-season variety can put an additional four to five bushels in the bin if they're planted by mid-May, says AGRIS Co-operative agronomist... Read More