The theoretical yield of soybeans varies depending on who you talk to, but by all accounts the oilseed should be able to top 300 bushels per acre. For growers who deal with the reality of growing the crop in Ontario, a more realistic target is 80 bu/ac, says Syngenta agronomist Eric Richter. With the 2018... Read More
Category: Crop Schools
When most people hear the term biotechnology they think GMOs. It's important to know that biotechnology is much more than just GMOs because understanding this helps us to understand how scientists are helping to provide food for the seven billion people on the planet. In this episode of the Wheat School, Dr. Harpinder Randawa, research... Read More
Planting depth, down force, row cleaners and closing wheels — they’re all key considerations when setting up your planter, says corn agronomy guru Ken Ferrie. At the CropSmart 2019 conference held at Kitchener, Ont., last week, Ferrie, the driving force behind Crop-Tech, one of North America’s leading independent agronomy firms, spent almost seven hours sharing... Read More
Can Ontario winter wheat growers mix ammonium thiosulphate (ATS) with herbicides and fungicides to address sulphur deficiency symptoms or should they apply it separately with streamer nozzles? That's a question Mike Cowbrough and Joanna Follings wanted to answer with 2018 research plots. The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs weed specialist and cereals... Read More
Should you plant soybeans before corn? The answer is yes if you're a believer in big data and its ability to help you make better farm management decisions. Earlier this month at the SouthWest Agricultural Conference at Ridgetown, Ont., University of Wisconsin-Madison soybean extension specialist Shaun Conley made his pitch to have farmers put corn... Read More
From an environmental standpoint, Ontario experienced a perfect storm in 2018 that produced an epidemic of gibberella ear rot in corn and resulting unprecedented DON levels. Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs field crop plant pathologist Albert Tenuta compares the conditions that created the classic silk channel infection in corn hybrids to what... Read More
Even if you don't think you have herbicide resistant weeds in your fields, the best management practice might be to treat your fields as if you do. That's the advice of Linda Hall, associate professor in the Faculty of Agriculture Life and Environmental Science at University of Alberta, in this episode of the Resistance Management... Read More
It's not the greatest news to start of the winter learning season — corn growers need to be on alert for a new leaf disease making its way towards Canada. Speaking at the Southwest Agricultural Conference, Martin Chilvers, field crop pathologist with Michigan State University, says tar spot has moved swiftly out of Indiana and... Read More
2018 was a difficult year for soybean markets. The U.S.-China trade war triggered a $2.00-$2.50 per bushel reduction in the futures market and neither side appears willing to relent in their sanction tug-of-war. In RealAgriculture's final Soybean School episode of the 2018 season, we asked ag economist, market commentator, and farmer Philip Shaw for his... Read More
There is no mineral that provides nitrogen for plants. No rock, like there is for phosphate or sulphur. There is some nitrogen in the organic matter of soils but any additional nitrogen that a plant needs has to come out of the air. The good news is that about 78 percent of the air around... Read More