Category: Crop Schools

Not only does wheat bump corn and soy yields when included in rotation, but adding the crop also means the nitrogen used in that rotation goes further. What does that really mean? Well, at least one way to look at it is that you can still hit high yields in a continuous corn or corn-soy... Read More

There's no doubt that access to available sulphur is incredibly important to canola development and yield. Applying and managing this nutrient, however, has challenges — ammonium sulfate can be incredibly toxic to young sprouts and other forms of the fertilizer can also take some time before sulphur is made available to the plant. In an... Read More

Soil salinity is one of those issues that creeps up — quite literally. The accumulation of salts in the growing zone typically happens slowly over time, causing small yield losses that may go unnoticed until salinity is quite severe. The tell-tale wavy growth in a field or, worse, bare batches or salt-loving weeds moving in... Read More

Building off of the success of the 300 Bushel Corn initiative, PRIDE Seeds is rolling out the 100 Bushel initiative for soybeans in 2013. Slated to take place on as many as 40 sites across Ontario, the 100 Bushel challenge seeks to showcase the optimum combination of variety choice, planting date, seed treatment, inoculant, fertility... Read More

Here we go again. It's time to start thinking about getting into the field. That means taking a real, good look at your corn planter and getting it ready to do the job it's supposed to do. Not having your planter setup properly is a yield robbing nightmare. In this episode of the Corn School... Read More

There are some topics, like fungicide responses or herbicide efficacy comparisons, that really only need a few years of work before you can begin to draw conclusions. Other agronomic considerations, like crop rotations and tillage practices, require years and years of data to fully capture the value of a particular tactic. Ontario has two long-term... Read More

There are few things that get a farmer's blood pumping like a field ready for the seeder and shiny new iron to drag across it. With the growing corn and soybean acres in the west, more farmers have adopted row crop planters, and, inevitably, wondered how good a job they would do on other crops.... Read More

It's one thing to know that you should be scouting for blackleg, sclerotinia, sulphur deficiency and cutworms, for example. It's another thing entirely to actually scout every field for every pest at the optimal timing during the hectic growing season. What if there was a way to practice insect, disease and nutrient deficiency identification when... Read More

Everyone loves a good challenge. The Grain Farmers of Ontario 2012 spring wheat challenge recently awarded top prize to Del Cressman, from Listowel, Ont., for his 112 bu/ac average crop. Breaking and surpassing 100 bushels per acre while maintaining protein doesn't happen by chance, of course. In this video, Cressman outlines the management factors and... Read More

Soybeans are the hot topic of 2013. From Manitoba to Alberta, farmers are curious about growing the crop or are planning to expand acres in a big way this year. While the crop isn't brand new for Manitoba, the projected 1 million acre mark for 2013 is not going to be reached by only seasoned... Read More