Besides just the sheer work of moving through crops on foot (and, in some cases, trying not to get lost in them), scouting can prove difficult in just deciding what path to walk. Drone technology is changing that. According to Adrian Moens of AJM Seeds, using drones to map a field prior to scouting gives... Read More
Category: Crop Schools
After a wet spring, the weather has turned hot and dry in Ontario and that could mean a proliferation of pests in soybean fields across the province. On this episode of RealAgriculture Soybean School, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs entomologist Tracey Baute says a change in the weather will likely bring on... Read More
Soybean growers looking for cover crops that can deliver soil health benefits and weed suppression without a yield hit may want to consider planting into cereal rye. Based on Ontario testing conducted in 2017 and 2018, planting soybeans into standing rye doesn't hurt your soybean yields, says Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs... Read More
It may have been a dry start to the year, with little to name of seedling diseases, but that doesn't mean canola producers are off the disease-scouting hook this summer. According to Clint Jurke, agronomy director with the Canola Council of Canada, due to the last four weeks of higher precipitation levels over the Prairies,... Read More
New Zealand doesn't share a lot in common with Canada, however, when it comes to growing high-yielding wheat Kiwi growers do count on similar management practices to put big-bushel wheat crops in the bin. Syngenta commercial products lead Sam Livesey, a New Zealand native, concedes that the country's wheat industry is diminutive (135,000 acres) but... Read More
Difficult planting conditions across Ontario this spring are set to test growers yet again as corn fungicide application timing approaches. On this episode of the RealAgriculture Corn School, Ridgetown College, University of Guelph professor Dave Hooker explains that growers looking to control gibberella ear rot can expect a 50 per cent reduction in DON when... Read More
Fusarium head blight is one of the most harmful diseases of wheat and also one of the most challenging to manage. Researchers are continuously trying to figure out the best control methods since it's one of those diseases that if you see it in your crop, you are most likely too late. In this Wheat... Read More
The debate continues across the Prairies on whether or not to straight-cut canola. While some producers have been doing it for years, the process can be a bit daunting for others who have been considering the option. Shawn Senko, agronomy specialist with the Canola Council of Canada, says in this Canola School episode that if... Read More
Ontario's winter wheat crop has been fighting an uphill battle ever since last fall and the struggle will likely continue right through to harvest. On this episode of the RealAgriculture Wheat School, agronomist Peter Johnson explains that the highly variable crop will likely mean harvesting headaches. Last week at the University of Guelph's Ridgetown College... Read More
Ontario's unplanted acres hold the potential for outstanding 2020 winter wheat yields, but growers will have to manage disease risks while planting early to turn that potential into profit, says RealAgriculture agronomist Peter Johnson. Across the province, heavy clay soils, especially in the Niagara Region and Essex County, have not been planted. Johnson has had... Read More