A widespread rain sweeping across Ontario this past weekend provided plenty of moisture to activate soil-applied, pre-plant herbicides in crop fields throughout the province. With the timely rain, many growers are now asking: after activation do these herbicides have the capability to 'reach back' and control already-emerged weeds and grasses such as foxtail? University of... Read More
Category: Crop Production
Once the canola crop has emerged, keep eyes peeled for pesky early insects. Across Western Canada, the top two insects of concern tend to be cutworms and — you guessed it — flea beetles. Anique Josuttes of BASF says even though we say it year after year, the number one tool you can use is... Read More
Massey Ferguson has brought its rugged, hardworking RB Series of silage balers to North America. The machinery manufacturer rolled out the RB 4160V Classic at the National Farm Machinery Show earlier this year in Louisville, Kentucky. In this video report, Massey Ferguson marketing product specialist Lukas Dickerson notes that the RB Series has been working... Read More
Nightshade can be a nightmare for edible bean growers. The weed can play havoc with the crop as mature berries produced by the eastern black nightshade plant cause edible bean staining and mud tagging, and can even gum up cleaning equipment at the processing plant. On this episode of the RealAgriculture Edible Bean School, Ontario... Read More
Tucked into the Ontario Progressive Conservatives' Bill 97 is a proposed change to severance allowances of farmland that the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) says could make siting of livestock farms much more difficulty. What's more, the bill carves out increased power for Ministerial Zoning Orders in the name of housing; however, Peggy Brekveld, president... Read More
The federal agriculture minister says she would like to move ahead on modernizing the Canada Grain Act before the end of the calendar year. The Act and the role of the Canadian Grain Commission in administering it have been the subject of multiple reviews and rounds of consultations, with no major changes going back to... Read More
Chilly to downright cold nights have some Ontario farmers worried about alfalfa, wheat, and beans. Of course, if you look west, the heat is on and so are the wildfires, obscuring the sun for much of Alberta. For this week's around-the-horn on agronomy updates, host of Wheat Pete's Word Peter Johnson tackles the frost question,... Read More
It is the year of the dandelion. The hardy perennial pests are bigger and more plentiful in fields across Ontario than farmers can ever remember. University of Guelph weed scientist Peter Sikkema has been fielding many questions about why the weed is so abundant this spring and how best to control it. When it comes... Read More
Certain herbicides have done plenty of heavy lifting when it comes to the fight against weeds over the last number of decades, but as herbicide resistance becomes more common, it's important to spread out that workload whenever possible. Corn is often a crop where there are more herbicide options, explains Jeanette Gaultier, technical services specialist... Read More
Two weeks of dry weather conditions across Ontario has helped move a lot of manure over fields across the province. Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food & Rural Affairs manure management specialist Christine Brown is reporting that custom operators have been running hard and most farmers were finishing up applications for crop land late last week.... Read More