New technology built on 30 years of Ontario- and Quebec-specific corn data is producing some surprising nitrogen top-dress recommendations for Ontario's corn crop. The prescription? Some dry areas of the province with a 220 bushel corn yield target are receiving total N recommendations of just 100 pounds per acre. Yes, really. Is this even possible?... Read More
Category: Crop Production
Summer has officially arrived, and it's time to get out and assess soybean plant stands. In this episode of RealAgriculture's Soybean School, we catch up with Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs soybean specialist Horst Bohner as he surveys plots at a research site in Bornholm, Ontario. As Bohner surveys a stand planted... Read More
Vital crop nutrients act differently in the root zone. Some, such as nitrogen, move easily with soil water, but others, such as phosphorus, hardly move at all, requiring that plants grow to seek out the nutrients. With the rise of no-till, crop residue builds up on the soil surface — a good thing for many... Read More
Ontario corn growers will have plenty of variables to consider as they plan fungicide applications in the weeks ahead. An extended five-week planting season has produced huge variability in the crop, with current maturity ranging from the two- to eight-leaf stage depending on where you farm in the province. In this episode of RealAgriculture's Corn... Read More
This week's episode of Wheat Pete's Word is full of alliterations and maybe, just maybe, a little serving of humble pie. We start this week talking wild weather, wheat woes and wonder, then move on to skimpy seeds and yellow ycorn (Editor's note: Sorry, I tried). Host Peter Johnson tackles what to do or not... Read More
When you look at the scope of Canadian agriculture, the discovery of a handful of wheat plants containing an unapproved genetically modified trait growing on a remote site in southern Alberta last summer is a testament to the rigour of the Canadian regulatory system. First and foremost, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) says none... Read More
Relatively few cases of clubroot have been confirmed in Saskatchewan, but with many documented cases just to the west in Alberta an obvious question emerges – has Saskatchewan been good or has it been lucky? In this episode of Real Agriculture's Canola School, Errin Willenborg, research director with SaskCanola, discusses the status of the clubroot... Read More
Have you set your western bean cutworm (WBC) traps yet? Setting traps is the most effective means of determining whether the yield-robbing pest is setting up shop in your cornfields. In this episode of RealAgriculture Corn School, OMAFRA field entomologist Tracey Baute shows growers how to set traps and discusses the growing importance of the... Read More
Errin Willenborg, research manager with SaskCanola recently took home some hardware from the Saskatchewan Institute of Agrologists (SIA). Willenborg manages $3 million in investments per year on behalf of Saskatchewan canola growers. "We're invested in a lot of research in agronomy, and looking at some of the genetics behind diseases in the province. We have... Read More
Update, June 29: The CFIA has published its incident report on the discovery of unapproved GM wheat plants in southern Alberta. The agency says it determined it was an isolated case, with no wheat entering the food or feed system, but that it was unable to determine where it came from: "The CFIA in cooperation... Read More