As commodity prices continue to rise, efficiency at harvest becomes increasingly important. Producers want to minimize loss in every area possible. Harvest is one area farmers can take control of when it comes to increasing efficiency. Depending on how the combine is adjusted and the crop type, some farmers can lose up to 5 bushels... Read More
Category: Crop Production
It’s been a tough year for farmers here in Ontario. As a sopping wet spring lead its way into a dry, hot summer, things aren’t looking overly optimistic for the upcoming harvest. Corn and soybean fields across the province are hugely variable in terms of development and stand but where we find variability we also... Read More
Test weights on wheat are down below average in parts of Ontario. Compared to this time last year, yields by test weight alone are down by as much as 10% in areas. There are a couple of reasons behind this. The first involves under-filled kernels from plants surrounding dead zones in the field being... Read More
The Canadian wheat industry is changing, especially in the west. The elimination of the single desk is the key factor driving that change. Across the country, everyone involved in the industry is evaluating and strategizing in an effort to determine how this will affect their business and what they have to do to successfully adjust... Read More
Wheat is an important crop globally. From a food production standpoint, with regards to rotation on the farm and from an economic standpoint, wheat is "key" crop worldwide. The biotech industry has taken notice of this, and a great deal of new interest has been invested into wheat. Companies like Syngenta have expanded their efforts... Read More
Anyone who grows malt barley knows the number of specifications it has to meet in order to be acceptable. There are some years where those specifications can prove very frustrating to growers. When that barley doesn't meet specifications, one of the areas that gets the blame is variety, the grain company or the CWB. After... Read More
Canola harvest is still a few months away, but it's still a good time to get familiar with your combine. Last weeks "Picking up Profits" combine clinic put on by the Canola Council of Canada brought industry experts as well as a number of different combine manufacturers together in an effort to help producers limit... Read More
Corn is a plant that likes heat, but how much is too much? When you get into a situation where later planted corn is involved, that heat has to be balanced with the crops ability to access water. In less mature corn, that root structure may not be able to access. Parts of Ontario are... Read More
A big part of a successful pest control strategy depends on pests behaving in a certain way and us basing our control measures on that. When an insect pest deviates from typical behaviour, it can in some cases, negate any control strategy we implement based on that behaviour. Things like emergence patterns, feeding habits,... Read More
This episode of the Wheat School can be summarized as a bit of a fusarium clinic. Peter Johnson, Cereal Specialist with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs gives us a first hand look at the difference in resistance between older wheat varieties and some of the newer generations. Here we get confirmation... Read More