Ontario winter wheat growers are crossing their fingers and holding their breath as a potential record crop heads into its final weeks of grain fill and approaches harvest. RealAgriculture agronomist Peter Johnson says a key yield indicator he's been watching is the number of seeds at each spikelet. He notes that growers have been sharing... Read More
Category: Eastern Canada
As the calendar pushes to mid-June, growers in areas of the province still struggling with wet planting conditions are now deciding whether to try to plant corn, switch to soybeans, or make unseeded acreage claims. Agronomists and ag reps attending a Ridgetown, Ont., virtual Ag Business Breakfast Meeting on Tuesday did their best to assess... Read More
Ontario government sources have confirmed that Ontario’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) will no longer exist after Premier Doug Ford cabinet shuffle, announced late Thursday. OMAFRA was hatched in 1994 when Bob Rae's New Democratic Party government combined agriculture with the rural affairs portfolio to create the new ministry with Agriculture Minister... Read More
The strike at Cargill's beef processing facility at Guelph, Ont., is nearing the two-week mark, forcing cattle to be marketed elsewhere in and outside the province. Around 960 workers at the Cargill facility, which can processes around 1,500 head of cattle per day and represents between 75 and 80 per cent of Ontario's beef processing... Read More
Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced changes to his cabinet late Thursday, June 6, the final day of the spring session in the provincial legislature with MPPs headed home until October. While many of the senior cabinet positions were left unchanged, there are some significant changes for agriculture. Lisa Thompson, who has served as Minister of... Read More
Sclerotinia is one of the most challenging diseases for growers to manage in canola, and in soybeans, where it appears in the form of white mould. In both crops, field history and moisture are two key drivers of the disease. Hit play and watch/listen to this episode on sclerotinia and white mould featuring Chris Manchur... Read More
Planting across Ontario is nearing completion in many regions, but excessive rain continues to stall progress in some areas, leaving farmers to contemplate switching intended corn acres to soybeans. It's a decision that has significant cropping implications, says RealAgriculture agronomist Peter Johnson, and he wants growers to look at all the potential impacts before making... Read More
Nearly a thousand workers at Cargill's Dunlop beef processing facility at Guelph, Ont. are on strike, as of 12:01am on Monday, May 27, according to their union. The workers, who are members of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 175, voted against a negotiated settlement on Sunday. The union says it has raised... Read More
A plant growth regulator (PGR) can play a key role in helping growers manage the impact of lodging in spring and winter wheat crops. But growers have plenty of management decisions to consider to effectively use a PGR to reduce lodging, increase harvestability and protect and increase grain yield. Reducing lodging starts with selecting a... Read More
What a difference a week makes! For many parts of Ontario, corn and soybeans are up and loving the heat, but the mid and eastern parts of the province are still struggling to get the crop in as conditions are quite wet. The early warmth has also brought on stripe rust in wheat (scout!), more... Read More