Cobless corn, 35 bu/ac oats, rising hay prices — the drought of 2016 continues to take its toll. Peter Johnson, resident agronomist at RealAgriculture, and host of the Word, discusses the impact the dryness is having on corn, spring cereal yields and the implications for applying manure, among other agronomic challenges facing Ontario growers. Listen... Read More

Cover crops have long been touted for their ability to help maintain soil health, control erosion, reduce nutrient loss and improve soil fertility. But could they put grain and oilseed crops at risk by playing host to disease and pests? That’s a question OMAFRA field pathologist Albert Tenuta is trying to answer. In this video,... Read More

The inaugural Canadian Beef Industry Conference is underway in Calgary, Alberta this week, and this morning, RealAgriculture's Shaun Haney and Gateway Livestock's Anne Wasko took the opportunity to film a Beef Market Update in-person, in our studio on the trade-show floor. The duo started off talking about some of the good news in the industry,... Read More

How much corn yield could Ontario’s hot, dry summer cost growers? In this episode of the Corn School, Ridgetown College, University of Guelph field crop agronomist Dave Hooker explains that drought stress can have a tremendous impact on yield, especially during the two-week period that “brackets” silking. Hooker says that the number of rows on... Read More

Maintaining public trust in the way food is produced has become a top priority, not just for farmers, but for the entire agriculture sector, including the seed industry. "Right through the whole value chain, we have to get involved. We're a small sector in Canada now...and to have our voice heard against the activists who... Read More

Has anything received more talk and less action than Canada’s chronic farm labour shortage? The nagging disconnect between unemployed Canadians and job openings in agriculture hit me this week when Statistics Canada announced that the country had lost more than 31,200 jobs in July. The figure was a surprise to everyone. Economists had predicted a... Read More

There's a new foliar fungicide on its way to western Canadian growers. "Trivapro will be available for use in cereals, soybeans and corn," explains Syngenta's Rob Klewchuk, in this following interview. "There's three active ingredients — three modes of action." The active ingredients include: propiconazole (Group 3), azoxystrobin (Group 11), and the new succinate dehydro-genase... Read More

Grains blew through the first week of August like a night owl, trading well overnight before collapsing during most daylight hours. For once, wheat was the big winner of the week, up more than 2% on concerns over the crop coming off in Europe and substitution away from corn for feed demand pretty much all... Read More

If tansy ragwort is gaining a foothold in your pasture fields, it’s time to take action. The poisonous yellow-flowered plant has taken root in pastures and hayfields across North America and its liver-damaging alkaloids can kill livestock, explains Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs weed specialist Mike Cowbrough. In this video, Cowbrough offers tips... Read More