Every conference season, presentation after presentation reminds farmers of the cost of too-short crop rotations. Increased disease pressure, insect infestations and nutrient depletion of soil all weigh on yields in tight rotations. Agronomic decisions like these commonly play in to the decision on what to seed next on each field, but 2014 is shaping up... Read More
Category: Podcasts
Ever had a soil test come back with some surprising nitrogen levels? While it's typically lower than expected (don't we all wish N didn't just disappear?), every now and then a crop may have left some behind due to any number of factors, like water availability, timing of mineralization or some other something that maybe... Read More
The ability to measure, track and vary inputs and other agronomic data far exceeds most people's comfort level with data analysis. And if you're all, whoa, what the heck is she talking about? You've made my point. Any new(ish) equipment comes with the fantastic built-in capability to track what its doing, and as farmers add... Read More
The tide seems to be turning in the area of cattle feeder profitability with live cattle futures swinging upwards and feed prices trending downward. All of this will be for not if you do not manage your risk and lock in some profits. As Anne Wasko mentions in this weeks Beef Market Update, you need... Read More
Its time for episode two of the Ontario Agronomy Geeks. This weeks guests are St. Thomas farmer Peter Gredig and University of Guelph Professor and OMAFRA Weed Specialist Mike Cowbrough. The panel joins Shaun Haney to discuss corn harvest progress, corn hybrid selection, potential acre increase for IP soybeans in 2014, does lower prices mean... Read More
What's your process for tracking what you do in each field? Most farmers have some combination of pen and paper, app, Excel documents and more for recording the activities carried out in each field. But what process do you have in place for diagnostics? For tracking what you've noticed, the possible causes, the decided-upon cause... Read More
If you asked me a year ago today what I was up to for the winter, I would have grinned and said, "feeding cows." A few months in, and I may not have been grinning much, save for one thing: podcasts. (sorry AM/FM radio stations, our rural tractors don't come with 30' antennas) Long, cold... Read More
In this edition of the Beef Market Update, Anne Wasko and Shaun Haney catch up on a few weeks' worth of news and market moves. Mid-November fat cattle supplies remain tight, leaving the feeder with a bit of leverage right now to, as Wasko says, "grind the market up into mid 120s, the highest we've... Read More
Lots to discuss this week on the Ontario Agronomy Geeks. The guests this week are Steve Denys, VP Sales and Marketing Pride Seeds, Peter Johnson, Wheat Specialist OMAFRA, and St. Thomas based farmer Peter Gredig. We hope that you enjoy the first edition of the Ontario Agronomy Geeks, where we discussed the corn and soybean... Read More
If you've spent any amount of time with me, you'll likely catch on to two things: One, I really, really like coffee, and, two, I'm a total agronomy nut. In university, I originally intended to pursue some sort of livestock-based arc of study. I took one crop production class and was hooked. Plants fascinate me... Read More