Forage Report – August 20, 2013

  While it is always very tempting to cut some alfalfa in the fall, the decision should weigh the immediate need for forage against the increased risk of alfalfa winterkill and reduced yields next spring. The Critical Fall Harvest Period for alfalfa is the 6-week period preceeding the average date of killing frost. Not cutting […]

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Forage Report – August 7, 2013

The window for summer seeding alfalfa and alfalfa-grass mixtures is approaching for much of the province.   This can be a good way to establish new fields so that full season yields can be harvested next year. It is typically done after winter wheat or spring cereals are harvested, and also during years when alfalfa winterkill […]

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Wanted: Corn Rootworm Beetles

Researchers at the University of Guelph are looking for fields with high numbers of corn rootworm beetles. Beetles will be used for resistance monitoring for Bt traits in corn. If you have unexpected rootworm damage, or a large population of adult beetles please contact: Jocelyn Smith: 519-674-1500 x63551, jocelyn.smith@uoguelph.ca Tracey Baute: 519-674-1696, tracey.baute@ontario.ca Andrea Hitchon: 519-674-1500 […]

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Summer Seeding Oats For Forage

by Joel Bagg, Forage Specialist & Peter Johnson, Cereals Specialist, OMAF and MRA Summer seeding annual forages can be a useful low-cost option for producing extra feed, either as an emergency forage or a regular double-crop option. These forages include cool-season cereals (oats, barley, triticale) and cereal-pea mixtures, as well as warm-season sorghums, sorghum-sudangrass and […]

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Forage Report – July 24, 2013

Good haying weather returned July 11th, with lots of first and second-cut being made. Considerably more baleage was made and more propionate hay preservative was used this year. There is some concern about hay that is heating in storage. (Refer to “Silo and Hay Mow Fires” at www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/engineer/facts/93-025.htm.) Yields have been quite variable across the […]

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Harvest and Storage Strategies to Minimize Fusarium in 2013

Helmut Spieser, Agricultural Engineer, OMAF Ridgetown Peter Johnson, Cereal Specialist, OMAF, Stratford Albert Tenuta, Field Crop Pathologist, OMAF, Ridgetown Weather conditions in 2013 have been ideal for Fusarium Head Blight development in areas of Ontario and surrounding US states.  Every year we deal with or try to minimize Fusarium impact on the crop and this […]

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Wild Parsnip Control

Wild parsnip is a common weed in eastern Ontario, and is spreading in many other parts of the province. It is a biennial, or short-lived perennial (Figure 1). While wild parsnip does not have the notoriety of giant hogweed, its sap does contain some of the same chemicals (furanocoumarins). When these compounds come in contact […]

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Forage Report – July 9, 2013

  July continues to be frustrating for those trying to make quality dry hay. Many areas continue to have had limited opportunities to make hay without rain-damage or heating. We are in a unique situation where there are considerable amounts of both first- and second-cut being made when weather conditions are suitable. Some rain-damaged hayfields […]

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