2023 Corn Seasonal Summary

Figure 1. Haze from wildfire smoke in 2023.

Planting In April 2023, Statistics Canada estimated Ontario farmers intended to plant 2.3 million acres of grain corn, 5% higher than the 5-year (2018-2022) average seeded acres of 2.19 million acres (OMAFRA Crop Statistics). A warm sunny window opened for one week starting the Easter weekend (April 7 to 9) and provided a small opportunity […]

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2023 Soybean Seasonal Summary

Bean leaf beetle pod feeding. H. Bohner, OMAFRA

To date the provincial average yield reported by Agricorp for 2023 is 53 bu/ac. This number will be updated as more acres are reported. For comparison the 10-year average farm yield is 48 bu/ac. Seeded acreage was also relatively high at 2.91 million acres. The Agricorp floating claim price was $16.56/bu. Canada is the world’s […]

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Forage Summary 2023

Bale bundles slump due to high stem moisture. Harvested May 2023.

Winter 2022/2023 Conditions Fall 2022 was open and mostly dry. Growth on annual forages and regrowth on hay fields was faster than usual. Snow cover over the winter was less than normal, with frequent thaws and rain events. Ice sheeting was flagged as a potential problem in eastern Ontario. April had more precipitation than average […]

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Crop Report – Week of September 18th, 2023

The headlands of this field received a fall application to control dandelions, making for a nice seed bed to plant into. The rest of the field had no fall management, and the dandelion pressure is significant and will take much longer to control now.

Three tips for weed management this fall. Reflecting on some of the weed control issues that came up this past spring, below are three key items where management activities this fall can significantly improve control and/or financial return next season. 1. Fall management provides better dandelion control. In the fall, resource allocation of perennial weeds […]

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Crop Report – Week of August 7th, 2023  

Figure 1. Good soil structure (a, left) vs. poor soil structure (b, right).

Identifying and Addressing Soil Structure Challenges   A well-structured soil improves water infiltration, air exchange, rooting, and ultimately crop yield. On the other hand, a cloddy, dense, or compacted soil may result in ponding, nutrient losses, and restricted root systems. Poor soil structure contributes to lower crop yields, especially in seasons that are either too dry […]

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Crop Report – Week of July 31st, 2023

Figure 1. Cover crop biomass harvested from a 0.25m2 area for tissue analysis.

Managing Cover Crop Nitrogen / Residue Breakdown Across Ontario, wheat harvest continues, opening the best window for planting cover crops in most field crop rotations. You can find more information on the  2023 winter wheat quality update and achieving success with cover crops after wheat at fieldcropnews.com. But can those cover crops be managed to […]

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Crop Report – Week of July 24th, 2023

Injecting anaerobic digestate after wheat harvest into a growing cover crop to maximize soil health benefits and economic value of nutrients.

Getting to Know your Manure with a Manure Analysis The “magical” qualities of manure and organic amendments for providing long-term benefits have been well documented, especially for maintaining and improving soil organic matter. Sourcing off farm manure and organic amendments has become more difficult and expensive with the increased interest in improving soil health, therefore […]

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