Field Crop News is a resource for Ontario field crop production. It is managed by the Field Crop Unit of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA). Browse our library of information by:
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Crop Report – Week of September 30, 2024
Tip Back in Corn What is Tip Back? “Tip back” in corn is simply the term used when corn kernels do not form all the way to the tip of the ear. Tip back made its way into corn discussions this August and September with many commenting that they saw it in more fields this…
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Pest Alert – Blister Beetles Still Active in Some Hay and Pasture Fields
By Christine O’Reilly, Forage & Grazing Specialist and Tracey Baute, Entomologist, Field Crops Warm fall temperatures have many pests still active and hungry, looking for food resources before overwintering or being killed off by a hard frost. We are aware of at least one significant sighting of blister beetles clustering on the lawn of a…
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Crop Report – Week of September 23, 2024
Causes of Defective Beans After dry bean harvest, producers may wonder what caused beans to become injured or discoloured. It is typically easier to observe the plants throughout the season and identify disease or insect injury on pods to better understand the resulting injury on the beans within the pods. However, bean injury may have…
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Ontario Soil Management Committee
Table of Contents Mandate and 5 Year ThemesMembershipTerms of ReferenceHow to Submit New Recommendations or UpdatesData Requirements to Change RecommendationsFor More Information Mandate 5 Year Themes In particular, the OSMC will concentrate on the following broad themes over the next five years: Membership Membership of the OSMC is comprised of members drawn from government, the…
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Crop Conditions – Week of May 2nd, 2024
Frequent rains and wet soils across the province have slowed or prevented field work. Soil compaction is likely to be an issue this year, especially for farmers trying to get manure spread ahead of spring planting. Fertilizer has been moving out to farms with storage. Retailers are full and ready to apply product once soil…
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SHAP: Soil Health Assessment & Plan In-Field In-Office Match SHAP to your needs Assess Benchmark 5 Key Soil Health Indicators Improve Find Potential for Improvement Adapt Take a Flexible approach Interpret Use the SHAP Score Calculator to compare your test results to a database of results from similar Ontario soils. Use this benchmark to identify…
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When do cover crops, with and without manure applied, release nitrogen that can be used for my corn crop?
Cover crops can produce nitrogen. We looked at when different species release nitrogen and the impact that adding manure has on the timing and release of nitrogen. The simple answer Predicting nitrogen (N) availability from cover crops is complicated. Cold and wet conditions in the spring negativelyimpact soil microbial activity and can result in significant…
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When should I spray my cereal rye cover crop before soybeans?
Cereal rye is a versatile cover crop that can be seeded late into the fall in Ontario. Not to be confused with annual ryegrass – a grass that can be challenging to control – it is a winter cereal that overwinters reliably and grows rapidly in the spring. Delayed termination of rye by herbicide prior…
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Is the yield potential of alfalfa increasing?
The relationship between alfalfa breeding efforts and yield potential is complicated. While most literature on annual grain crops shows yield improvements with the release of new varieties over time, a literature search on alfalfa yield will show improvement, stagnation, and declines, depending on the paper. One of the latest attempts to discern what is really…
