Chair for this meeting was Jeremy O’Shea. Chair for next meeting is Joanna Wallace. Thanks to BASF for sponsoring breakfast. Synopsis: Frost across many parts of the province has caused significant damage. Muck soils, sandy soils, and lower elevations were the worst hit. The vast majority of corn will recover since the growing point is still below ground. There is no…
First-cut dairy haylage is started in southern Ontario, and should be in full swing next week. With the dry weather in late-April and May in many areas, forage growth is reduced, particularly in the grasses. Potential yields are quite variable depending on the stand, but looks disappointing in some areas. Grassier fields, forage winter cereals, ryegrass, and alfalfa fields that were harvested during…
The early start to the corn season came to an abrupt halt in parts of Ontario on May 23rd when temperatures dipped to -3oC in parts of the province. It is always painfull to see corn seedlings flat on the ground (Figure 1.). However, with corn mostly at the spike to 4 leaf stage when hit by frost, the plant’s…
Over-night temperatures on May 22 to 23 dipped to -2 to -3 oC in many parts of Ontario. Cereal crops are hardy to light frosts. Leaf tissue on plants that have not hardened off will withstand temperatures of -4 oC or lower before the cells will freeze and damage occurs, making late spring frosts of little consequence.
OMAFRA Field Crop Team May 22, 2015 1187 Comments Off on Simcoe Ag Breakfast Meeting Notes – May 20, 2015Synopsis: Corn planting is virtually complete and soybean planting is between 75 to 80% complete. Earliest planted wheat is at flag leaf stage, while rye is heading. Frost last week did not have any significant impact for field crops. Growers are finding it challenging to keep up with weed control and many planned pre-emerge programs have been converted to post…
Brian Hall May 22, 2015 1335 Comments Off on Central Ontario Crop Consultant’s Meeting Minutes – May 19th, 2015Synopsis: A tremendous amount of field work has taken place over the past couple of weeks. Corn planting is 90-95% complete, soybean planting is 70% complete. Corn emergence has been good. Soil conditions and moisture up to now have been excellent. Concern now is planting into dry soil conditions and need to plant deeper,. Many are reluctant to plant soybeans…
Some US states to our south have been reporting high numbers of black cutworm moths in their pheromone traps and are starting to see some black cutworm injury in newly emerging corn fields. These moths are carried into Ontario via storm fronts. Once they arrive the adult moths look for weedy patches in fields to lay their eggs on. The…
OMAFRA Field Crop Team May 21, 2015 1372 Comments Off on Ridgetown AgBreakfast Meeting Minutes – May 19, 2015Ag Breakfast Meeting Ridgetown – May 19, 2015 Willson Hall, University of Guelph, Ridgetown Campus, 120 Main St. East. Ridgetown. This week’s Breakfast courtesy of DuPont Pioneer while last meeting breakfast sponsored by Dekalb Brand Seeds. Synopsis: Dry conditions continue throughout most of the area with the exception being western Essex. Rainfall around area continues to be variable with areas…
Soil moisture levels are variable across the province, with some areas having adequate moisture with good forage growth, while others with little rain are dry with shorter than normal stands. Grass growth has been more affected by the dry weather than the alfalfa. Many alfalfa stands harvested during the Critical Fall Harvest Period are showing less aggressive growth this spring….
I often carry 5 or 6 scouting and management guides with me when walking fields to determining what pests are present and how to control them, if necessary. I find lugging these books around inconvenient and inefficient, especially when I leave the book I need in another vehicle or at home. The pest manager app was designed to provide decision makers…
With warmer temperatures and recent rains, the alfalfa and grass growth and development is now advancing rapidly, despite a slow start in early April. Older, less healthy stands are beginning to become yellow with dandelions. Many fields that were fall cut are seeing delayed growth that will likely result in reduced 1st-cut yields. Grass stands have responded very well to early…
OMAFRA Field Crop Team May 14, 2015 2244 Comments Off on Winchester AgBreakfast Minutes May 12, 2015Conditions: Warm, sunny and dry conditions over the last 2 weeks were ideal for field work. Timely rains May 10-12 brought 20 mm (5 to 50 mm) of welcome precipitation across eastern Ontario. With most of the cereals, new forage seedings, corn and part of the soybean acreage seeded/planted between April 27th and May 10th, the fertilizer/seed supply/delivery chain was…
Special thanks to Agri-Food Labs for sponsoring breakfast. Chair: Eric Richter (author of minutes) Chair for next meeting will be Jeremy O’Shea Synopsis: A tremendous amount of field work has taken place over the last 2 weeks. Field work is ahead of where it has been for the last number of years considering the date. Winter wheat continues to progress…
OMAFRA Field Crop Team May 11, 2015 1219 Comments Off on Simcoe Ag Breakfast Meeting Notes – May 6, 2015Synopsis: An optimism that has been missing from the past few spring planting seasons; field work has started everywhere and planting is occurring into soils that have worked into a mellow seedbed. Less than ideal wheat crops are being kept for rotation purposes (fewer soybeans) and promise of excellent straw prices. On average 20 % of the corn has been…
Brian Hall May 11, 2015 1326 Comments Off on Central Ontario Crop Consultant’s Meeting Minutes – May 5th, 2015Synopsis: Additional acres of winter wheat that were on the ‘watch list’ have been taken out of production. Overall loss of acres is estimated at 10-15% across the area. Corn planting is over 40-50% complete into good soil conditions. Concern with rainfall to activate pre-emerge herbicides. Forage survival has been good for well managed stands. Still some fields of 2014 corn…