Windbreaks are a great way to reduce soil erosion and increase crop growth on your farm. They reduce wind speeds, which can increase growth of crops for a distance of up to 20 times the height of the trees. The taller the trees and the longer the windbreak, the greater the area the windbreak will […]
This article originally appeared in Milk Producer Magazine. As another harvest season approaches, it also marks the time for deciding which corn hybrids to select for next year. It is always important to choose hybrids that are well adapted to the area and have good agronomic characteristics for your fields, although some characteristics commonly selected […]
Disposing of non-nutrient agricultural waste responsibly needs to be a year-round effort. Burning and burying non-nutrient agricultural waste can pollute the air, contaminate water and can have other potential harmful impacts on the environment, which can harm people and livestock. Consider recycling or reusing your waste instead – recycling and reuse not only lowers your […]
Author: Joey Sabljic Precision Agriculture Advancement for Ontario: This article is part of a series dedicated to helping farmers understand and implement precision agriculture technology. It is based on research conducted by Nicole Rabe, Ian McDonald and Ben Rosser at OMAFRA, in conjunction with Mike Duncan, Sarah Lepp and Gregor MacLean at Niagara College. For […]
Co-written by Dr. Laura Van Eerd, Associate Professor, Nitrogen Fertility and Cover Crops, University of Guelph Ridgetown Campus Soil organic matter (OM) is the single most important soil health property that you have influence over through your management. Soil OM is all living, dead or long dead (and decomposed) material. Higher soil organic matter translates […]
Co-written by Joanna Follings, Cereal Specialist Should you use 2,4-D to emerged wheat in the fall to control weeds? The short answer is no. First, the label clearly states under the “Application Timing” section: “Do not apply to seedling winter cereals in the fall.” Second, there are other labelled and less injurious herbicide options that provide […]
Co-Authored with Albert Tenuta The OMAFRA Field Crops team conducted its annual vomitoxin survey to assess the presence of corn ear mould and grain vomitoxin in the 2016 corn crop. Vomitoxins can be produced by Gibberella and Fusarium ear moulds and can be disruptive when fed to livestock, particularly hogs. A total of 121 samples […]
Effective control of common burdock doesn’t happen overnight and is most successful when you can control new seedlings in the spring followed by controlling any larger first year plants in the fall so that they don’t overwinter, flower and disperse new seed the following year . Common burdock (Arctium minus) is a biennial that reproduces only […]
Forage production in 2016 was challenging as the cool spring delayed early growth and was followed by a hot, dry summer before rains returned in August. While hay inventories are below average, most of the hay harvested was high quality. This year has seen an increase use of cover crops for emergency forage and fall […]