Know the Amount of Feed in Your Pasture

demonstrating the use of a falling plate meter

by Maja Menegotto, Undergraduate Student Experiential Learning (USEL) program student What is a Falling Plate Meter? A falling plate meter is a tool that can be used to estimate dry matter yield within grazing pastures (Rayburn and Lozier, 2003b). To do this, an acrylic plate is lowered against a metre stick in the center of […]

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Natural Air Drying of Corn

This graph shows the estimated time for natural air drying of corn, with and without additional heat added.

Farmers who may be struggling to get corn dried this year are looking for alternate options.  It is possible to use natural (unheated) air to dry the corn.  Natural air drying is gentle and does not require any specialized equipment, other than a grain bin with a reasonably-sized fan, and maybe a small heater.  However, […]

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Storing Wet Corn Safely

This graphic shows a grain bin and highlights the centre core where fines collect.

Many grain farmers may have questions about storing and drying corn this year, with recent propane shortages and a lot of wet corn still in the field.  Decisions for harvesting corn will vary from farm to farm based on local conditions and factors (corn moisture, distance to alternative dryers, crop standability).  Some farmers may already […]

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Killing off Roundup Ready Alfalfa

Six tank-mix partners are recommended for the removal of Roundup Ready Alfalfa and since they vary significantly in cost (Table 1), their effectiveness was evaluated in a trial conducted at the Elora Research Station in 2018-19. Growing degree day accumulation after herbicide application appeared to have the greatest effect on the control of Roundup Ready […]

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What’s a Worm Worth?

The benefits of earthworms in agricultural soils and how to reap them Earthworms are the ecosystem engineers of the soil. In most terrestrial ecosystems they represent the most abundant belowground biomass1, and in the same way beavers create habitat for a host of other species to thrive, earthworms make the soil ecosystem work. They help […]

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Considerations for Fungicide Applications in Oat Production

When we think about fungicide applications we naturally think about protection from disease.  However, there has been more discussion and reflection about the additional benefits that fungicides may provide including an improvement in overall plant health and harvestability of a crop.  This was something that was discussed at the Ontario Cereal Crop Committee (OCCC) table […]

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2019 Forage Seasonal Summary

2018/2019 Fall and Winter Conditions Environment Canada stations recorded higher than average rainfall in August and the resulting forage growth prompted many harvests during the fall rest period to increase feed inventories. Southwestern, central, and eastern Ontario experienced several thaws between January and March. These reduced or eliminated snow cover and were often followed by […]

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