Written by Ian McDonald, Crop Innovations Specialist, OMAFRA and Alex Barrie, Soil Management Engineer, OMAFRA The impact of farm equipment causing soil compaction is primarily a function of soil moisture at the time of traffic coupled with the total weight, axle load and tire pressure of the implement. By lowering the tire pressure, we reduce […]
Written by Jacqui Empson Laporte, Environmental Specialist, OMAFRA From Houston to Toronto, a common theme has been flooding caused by the increase in impermeable surfaces. In June, 2017, part of Southwestern Ontario was hit with a 1 in 100 year storm event, and some areas received 6.7 inches (170 mm) of rain in 7 hours. […]
Over the winter months there has been a quite a bit of discussion around spring cereal yields in Ontario and oat yields in particular. Trendlines for oat yields in Ontario compared to western Canada (Figure 1 and 2) show that while Ontario yields continue to increase, the increase is smaller than for our friends […]
There were a record number of unseeded acres last year. This means not all soybean seed intended for the 2019 growing season was used. Can carry-over seed (grown in 2018) be used successfully in 2020? Before answering that question, it must be stated that soybeans are one of the least storable seeds when compared to many other […]
There are two distinct growth stages in many crops; the vegetative and reproductive stages. In soybeans the vegetative stage usually lasts between 30 to 50 days after emergence. Once a flower appears on the plant the reproductive phase has begun. What makes soybean unique is that vegetative growth (leaf number, node number, and dry weight) […]
Scentless chamomile has a reputation for being difficult to control and a 2019 on-farm research trial evaluated several herbicide treatments. Although 10 treatments provided over 80% visual control of emerged plants, new seedlings continued to emerge several weeks after application resulting in a significant amount of plants at the end of August. In order to […]
27 March 2020, 9:00 am EDT (8:00 am CDT) A virtual agricultural advisers’ breakfast meeting was held to test the “Zoom” platform as a means of continuing these valuable spring meetings under the current restrictions for face–to–face meetings. Based on results of the survey sent to attendees, breakfast meetings for 2020 will continue as consolidated regional meetings. Start dates and groupings as follows: Tuesday, April 7th: Ridgetown + […]
Jake Munroe, Mike Cowbrough and Sebastian Belliard (OMAFRA) Cereal rye (Secale cereale) has several strengths as a cover crop option. It’s relatively inexpensive and easy to kill. Rye improves soil structure, builds organic matter and helps protect against water and wind erosion. It can suppress weeds as discussed here (see Figure 1). It’s also very […]
With some out of the box thinking, Ken Hartemink, hog and cash crop producer from St. Thomas, Ontario has mounted a strip tiller to the back of his manure tanker for one-pass manure incorporation and seedbed prep for next year’s corn crop. Ken Hartemink is a hog and cash crop producer just outside St. […]
Have you ever looked up the official Ontario fertilizer or liming recommendations? They’re featured in “look-up” tables in OMAFRA production guides, such as our Agronomy Guide for Field Crops (Publication 811), and provide rates for phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, zinc and manganese, as well as lime, based on soil test values. A new way to access […]
In the 2018/2019 winter canola season, 17 fields were monitored to evaluate winter survival of winter canola, and to support expansion of regions that can access crop insurance for winter kill. Information was collected from producers on soil type, planting date, planting equipment, fall fertility, canola hybrid, and growth stage prior to a hard fall […]
The following link will take you to a .pdf version of the wild carrot chapter from the book entitled “Problem Weed Guide for Ontario Crops – Volume 1” […]