2023 Planting Conditions
Winter wheat, barley and triticale seeding began in mid-September for those planting after canola, early planted, short season soybeans or some early maturing edible bean fields. In most regions however, winter cereal seeding was delayed to late September or early October due to a delay in soybean maturity. Persistent dry conditions through much of September also resulted in some growers waiting for rainfall before planting. In some instances, fields required irrigation to get wheat to emerge. After the second week of October, persistent rainfall made it difficult for some to complete all their winter wheat seeding. In the most southern counties, seeding continued into November. Approximately 1,008,9001 acres of winter wheat was seeded. The proportion of acres in soft red wheat, hard red wheat and soft white wheat classes for the 2024 crop was similar to 2023 (Table 1).
| Wheat Class | Proportion of Acres (%) | ||
| 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |
| Soft red wheat (SRW) | 91 | 91.9 | 92.3 |
| Hard red wheat (HRW) | 7 | 5.5 | 5.5 |
| Soft white wheat (SWW) | 2 | 2.6 | 2.2 |
2024 Growing Season Conditions
Despite delayed planting and fields having variable or no emergence prior to winter, there was excellent winter survival through spring 2024 due to favourable overwintering conditions (Figure 1). Dormancy was broken early in 2024 with some areas doing so 30 days ahead of 2023. Winter wheat breaks dormancy once there has been seven consecutive days of average daily temperatures above 0˚C. You can also confirm wheat has broken dormancy by digging up plants and identifying new white root growth. Despite breaking dormancy early, many opted to delay nitrogen (N) applications due to the potential risk for nitrogen loss. However, conditions remained mild and those fields that received earlier than normal N and sulphur (S) applications greened up quickly. As spring progressed, temperatures remained cool, which, along with persistent rainfall, resulted in some regions having to delay nitrogen applications into the early heading stages.
Figure 1: Winter wheat in March 2024 with excellent winter survival. Winter wheat in some regions is estimated to have broken dormancy 30 days ahead of 2023.
The early warm temperatures in February and March also provided some growers an ideal opportunity to frost seed spring cereals. However, persistent wet conditions through late March and April delayed spring cereal seeding to the last week of April through the second week of May for many.
Herbicide applications were also delayed or missed altogether in winter and spring cereals resulting in significant bluegrass and chickweed pressure in some fields. Dandelion, chickweed and shepherd’s purse were flowering by late April. When dealing with these weed species, early spring herbicide applications (prior to fungicide and plant growth regulator timing) are most effective if a fall herbicide was not applied. Disease levels remained relatively low early in the growing season; however, as fields approached flag leaf, stripe rust (Figure 2) began to move across the province resulting in some growers requiring a fungicide after T2 (Flag leaf) and before T3 (anthesis). Many opted to apply a T3 for both stripe rust and fusarium head blight (FHB) protection due to persistent warm, humid and wet conditions through pollination and grain fill. Powdery mildew, septoria and leaf rust were also found in fields as the season progressed. Crown rust was also a significant challenge in oat fields, particularly where a susceptible variety was grown or where a fungicide was not applied.
Figure 2: Stripe rust in a winter wheat variety with poor resistance (right) compared to a variety with a higher level of resistance. Stripe rust in winter wheat can be effectively managed by growing varieties with resistance and timely fungicide applications.
Some growers experienced high levels of cereal leaf beetle (CLB) populations and feeding, requiring control. In winter cereals, one CLB adult or larvae per stem warrants control after boot but prior to heading. If significant feeding is taking place on the flag leaf in the early heading stages, control may be warranted. In spring cereals, if an average of three larvae per tiller are found before boot stage, control is warranted. Despite reports of armyworm larvae in some fields, populations and feeding remained low overall.
2024 Cereals Harvest
Crop Quality
Harvest started early in much of the region; however, persistent rainfall resulted in delays for some as harvest progressed. While quality was generally good with low levels of DON and fusarium damaged kernels (FDK), some growers did experience challenges with low falling numbers. This was particularly in areas that received persistent rainfall after maturity or with varieties susceptible to pre-harvest sprouting or late maturing alpha-amylase (LMA). LMA production is triggered by cold or heat shock during the later stages of maturity (26 to 30 days after pollen shedding). The best defense against sprouting and low falling numbers is to harvest wheat as quickly as possible once it reaches maturity. Harvesting early and drying your grain is the most effective means of avoiding sprouting. Selecting pre-harvest sprouting resistant wheat varieties can also help reduce risks. For more information on falling number for a specific variety, growers are encouraged to speak to their winter wheat distributor.
Similar to winter wheat, winter barley and spring cereal quality was generally good with some reports of fields testing for low levels of fusarium head blight due to the wet conditions through maturity, particularly where a T3 fungicide was not applied.
Yields
Winter wheat yields were once again excellent in 2024 with many reporting average to well above average yields (Table 2). Spring cereal yields reported to date are also higher than anticipated with spring wheat at 100% of average, oats at 118% of average, barley at 111% of average and spring grain at 109% of average. Forage cereal rye and triticale harvest began in the most southwestern part of the province in late April and early May with excellent yields reported.
| Class | 2023 Yield | 2024 Yield | 5-Yr Avg |
| (bu/ac) | |||
| Soft Red | 99 | 100 | 91 |
| Hard Red | 91 | 91 | 87 |
| Soft White | 95 | 101 | 93 |
| Organic | 65 | 61 | 58 |
Fall 2024 Planting Conditions
Growers across Ontario have been able to seed winter wheat this fall into almost perfect conditions. A significant portion of winter wheat acres were seeded in September, but with persistent summer-like conditions, growers continued seeding well into late October. Early planted fields are well tillered with 3-5 tillers per plant and late October planted fields are at the 2 to 3 leaf stage. Winter triticale and winter barley fields are also tillering significantly with winter triticale fields planted in early September having 7+ tillers. Approximately, 1,059,000 acres of winter wheat has been seeded (includes SRW, HRW and SWW).
1 Statistics Canada. Field Crop Reporting Series
2Agricorp Crop Insurance Data