Soil is home to billions of organisms, from bacteria and fungi to earthworms and beetles. Learn how soil biology influences nutrient cycling, soil structure, residue decomposition, and overall soil health. Key takeaways Soil Life Soil is a dynamic, living ecosystem. The many organisms that use agricultural soils as their habitat exert a strong influence on […]
Winchester Breakfast Meeting – Wednesday, September 9, 2026 Soybeans Corn Field Amendments Arnprior Breakfast Meeting – Tuesday, September 22, 2026 Soybeans Corn Other Crops Reminders SAVE THE DATE: Manure Expo – Elora, ON, August 10-12. More information to available here. Area X.O is hosting an open house Tuesday, September 29th. More info can be found […]
When Weather Skews Soil Test Results Ontario growing seasons can range from extremely wet to extremely dry, and prolonged periods of either extreme weather in season can affect crop nutrient availability. These impacts are often visible during the season as nutrient deficiencies as shown in Figure 1, but they can also influence soil test results […]
High-yielding winter wheat begins long before spring green-up. Ontario research consistently shows that the foundation of a profitable wheat crop is timely planting, strong fall establishment and adequate phosphorus at seeding. Success is rarely determined by one management decision alone. Instead, high-yielding wheat crops are built through a series of management practices that work together […]
Caution! Members of the sorghum family – sorghum, sudangrass, and hybrid sorghum-sudangrass – contain dhurrin, a glucoside that breaks down to release hydrocyanic acid, also known as prussic acid (hydrogen cyanide, HCN). A sudden disruption of growth such as frost, drought or cutting, causes prussic acid to be released inside the plant at a more […]
Gearing Up for Harvest – Managing Volunteer Wheat, Crop Residues, and Fall Tillage As we enter mid-September the beans are showing a wide range of harvest readiness, but it will be on us quickly. Let’s consider what we need to be thinking about moving forward as the dash to the season finish is soon to […]
The Winning with Hay series launched in September of 2026. This series explores the business and agronomy aspects of commercial hay production in Ontario. Commercial hay production is a thrilling, high management, high volume/capacity business that these farmers are into for many reasons including profitability, diversity, labour management, crop rotation benefits, sustainability and soil health […]
Winter triticale production in Ontario has increased rapidly. Farmers include winter triticale in their crop rotation for many reasons: The recent boom in popularity can be somewhat attributed to research and extension work done by Tom Kilcer, previously out of Cornell University in New York State. However, Ontario has a shorter growing season than New York, […]
Cover crop integration after corn and soybeans Establishing cover crops after corn and soybeans offers a unique opportunity for soil improvement. For the many Ontario acres that don’t receive the benefits of a third crop in rotation, it is one way to help maintain soil productivity. Winter cereals, such as winter cereal rye, are the […]
Pre-Harvest Herbicide Timing in Soybeans Co-authored by Mike Cowbrough and Horst Bohner Pre-harvest herbicides can improve harvest efficiency when weeds interfere with combining. They help dry down green weeds and plant material, making harvest smoother and more predictable. They can also improve field conditions for fall operations such as no-till winter wheat planting. What pre-harvest […]
A pre-harvest herbicide treatment can make harvest more efficient when there are an unacceptable number of weeds in a soybean crop. Both conventional and glyphosate tolerant fields that are weedy can benefit from a pre-harvest herbicide. Drier plant matter will pass more easily through the combine, lowering seed losses and reducing seed staining… […]
The fall rest period (sometimes called “critical fall harvest period”) for alfalfa is 450 growing degree days, base 5°C (where plant development occurs at 5°C or higher), or approximately 6-weeks before the average date of the first killing frost (-4°C for several hours), when alfalfa stops growing. Not cutting during this period allows alfalfa plants […]
Late-Season Soybean Diseases: Diagnosis Matters As Ontario soybean crops move through grain fill and head toward harvest, the focus of disease management shifts. Instead of protecting yield potential with in-season applications, growers should now be assessing how diseases may affect yield, grain quality, harvestability, and help make management decisions for next year. While the hot […]
Selecting Appropriate Best Management Practices After Harvest As wheat, canola and other annual crops continue to be harvested across Ontario, producers are often left with the question of “what do I do with this field now?”. Deciding on cover crops, tillage, nutrient applications or “just leave it alone” management activities can be overwhelming. There are […]
