Cold September nights can cause widespread anxiety in corn producers. The level of anxiety for most growers will be determined by the stage of maturity their grain corn crop has reached. As temperatures drop to zero frost damage first occurs to the leaves of the corn plants. This damage will eliminate any further photosynthesis, reduce […]
The importance of harvest moisture and maturity to corn silage quality and animal performance is often underestimated. Not only is it important to minimize fermentation dry matter and spoilage losses, it is difficult to compensate for poor forage quality in ration balancing and animal performance. Don’t get caught harvesting corn silage outside the […]
Synopsis: Using the provincial performance trials to pick the top variety for your farm. By now you should have looked at the wheat variety trials (www.gocereals.ca). What an AMAZING amount of information. With new information, and combined charts, which table should you actually use? Managed or normal? For the first time ever (2013), there are variety comparisons […]
Potash levels are falling in some Ontario fields according to soil and tissue samples. K depletion is often a result of not fully accounting for K removal during forage years of the rotation. 3 years of alfalfa can remove more than 900 lb K2O /ac (Table 1). That’s 1500 lb/ac of muriate of potash (0-0-60). […]
by Joel Bagg, Forage Specialist & Peter Johnson, Cereals Specialist, OMAF and MRA Fall rye is an excellent forage crop when seeded after early-fall harvested crops. It is ready for harvest in southern Ontario in mid-May, which provides great opportunities for “double crop” options, and can also fill in the gap in years when forage […]
Ontario wheat performance trials are the first to add fungicides as part of the evaluation package. Years ago, no one sprayed wheat, barely even with a herbicide. Today, if you don’t spray a fusarium fungicide on your wheat crop, you aren’t a real wheat farmer. And the fusarium issues with #Harvest13 have really driven this […]
The weather has been ideal for soybean aphids and has been dry enough in areas to also see mites starting up. Some fields are starting to see one or both of these pests increasing in numbers. Here is just a reminder of important things to consider when assessing fields: Soybean Aphids – The threshold of […]
While it is always very tempting to cut some alfalfa in the fall, the decision should weigh the immediate need for forage against the increased risk of alfalfa winterkill and reduced yields next spring. The Critical Fall Harvest Period for alfalfa is the 6-week period preceeding the average date of killing frost. Not cutting […]
By Brian Hall, OMAF/MRA, Stratford For many growers, this year’s canola crop will be a challenge to harvest as a result of large differences in crop stage, because of thin and weedy stands, or fields that were damaged by swede midge. When managing these fields, harvest management either by swathing or direct harvest becomes critical […]
The window for summer seeding alfalfa and alfalfa-grass mixtures is approaching for much of the province. This can be a good way to establish new fields so that full season yields can be harvested next year. It is typically done after winter wheat or spring cereals are harvested, and also during years when alfalfa winterkill […]
by Brian Hall The summer emergence of flea beetles is upon us. In July larvae emerge from the soil and begin to feed on canola pods and leaves. Feeding during pod development can cause premature pod ripening, shrivelled seeds, pod shatter and allow fungal growth during wet weather. In most cases, although the damage can […]
Learn about the natural enemies of crop pests, from predators to parasites to pathogens. What do they do? How can you find and identify them? How can you protect them and encourage them to be active in your field? Wednesday, August 7 1:00-4:30 pm Simcoe OMAF and MRA Auditorium, Blueline Road, Simcoe, Ontario The workshop […]
Soybean aphids – Eastern Ontario and the thumb of Michigan have been battling soybean aphids for some time now. This is ideal weather for them so I expect to start to see fields in SW ON noticing populations climb. That said, I have not given up on the natural enemies. I just want everyone to […]
Researchers at the University of Guelph are looking for fields with high numbers of corn rootworm beetles. Beetles will be used for resistance monitoring for Bt traits in corn. If you have unexpected rootworm damage, or a large population of adult beetles please contact: Jocelyn Smith: 519-674-1500 x63551, jocelyn.smith@uoguelph.ca Tracey Baute: 519-674-1696, tracey.baute@ontario.ca Andrea Hitchon: 519-674-1500 […]
by Joel Bagg, Forage Specialist & Peter Johnson, Cereals Specialist, OMAF and MRA Summer seeding annual forages can be a useful low-cost option for producing extra feed, either as an emergency forage or a regular double-crop option. These forages include cool-season cereals (oats, barley, triticale) and cereal-pea mixtures, as well as warm-season sorghums, sorghum-sudangrass and […]