Spring Canola There were about 33,000 acres of spring canola insured by Agricorp in 2021. Compared to 2020, total acres of spring canola decreased in regions south of Huntsville and increased in regions north of Huntsville. There were over 14,500 acres of canola seeded in Temiskaming District, which is a significant increase from 9300 acres […]
Planting corn after a crop of canola is generally not recommended, and the reason why has to do with beneficial fungi living in the soil. However, some studies and anecdotal experience in Ontario have shown that this rotation is not always problematic. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) Many crops we grow, including corn, have a symbiotic […]
Summary: A winter wheat research trial was initiated in the fall of 2020 looking at different drill technology, row width and starter fertilizer response. Six different drill and fertilizer combinations were assessed and replicated three times across the field for a total of 18 treatments. A 10” row Sunflower no-till drill, 7.5” row JD no-till […]
Winter 2020/2021 Conditions Overall, winter 2020/2021 was mild, with below average snow cover. Much of the province experienced a big thaw in March, losing most, if not all, snow cover. The rest of the month was dry. There was a good two-week window to frost seed in the middle of March. Some cover crop oats […]
This post provides an overview of the research that has been done in Ontario to evaluate the control of phragmites with herbicides. […]
Co-authored with Albert Tenuta, Field Crop Pathologist, OMAFRA. OMAFRA field crop specialists in collaboration with Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO) and members of the Ontario Agri-Business Association (OABA) have completed the annual Ontario corn ear mould and DON mycotoxin survey. Corn ear moulds such as Gibberella and their corresponding mycotoxins occur every year in Ontario. […]
Scouts and agronomists may put biosecurity measures in place with a certain disease or crop in mind, but should ensure protocols are in place each and every time you walk fields. Crops are grown in rotation, so the soil in corn fields may contain soybean cyst nematode and soil in wheat fields may contain clubroot […]
The author of this article is Mary O’Connor, an OMAFRA summer student who, under the supervision of James Byrne (OMAFRA Beef Cattle Specialist), assisted with this project. The article was first published in the October 2021 edition of Virtual Beef. Introduction In Canada, grazing land, consisting of natural and planted pastures, accounts for approximately 50 million […]
This article was written by Horst Bohner, OMAFRA Soybean Specialist, and Albert Tenuta, OMAFRA FIeld Crop Pathologist Phytophthora root rot (PRR) is one of the most destructive soybean diseases in Ontario. PRR thrives in wet soils, so the incidence of this disease is more prevalent in fields that received excess rainfall in 2021. Clay soils, […]
Scout vulnerable crops for feeding and larvae including winter canola, winter cereals, forages and cover crops. Especially in the southwestern counties but not limited to this area. Currently, there seems to be a pocket in the Blenheim area that requires attention. Meghan Moran has found three winter canola fields near Blenheim this week that have […]
Ontario Hay Listings is a free classifieds service provided by the Ontario Forage Council. Producers looking to buy or sell hay or straw are encouraged to post an ad. In 2020 there were several reports of corn rootworm injury to hybrids with below-ground protection from Bt traits. This suggests that Bt-resistant corn rootworm populations exist […]
Pre-harvest sprouting Pre-harvest sprouting is the initiation of grain germination prior to harvest (Figure 1). Why is that a bad thing? When sprouting occurs, alpha-amylase is produced which converts starch into sugars that fuel seedling growth. High alpha-amylase in the grain can have varying effects on the processing of wheat products. In high moisture, batter-based […]
This article was written by Alex Barrie, OMAFRA Soil Management Engineer, and Ian McDonald, OMAFRA Crop Innovations Specialist As discussed in the previous article (available here), as long as we are putting heavy implements on farm fields, soil compaction is a significant possibility. Lots of factors impact the severity of threat, like load, tire configurations […]
I spoke with an agronomist about a grower who started variable rating nitrogen (N) in corn. Logically, given that high yielding corn takes up more N than low yielding corn, the grower was going to variable rate N by yield across the field – more in high yielding areas, less in low yielding areas. The […]
For many Ontario farmers, the 2021 season has been a weather roller coaster. Throughout much of the province, the season started out extremely dry, with some regions receiving less than 20% of normal precipitation for the month of May (Figure 1). Late June brought relief for many parts of Southern Ontario, with regular rainfall […]