Tools used to monitor crop development and pests vary with the crop and the pest. Basic field scouting equipment includes: Professional scouts often carry other tools that could include: When scouting, proper clothing is important for protection from the sun and from other unknown risks such as poisonous plants, ticks and mosquitoes. Be aware of […]
Dr. Mary Ruth McDonald, pathologist at University of Guelph, and Keith Gabert, agronomist in Alberta with Canola Council of Canada, share their knowledge and experience working with clubroot disease of canola. Hosts Will Runnalls, chair of the Ontario Canola Growers Association, and Meghan Moran, canola specialist with OMAFA, ask these experts all the questions producers […]
Planting In March 2024, Statistics Canada estimated Ontario farmers intended to plant 2.3 million acres of grain corn, 5% higher than the 5-year (2019-2023) average seeded acres of 2.2 million acres (OMAFA Crop Statistics). Unsettled weather and highly variable planting progress dominated the spring of 2024. Frequent rains through April limited early corn planting. Frequent […]
Four Ontario producers share their knowledge and experience direct harvesting canola. Terry Phillips grows spring canola in Temiskaming District. Michael Doelman farms in Renfrew County, and typically grows spring canola but has one crop of winter canola under his belt. Jerry Drudge has switched from spring to winter canola on his farm in Huron County. […]
A wet spring pushed Ontario soybean acres to a record high of 3.1 million acres seeded in 2024. This was up 7% from 2023. To date, with approximately half of yields reported the provincial yield is above average at 108%. This number will be updated in January when all acres have been reported. The Agricorp […]
Warm weather and early planting are some of the factors contributing to big winter canola plants heading into winter in November 2024. What can we expect this winter and next spring in fields that have huge plants? (See the March 2025 follow-up HERE) […]
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 […]
Meghan Moran In 2023, Ontario dry bean acres had dropped below 100,000 acres which was the lowest in a decade. In 2024, acres returned to a more typical level for the province, at around 116,000 acres insured by Agricorp. White beans accounted for about 40% of the dry bean acres, and black beans reached their […]
In 2024 there were approximately 50,500 acres of canola insured by Agricorp. This includes winter canola seeded in the fall of 2023 and spring canola seeded in 2024, both of which had a modest increase in acreage compared to last year. Spring Canola Acres of spring canola in Temiskaming District, where the greatest acreage of […]
Results from the 2024 Ontario corn rootworm (CRW) trap sites monitored through the Adult Corn Rootworm (CRW) Trap Monitoring Network have been summarized in the infographic below. Thank you to all the trap participants for monitoring their traps this year. These sites are helping us to identify fields and counties with potential resistant corn rootworm […]
Winter Conditions 2023/2024 Much of the province had below-average precipitation over the winter, including the Ottawa Valley, the northern and western shores of Lake Huron, and Rainy River District. Temperatures across Ontario were milder than normal, which resulted in reduced snow cover in many areas. Hay and Haylage Above-average levels of alfalfa winterkill occurred in […]
Growers across Ontario have been able to seed winter wheat this fall into almost perfect conditions, and there may be a record acreage seeded. 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 […]
By Tracey Baute and Meghan Moran Spring canola producers will have the option of Buteo (flupyradifurone) or Lumiderm (cyantraniliprole) insecticide seed treatment on some varieties this year, in addition to the Helix Vibrance seed treatment. Producers have reported they prefer Buteo for managing flea beetles, but that is the only insect on the Buteo label. […]
By: Dr. Katie Wood, Associate Professor, Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph and Madeline McLennan, M.Sc. Student, Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph This article was originally published in the October 2024 edition of Virtual Beef. Although forage choppers and bale processors are not new technologies, there is a surprizing lack of data in how they can […]
OMAFA field crop specialists in collaboration with Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO) and members of the Ontario Agri-Business Association (OABA) have completed the 2024 annual Ontario corn ear mould and DON mycotoxin survey. Corn ear moulds such as Gibberella and their corresponding mycotoxins occur every year in Ontario. These mycotoxins, particularly deoxynivalenol (DON, also referred […]