Field Conditions Light rains and cool temperatures this past weekend and early this week slowed field drying and limited opportunities for early planting of field crops. While it is generally too wet for field work, conditions are variable depending on rainfall received. The remainder of this week was mostly sunny, but expectations are tempered by […]
This article was originally published in the Spring 2024 edition of Virtual Beef. Pastures in Ontario usually consist of a mix of bunchgrasses and sod-forming grasses. This diversity in plant structure encourages livestock to sort through the pasture, spending grazing time seeking the most palatable plants instead of maximizing forage intakes. Increased forage intake leads […]
Quote of the week: “You can have a 2000 bushel grain cart, but man, it squeezes!” – Adam Pfeffer – concerning the compaction that large equipment can cause in-field. The first agribusiness breakfast meeting of the year kicked off in Ridgetown on April 16, 2024. For the schedule of local meetings across Ontario, contact margaret.templeman@ontario.ca […]
Q: I’m seeing more henbit and/or purple deadnettle in my winter wheat crop? Should it be controlled and what can be done to control it? A: Both henbit and purple deadnettle are two weeds often discussed inter-changeably because they look similar, are from the same genus (Lamium) and have similar emergence patterns (mainly in the […]
The Canadian “Bt” Corn Trait Tables for 2024 are now available: English: Canadian Bt Corn Trait Table for April 2024 French: Maïs exprimant des protéines insecticides disponibles au Canada (Avril 2024) Bt is in quotes because RNAi (RNA interference) technology, which is not a Bt trait, is now offered in some of the packages for […]
Calculating Growing Degree Days Growing Degree Days (GDDs) can be a helpful tool to track cereal crop growth and development. GDDs are calculated by adding the average daily temperatures during the cereal crop’s growing season. If the daily average temperature is equal to or less than 0˚C, the degree-day value is zero and no GDDs […]
Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus (BYVD) effects a wide range of grass hosts including wheat, oats and barley with oats being considered the most susceptible crop. In some regions of the province, BYDV has been reported as having a significant negative impact on oat yields. Appearance: The primary symptoms of BYDV include stunting and yellowing, reddening […]
Manure analysis is necessary because the quantities of nutrients contained in manure, especially the phosphorus and potash components, will vary from farm to farm. Type of livestock, ration, bedding, added liquids and storage system all affect the final nutrient analysis. Using average values for a livestock class is useful as a last resort, but the […]
Manure can be an excellent source of nutrients for forage crops, as it is readily available on livestock farms. The value of manure in crop production is often underestimated. Manure contains all the nutrients needed by crops but not necessarily in the proportions needed for specific soil and crop conditions. In addition to nitrogen, phosphorus […]
Alfalfa has high fertility requirements (Table 1). Because the entire above-ground biomass is removed at harvest, and this plant material is still green, soil nutrient draw-down can be very rapid. Alfalfa growers may wish to soil test annually to ensure the crop is getting enough nutrients. One Production Year (3 cuts) Lifetime (10 cuts) […]
Manure should be applied on forages as soon as possible after harvest. Once regrowth starts — typically within 5 days after cutting — equipment traffic can damage active growing points. The trampled crop must start growing all over, which reduces yield and sometimes delays maturity in the tracked areas compared to the rest of the […]
The Ontario Corn Committee (OCC), the Ontario Cereal Crops Committee (OCCC), the Ontario Pulse Crop Committee (OPCC), and the Ontario Soybean and Canola Committee (OSACC) launched their new website: GoCrops.ca. The new website brings together the four previous crop committee websites under one cohesive banner. Ontario growers rely on third-party variety performance trial information to […]
The Great Lakes and Maritimes Pest Monitoring Network (GLMPMN) website has been upgraded and has a new permanent link: https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/7164d23d488246d198dcf7a07d8c9021 Please bookmark this new link and use it going forward to enter any trap sites and trap data. The same link should work well for both desktop browsers and mobile devices. Everything is still the […]
Planting corn directly into a living cover crop before it is killed by herbicide or tillage is not something that would have been considered 30 years ago. However, with advances in planter technology, herbicide options, and a greater awareness of cover crop benefits to soil health, more growers are doing it. According to the 2022-2023 […]
A warmer than normal winter coupled with dry weather through February has led to surprisingly good field conditions in much of southern Ontario. While it looks like it could be an early spring, we know that the weather can change rapidly this time of year. Some are questioning whether it makes sense to take advantage […]