2018/2019 Fall and Winter Conditions Environment Canada stations recorded higher than average rainfall in August and the resulting forage growth prompted many harvests during the fall rest period to increase feed inventories. Southwestern, central, and eastern Ontario experienced several thaws between January and March. These reduced or eliminated snow cover and were often followed by […]
Everyone is probably sick of me talking about the importance of winter wheat establishment and the need to seed winter wheat at the optimum time for improved success, yet we continue to push winter wheat seeding dates later and later each year. While there may be situations where we get away with seeding wheat into […]
So your corn was planted late and got damaged by frost, or maybe it wasn’t quite fully mature when you harvested. You ended up harvesting low-test-weight corn. Now it needs to be dried and stored. Storing in your own bins may provide some marketing advantages. There may not be much tolerance for lower-quality grain sold […]
Late planting combined with below-average heat unit accumulation this year means Ontario’s corn crop is behind in maturity from where we would normally expect it to be. Autumn is here in full swing and many parts of the province have already experienced frost. If corn is not fully mature by the time the first frost […]
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 Provincial corn ear mould and mycotoxin survey. Corn ear moulds such as Gibberella and their corresponding mycotoxins occur every year in Ontario. […]
This article was written by James Byrne and Megan Van Schaik, OMAFRA Beef Cattle Specialists, and Ben Rosser, OMAFRA Corn Specialist. In many parts of the province, 2019 proved to be a challenging year to get crops in the ground in a timely fashion. The impacts of spring conditions are still felt as we approach […]
Late planting dates, low Crop Heat Unit (CHU) accumulations, and early frost may result in situations where corn is killed by frost before it reaches the normal stage of maturity and moisture for silage. Some fields planted for grain may not mature adequately for optimum yield, moisture and quality. Farmers may be looking at salvaging […]
In 2015 an Oxford County farm family, the Vollmershausen’s, were looking around for a yield monitor for their Pickett combine. The Vollmershausen’s grow kidney and cranberry beans which are harvested by pulling and windrowing, then picked up and threshed by a Pickett combine. Large seeded dry beans are somewhat delicate and must be handled gently […]
When canola fields are ready to harvest but the weather turns wet, plants may regrow. The lower canopy can set new branches and develop green tissue that makes harvest difficult. Pre-harvest herbicide application may improve harvest conditions; some details to keep in mind are outlined below. For starters, if the canola has already been swathed […]
We all agree that this has been one of the most challenging cropping years in Ontario, but there were some pest lessons learned from the experience. Effect of Delayed Planting Delayed planting can reduce the risk of some early season pests. Pests like bean leaf beetle (BLB) move into the earliest emerging fields first. […]
This article was written by Liam McCarthy, University of Guelph. Liam was a summer student under the USEL program. Liam worked under the supervision of Nick Wilker and Mitra Serajazari from the U of G wheat breeding lab and Joanna Follings from OMAFRA. What’s the impact of fusarium head blight (FHB) on winter wheat production […]
Introducing….to your mobile device or computer, the first of several on-line AgriSuite calculators that will help with agronomic and environmental land use decisions. The nutrient management software (commonly known as AgriSuite, which includes NMAN and MSTOR) has been available to Ontario Farmers for many years. Although popular, it is perceived to be mainly a regulatory […]
Spring of 2019 was clearly frustrating to be a corn grower. Frequent rains and cool weather delayed planting for large parts of Ontario. A significant amount of corn was planted into June (Fig 1), and many fields tasseled in early to mid-August, later then the middle to late July we normally expect. Naturally, the […]
In much of Europe there have been restrictions to applying manure only during the growing season. There the technology has been perfected over time to meet those needs. Wouldn’t it be fitting to bring the technology to Ontario without the same application restrictions? I asked a few custom applicators what was holding them back from […]
Nutrient deficiencies can seriously impact crop yield. Certain deficiencies are seen every year in Ontario field crops, such as nitrogen deficiency in corn and manganese deficiency in soybeans. Others are brought on or made worse by environmental conditions – for example, potassium deficiency in soybeans and boron deficiency in alfalfa (Figure 1) during dry spells. […]