What a year! Goes from too wet to too dry. With young crops and little canopy yet, a few pests could become a problem quickly. Especially if hot dry conditions continue to stress the crop further. Scout fields frequently for these three pests; Potato leafhoppers, thrips and spider mites. Potato leafhoppers (PLH) are in high […]
Thanks to Snobelen Grain for picking up breakfast for the crowd. As always, if changes or clarifications to these minutes are required please contact Ian McDonald. This meeting concludes the spring series for Mt. Forest Ag Breakfasts. Thanks to all who participated in the various discussion and to those who read and commented on the […]
Corn Early planted corn reached the ‘knee-high by the 1st of July’. Crop stages range from 12 leaf stage to still a few acres being planted. More so on the heavier soils some unseeded corn acres remain. Corn planted this late will have high harvest moisture and could be difficult to combine pending fall conditions. […]
For unseeded fields, the key benefits of cover crops are weed suppression, soil protection from sun and rain, and building organic matter. They can also be source of forage and bedding. When selecting a cover crop consider the cropping system needs, herbicide or fertilizer previously applied and resources that are readily available. For example, carrying […]
The OntarioHayListings.ca website is a free classifieds database for producers looking to buy or sell hay and straw. Forage Expo (West) will be held July 9th at Pendora Dairy Ltd., 6447 County Road 164, Monkton (Perth County) from 10am-3pm. For more info see Ontario Forage Council’s website. **DATE CHANGE** Forage Expo (East) will be held July 23rd […]
As always, if there are any points included here that need clarification or amendment or addition, please contact Ian. For annual crops seeded this spring, we recognize that many went into less than ideal ground conditions in terms of soil moisture, fitenes of seedbed, no burndown, etc. To date things have looked okay because of […]
Summary The Pre Sidedress Nitrogen Test (PSNT) soil samples were collected from 66 different sites across the province between June 17th and 19th, 2019 The average PSNT value was 8.3 ppm, which is below the long-term average of 12 ppm Consider corn stage and yield expectation along with PSNT values when determining nitrogen rate requirements […]
This is the last meeting for the East Central group until a season wrap-up in December. Thanks to everyone who made time to come out and participate in the discussions and those that take time to read and comment on the minutes! As always, if there are any points included here that need clarification or […]
Corn Grain corn planting is complete on intended corn acres except on heavy clays that received more rain this week. Crop stages range from 8 leaf stage to newly emerged. Overall plant stands look good on lighter and medium textured soils although plant stress is becoming evident on corn seeded into less than ideal conditions. […]
Quote of the day: “That’s a really hot boom…” – discussing herbicide injury from incompletely cleaned spraying equipment. Sponsor: Thanks to Marc Maisonneuve (Brevant ) and Chris Olbach (Pioneer) for sponsoring the last breakfast meeting of the season! Conditions Crop Heat Unit (CHU) accumulation stands at 775 at the Ottawa Airport since May 1st, or […]
Thank you to Alex Zelem (C&M Seeds) who chaired the meeting and to Chris Meier (A&L Labs) for sponsoring breakfast. This was the last spring meeting for 2019. This year’s meetings have been the best attended since these meetings started over 20 years ago so thanks to everyone who attended. Since this has been such […]
This was the last meeting of the Simcoe Breakfast group. We have analysed the spring to death and we can’t just keep talking about planting! Typically by now we have had fulsome discussions on fertilizer, herbicide and fungicide programs but that has not been the case this year. The general story for the region continues […]
It’s that kind of year. Expect the unexpected or at least don’t be surprised when something doesn’t follow the rules. It’s a wet year. That usually makes us more disease prone than insect prone. And entomopathogens (fungus that kills insects) usually kick in. But we are also dealing with very delayed planting with small plants […]
Corn Grain corn planting is largely wrapped up. Depending on the region, anywhere from less than 10% (heavy clays) to 90%+ of intended corn acres have been planted. There were a small number of growers in higher heat unit regions intending to plant final fields of grain corn before the forecasted rain on Thursday, June […]
This article discusses cereal rye cover crop management in the spring prior to planting soybeans. For the most up-to-date information on this project, click below: Organic no-till soybean production: making it work in Ontario When should I spray my cereal rye cover crop before soybeans? Achieving sufficient biomass from cover crops is essential to reaping […]