To date, very little field activity due to cool, wet spring so far this season. Most areas received significant rain this past weekend, resulting in saturated soils and ponding in fields (Figure 1) and in a few spots some soil erosion. Overall temperatures have been too cold to stimulate new growth on the winter wheat […]
To date, next to no field activity due to cool, wet spring so far this season. Areas around the region received over 50 mm of rain this past weekend, resulting in saturated soils and ponding in fields and in a few spots some soil erosion. Overall temperatures have been too cold to stimulate new growth […]
Thank you to Mike Verhoef who chaired the first breakfast meeting and to Steve Johns who sponsored breakfast. The next meeting will be on April 30 starting at 7:00 am for breakfast (meeting starts at 7:30). Dave Townsend will be the chairman. The meetings will finish no later than 9:00 am. There was an excellent […]
Spring is in the air, and livestock and farmers alike are eager to start the grazing season. Timing that delightful move is critical, as spring grazing management sets up both yield potential of the pasture and the amount of gain achievable for young stock. How early is too early? Livestock should go out on […]
It was nice to catch up with everyone at the first Simcoe breakfast meeting of the season on Wednesday, April 10th. John Hussack chaired the meeting, which focused on the condition of the winter wheat crop. At John’s suggestion, learnings from winter meetings were also discussed. Winter Wheat The big question right now is […]
The 2018 corn harvest that many might rather forget is finally past us… yields were high but unfortunately so were DON levels in many parts of the province. Many farmers chose to dry and store their high-DON corn rather than sell it at harvest, in hopes that better marketing opportunities might open up. As long […]
Ridgetown Ag Breakfast Meeting Minutes – April 9, 2019 Breakfast Sponsor: Thanks from the group to Richard Anderson, BASF Synopsis: The recent warm temperatures have helped to green up the wheat especially in the southwestern part of the province. Field work has been limited to some nitrogen and red clover applications, with a few acres […]
NEW TOOL FOR UNDERSTANDING RESEARCH RESULTS FROM THE 2016 and 2017 growing seasons in the Precision Agriculture Advancement for Ontario project can now be found through an interactive story map available online at http://bit.ly/2wIVgGq. The story map can show multiple layers of data for each field, including elevation, soil conductivity, yield, target N rate, soil […]
This article was written by Meghan Moran (OMAFRA Canola & Edible Bean Specialist) , Travis Cranmer and Dennis Van Dyk (OMAFRA Vegetable Crop Specialists) There have been times growers and agronomists have asked, “What is this house fly-looking insect I am seeing in canola fields?” The flies were particularly abundant in some regions in 2017, and […]
“Do not be cheap. Weed control is an investment into the current and future crops on every field.” That was parting advice from Norfolk and Oxford County farmer Ann Vermeersch at the 2019 FarmSmart Conference in Guelph. In front of 80 farmers and agronomists, I moderated a session with Vermeersch and Steph Kowalski, a […]
Early planting has been adopted as a management strategy to achieve maximum yield in modern soybean production. There is considerable evidence that soybeans planted in late April and early May yield more than beans seeding during the second half of May. Ontario trials have shown that in some years early planting can provide a 10 […]
This article was written by Dave Hooker and Albert Tenuta, on behalf of the Ontario Corn Committee Purpose Although 2018 was very challenging to growers and the rest of the corn industry, it presented an opportunity to compare hybrids for DON accumulation across several locations of the Ontario Corn Performance Trials. The main purpose […]
Ian McDonald, OMAFRA Crop Innovation Specialist James Dyck, OMAFRA Engineer – Field Crop Conditioning & Environment Jacqui Empson Laporte, OMAFRA Environmental Specialist Terrence Sauve, OMAFRA Engineer – Farmstead Optimization & Safety Farm equipment today is larger and can travel faster than ever before. Farms have also grown bigger, spread across fields that can be […]
This article was written by Joanna Follings, OMAFRA Cereal Specialist and Mike Cowbrough, OMAFRA Weed Specialist-Field Crops Q: Can I mix ammonium thiosulphate (ATS) with herbicides and fungicides to address sulphur deficiency symptoms or should I apply it separately with streamer nozzles? A: With reductions in atmospheric sulphur deposits, Ontario research has found significant sulphur […]
This article was written by Ben Rosser, OMAFRA Corn Specialist, and James Dyck, OMAFRA Engineer- Field Crop Conditioning & Environment A number of growers cleaned corn this fall in efforts to reduce DON. Whether it is on the combine or at the bins, the general message is to remove as much fines or cob as possible as […]