The 2025 AgSpray Expo; Innovations & Best Practices in Agricultural Spraying was a one-of-a-kind summer event that was not to be missed! July 23rd was a warm sunny day north of Brockville, ON, perfect for demonstrating sprayers, drones, and sensor equipment. With more than 120 people in attendance, smaller groups took in eight sessions that […]
The Ontario Cereal Crop Committee (OCCC) 2025 winter wheat preliminary trial data for Area 1 and 2 is now available at GoCrops.ca. The 2025 preliminary data can be found in the tables under “winter wheat” in the “performance trial results” tab at GoCrops.ca. The final winter wheat data and PDF report will be finalized at the […]
Maximizing Rainfall Capture Through Soil Management The amount of rainfall that makes its way into soil, instead of running off, matters to maximize crop yields – especially in dry years. Thunderstorms often bring large amounts of water quickly, and not all soils perform equally in the time it takes to soak in for use by […]
There are areas of the province that have received little effective rainfall since early June. Dry and hot growing conditions can limit regrowth in hay fields and pastures. AgriStability compensation rate has been increased for 2025 and Agricorp has extended the deadline to apply to July 31, 2025. If you have questions about crop insurance […]
Early Season Cold Stress Frost damage in May or June will generally have little impact on the crop, provided the growing point of the corn plant is still below the soil surface. This is the case until the young plant reaches roughly the sixth-leaf stage (V6). On more advanced plants and/or where damage is more […]
Diseases Figure 1. Corn scouting calendar, shows diseases that could be causing the symptoms in the field. Individual descriptions of diseases, scouting and management strategies can be found in Chapter 16, Diseases of field crops. Figure 1. Corn Scouting Calendar (Disease calendar with links to various diseases in disease section below) Seedling Blights Anthracnose Leaf Blight […]
Insects and Pests Figure 1. Corn scouting calendar, shows insects and pests that could be causing symptoms in the field. Individual descriptions of insects and pests, scouting and management strategies can be found in Chapter 15, Insects and pests of field crops. Figure 1. Corn Scouting Calendar (Insect and pest calendar with links to various pests […]
Corn Drying The three general types of grain dryers used on the farm are: No single drying system is superior. Grain dryer selection is dependent on desired features, including drying capacity, grain quality, fuel/drying efficiency (BTUs per volume of water removed), convenience, manpower required to run the dryer, ability to dry a variety of crops, […]
Harvesting Physiological maturity (black layering) occurs when the grain moisture content reaches 31%–33% moisture. After this stage, there is no dry matter added to the corn kernel. Harvesting grain corn at moisture contents above 28% often results in significant damage to the grain and makes it more difficult to market commercially. High quality food grade […]
Figure 1. Corn scouting calendar, shows insects and pests that could be causing symptoms in the field. Individual descriptions of insects and pests, scouting and management strategies can be found in Chapter 15, Insects and pests of field crops.[BR1] Figure 1. Corn Scouting Calendar (Insect and pest calendar with links to various pests in pest section […]
Magnesium Magnesium is plentiful in most Ontario soils, but deficiencies can occur on acidic, sandy soils. The symptoms appear first as yellow striping of the lower leaves (Figure 1). As the deficiency worsens, the upper leaves may become striped while the lower leaves turn reddish-purple. Dolomitic lime is an excellent source of magnesium where limestone […]
Finding and Fixing Soil Compaction When it comes to spring seeding, there can be challenges on the weather and soil conditions fronts. Areas in Ontario that often struggle with planting conditions had crops planted under good soil conditions and in record time this spring, while other areas, even some with lighter soils, experienced delays due […]
This article was written by Jonathan Sawicki, a summer research assistant with OMAFA assisting with corn research and extension projects during the summers of 2023 and 2024. Jonathan is now an M.Sc. candidate in the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of Guelph. This article discusses the challenges Ontario agriculture faced in 2024 due […]