Corn Stand Checkup Scouting corn between emergence and knee high provides a report card on seedbed preparation, planter operation and agronomic practices affecting early plant establishment and growth. Causes of issues can often be identified at this stage to make improvements for following years. Counting Plants For easy math, a common method of measuring population is to measure 1/1000th of…
The last meeting will be held on Wednesday, June 23rd at 8:00 am. Weather Conditions Dry conditions continued over the two weeks since the last meeting. Rainfall was patchy over the region, with some areas getting “just over an inch” and others nothing at all. Those that got rain reported crops continue to look good but could use more. Crops that missed the rain are…
Cereals Warm daytime and nighttime temperatures have resulted in rapid growth through the heading stage. Wheat can be vulnerable to hot temperatures during flowering especially if it gets above 33oC. Pollen viability can be affected at that temperature when the pollen is developing at 5-7 days before flowering. In the areas where it has been really hot the wheat was…
Corn Nitrogen Status Nitrogen mineralization is favoured by warm soil temperatures with adequate soil moisture and aeration. Excess moisture can slow mineralization or increase the potential for losses through denitrification (especially under warm conditions) or leaching. Spring of 2021 progressed similar to 2020. Sunshine and little rainfall resulted in great soil conditions through April and May. A period of cold…
Summary Soil nitrogen supply (mineralization, loss) can be influenced by weather (soil temperature, moisture) each spring. OMAFRA leads an annual Pre Sidedress Nitrogen Test (PSNT) survey to gauge year-to-year levels across Ontario. PSNT soil samples were collected from 93 sites across Ontario from May 31st to June 2nd, 2021. The average PSNT value was 13 ppm, similar to the long-term…
OMAFRA Field Crop Team June 4, 2021 188 Comments Off on Northern Agribusiness Breakfast Meeting – June 2, 2021Photo credit: Dr. Tarlok Singh Sahota. Canola seeded May 19th in Thunder Bay District. June 2nd was the last meeting of the season. We had good attendance and would like to thank everyone that joined and participated. It is estimated that 8,000 acres of canola and soybeans are being reseeded in northeastern Ontario after the frost events last weekend. Extent…
OMAFRA Field Crop Team June 3, 2021 237 Comments Off on Ridgetown-Simcoe Ag Breakfast Meeting Minutes – June 1, 2021Overview: Rainfall last week was welcomed across the region and relieved the anxiety for those with crops planted into dry soils and for growers waiting for some activation of soil applied herbicides. Crop heat unit accumulation since the beginning of May is about 425 CHU. This is close to last year and long-term average, with cooler temperatures at the beginning of the month slowing a trend from April that was ahead of normal. …
Soybean Update The majority of the soybean crop was planted by May 20th. Although plant stands have generally been good, there are fields with poor emergence. Poor soybean stands can be caused by various issues such as insect or slug feeding, but this year the main problem has been dry soil. Soybeans…
OMAFRA Field Crop Team May 28, 2021 275 Comments Off on Exeter and Mount Forest Breakfast Meeting Minutes – May 25, 2021Corn: Overall the area received very little rainfall since last meeting two weeks ago. The most that was reported was 2/10 of an inch in parts of Huron county. Most of the corn in the area is now planted except for some acres intended to go in after ryelage. Although it is still a little premature to evaluate seeding rate…
OMAFRA Field Crop Team May 27, 2021 322 Comments Off on Cobourg/Winchester Agribusiness Breakfast Meeting – May 26, 2021Weather Conditions The entire eastern region received no more than 4 mm of rainfall in the past two weeks. Dry conditions were a theme throughout all topics of discussion. Cereals The winter wheat crop continues to look very good. Forages First cut has started for producers targeting “dairy quality” forage. Early reports suggest yields are good. This is mostly credited…
Conditions Some thunderstorms through Essex provided some moisture, but most areas of the province received less than 5 mm over the long weekend and conditions throughout the province remain dry. Temperatures have transitioned from colder than normal to summer-like, and double-digit night-time temperatures have helped newly planted crops to emerge quickly. Cereals Early planted wheat fields are starting to head….
OMAFRA Field Crop Team May 21, 2021 282 Comments Off on Northern AgriBusiness Breakfast Meeting – May 19, 2021The third Northern Ag Breakfast Meeting was held on May 19th. The last meeting will be held at 8:30am EDT on Wednesday June 2nd. Horst Bohner, OMAFRA Soybean Specialist, will provide some updates on soybeans and answer questions. Thanks to everyone who joins in our discussions. Ben Rosser, OMAFA Corn Specialist, shared updates from the first 2 years of…
OMAFRA Field Crop Team May 20, 2021 248 Comments Off on Ridgetown-Simcoe Ag Breakfast Meeting Minutes– May 18, 2021General Progress: Corn planting is basically finished on the loamy soils and 60% completed on heavy clay soils. Soybean planting is in full swing with lighter soils 75% completed and heavier soils 30-40% planted. About 160 CHU accumulation since May 1 in Ridgetown/Chatham area. Conditions are dry, moisture would be welcome. Soils worked before May 13 (cool conditions) were retaining…
Conditions Current weather patterns are generally expected to hold for the next week or so. This will allow for planting of corn and soybeans to be mostly complete by the last week of May, though many fields and farms will appreciate some rain soon, particularly in the far southwest (Figure 1). Significant precipitation is possible in the next two weeks,…
OMAFRA Field Crop Team May 14, 2021 285 Comments Off on Cobourg-Winchester Breakfast Meeting Minutes – May 12, 2021Overall Conditions A quiet breakfast meeting usually means fields are busy, and indeed that was the case this week. There have been showers across region over the past couple of weeks, but very scattered. This has slowed down planting progress where rains have been heavier. On average, moisture levels have been good but temperatures remain low, particularly overnight, leading to…