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. These mycotoxins, particularly deoxynivalenol (DON, or…
Ben Rosser October 18, 2019 1233 Comments Off on Marketing Immature or Frost Damaged Corn: Livestock Feed Harvesting and Storage Alternatives for Corn Originally Intended as Dry Grain CornThis 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 harvest and there are concerns…
Ben Rosser September 24, 2019 1230 Comments Off on Will My Late Planted Corn Mature Prior to a Frost?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 common question now is what are…
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 these harbour the highest levels of…
Ben Rosser March 15, 2019 788 Comments Off on 2019 Summer Jobs – Student Field Crop Assistant – Corn Agronomy and Nutrient ManagementJob Term: Temporary for 16 weeks, beginning spring 2019 Salary: $14.85 / hour, based on a 36.25 hour work week Job Ad Closing Date: Friday, March 29, 2019 Available Positions/Locations: Position Focus Location Contact Person Corn Agronomy and Nutrient Management Guelph Ben Rosser and Christine Brown Are you serious about making your mark, getting hands-on work…
Ben Rosser October 12, 2018 17552 Comments Off on 2018 Grain Corn Ear Mould and Vomitoxin (DON) SurveyCo-authored with Albert Tenuta, Field Crop Pathologist, OMAFRA OMAFRA field crop staff in collaboration with the 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. These mycotoxins, particularly vomitoxin (DON)…
As occurs most years, summer thunderstorms brought localized hail events through parts of Ontario, particularly during the last week of July (Figure 1). After a hail event, our first question is usually how much leaf tissue is still out there? When evaluating damage, it’s good to wait a week or so before going in. This gives time to let dead…
Co-authored with Ian McDonald Background OMAFRA Field Crop Unit staff have traditionally conducted an annual Pre Sidedress Nitrogen Test (PSNT) survey across Ontario at the beginning of June to measure background soil nitrate levels mineralized from the soil as an indication of year-to-year soil nitrogen status. In past years, 80-100 samples would be collected from corn fields across the province…
2017 Corn Seasonal Summary Planting The March 2017 planting intentions report by Statistics Canada estimated that Ontario farmers intended to plant 2.2 million acres of grain corn. This compares to a 5-year (2012-2016) average of 2.1 million acres of grain corn planted in the province (OMAFRA Crop Statistics). While April was warmer than normal, some large rainfall events in the…
Ben Rosser October 26, 2017 6237 Comments Off on 2017 Grain Corn Ear Mould and Vomitoxin (DON) SurveyCo-Authored with Albert Tenuta, Field Crop Pathologist, OMAFRA OMAFRA field crop staff with the assistance from members of the Ontario Agri-Business Association (OABA) have completed the annual Provincial corn ear mould and mycotoxin survey. These mycotoxins, particularly vomitoxin (DON) produced primarily by Gibberella/Fusarium ear moulds can be disruptive when fed to livestock, especially hogs. The purpose of the annual survey…
Spring Cool but dry conditions prevailed for the start of the corn growing season as May transitioned from a cooler than average April. May remained dry, with few precipitation events to delay planting. A few localized pockets in Southern Ontario were the exception, which received regular rainfall during the first half of the month. Planting started in earnest in many…
Ben Rosser October 29, 2016 2635 Comments Off on What to consider when selecting corn silage hybridsThis article originally appeared in Milk Producer Magazine. As another harvest season approaches, it also marks the time for deciding which corn hybrids to select for next year. It is always important to choose hybrids that are well adapted to the area and have good agronomic characteristics for your fields, although some characteristics commonly selected for in-grain production may not…
Ben Rosser October 13, 2016 8157 Comments Off on 2016 Grain Corn Ear Mould and Vomitoxin (DON) SurveyCo-Authored with Albert Tenuta The OMAFRA Field Crops team conducted its annual vomitoxin survey to assess the presence of corn ear mould and grain vomitoxin in the 2016 corn crop. Vomitoxins can be produced by Gibberella and Fusarium ear moulds and can be disruptive when fed to livestock, particularly hogs. A total of 121 samples were collected from Southern to…
Co-Authored with Ian McDonald, OMAFRA and Ken Janovicek, University of Guelph OMAFRA Field Crop Unit staff have traditionally conducted a Pre Sidedress Nitrogen Test (PSNT) survey across Ontario at the beginning of June each year to examine the natural soil nitrate available. In the past, 80-100 samples would be collected from fields across the province that had not received any…
Ben Rosser June 10, 2016 2785 Comments Off on How Variable Are Your Corn Stands? On-Farm Plant-Plant Variability Study for Corn in 2016Past research in Ontario and abroad has demonstrated the importance of uniform emergence for maximizing corn yield. At the Southwest Ag Conference in January, Randy Dowdy, 2014 National Corn Growers Association yield contest winner from Georgia proposed the “flag test” – returning to a plot every 12 or 24 hours and flagging every newly emerged plant using a different coloured flag for each visit as a simple means of assessing…