For many Ontario farmers, the 2021 season has been a weather roller coaster. Throughout much of the province, the season started out extremely dry, with some regions receiving less than 20% of normal precipitation for the month of May (Figure 1). Late June brought relief for many parts of Southern Ontario, with regular rainfall that continued throughout July. Some…
Jake Munroe April 7, 2021 775 Comments Off on Organic no-till soybean production: is it possible in Ontario? (updated with 2020 data)In this article, we will take a look at using a roller crimper for organic no-till soybean production and the results of on-farm trials in Ontario. Why organic no-till? Organic soybean production relies on a significant amount of tillage. When done well, yields can rival conventional production. There are drawbacks, however, including a high labour demand in the spring and…
Jake Munroe, Mike Cowbrough and Sebastian Belliard (OMAFRA) Cereal rye (Secale cereal) has several strengths as a cover crop option. It’s relatively inexpensive and easy to kill. Rye improves soil structure, builds organic matter and helps protect against water and wind erosion. It can suppress weeds as discussed here (see Figure 1). It’s also very winter hardy and often the…
The OMAFRA Soil Team recently hosted a three-part webinar series on strip-tillage. Each event focused on a different aspect of strip-till and featured four different farmer speakers from across Ontario. To view the recordings, check out the videos below. Timing & Tools: Shank vs. Coulter and Spring vs. Fall (recorded December 8th, 2020): Strip-Till and Cover Crops: How Do They…
Jake Munroe September 23, 2020 1059 Comments Off on Getting to Know Your Knolls Part 1: Understanding and Managing High pH KnollsJake Munroe, Soil Management Specialist – Field Crops, OMAFRA We’ve all seen them. Hilltops. Whitecaps. High spots where the crop struggles year after year. Eroded knolls are common to Ontario agriculture and cost farmers in lost productivity each season. However, not all eroded knolls are alike. In this two-part series, we will explore knolls: how they’ve formed and how they…
Jake Munroe June 24, 2020 807 Comments Off on Introducing PLATO, the Phosphorus Loss Assessment Tool for OntarioKeeping soil covered and minimizing erosion is a key principle of soil health. Maximizing the efficiency of crop nutrient uptake and minimizing losses are the foundation of 4R Nutrient Stewardship. When combined, these principles form the basis of a new online tool from OMAFRA called PLATO (Phosphorus Loss Assessment Tool for Ontario). PLATO is a calculator that you can use to estimate the risk of phosphorus loss on your farm. It’s part of the newly re-vamped AgriSuite and uses your specific soil, crop and nutrient application information to provide a risk rating and options to improve your score.
It’s the time of year when you can see the impact of erosion on farm fields across the province. Whether it’s subtle (Figure 1) or obvious (Figure 2), erosion affects soil by reducing fertility, decreasing organic matter and lowering productivity. With National Soil Conservation Week happening from April 19th to 25th, I wanted to highlight some strategies Ontario farmers are…
In this article, we will take a look at using a roller crimper for organic no-till soybean production and the results of on-farm trials in Ontario. For the most up-to-date version of this article, click here. Why organic no-till? Organic soybean production relies on a significant amount of tillage. When done well, yields can rival conventional production. There are drawbacks,…
Jake Munroe, Mike Cowbrough and Sebastian Belliard (OMAFRA) Cereal rye (Secale cereale) has several strengths as a cover crop option. It’s relatively inexpensive and easy to kill. Rye improves soil structure, builds organic matter and helps protect against water and wind erosion. It can suppress weeds as discussed here (see Figure 1). It’s also very winter hardy and often the…
Have you ever looked up the official Ontario fertilizer or liming recommendations? They’re featured in “look-up” tables in OMAFRA production guides, such as our Agronomy Guide for Field Crops (Publication 811), and provide rates for phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, zinc and manganese, as well as lime, based on soil test values. A new way to access Ontario fertilizer and liming recommendations…
Nutrient deficiencies can seriously impact crop yield. Certain deficiencies are seen every year in Ontario field crops, such as nitrogen deficiency in corn and manganese deficiency in soybeans. Others are brought on or made worse by environmental conditions – for example, potassium deficiency in soybeans and boron deficiency in alfalfa (Figure 1) during dry spells. Knowing how to identify deficiencies…
Jake Munroe June 20, 2019 1557 Comments Off on Heartland and Eastern Valley Soil and Crop Tier Two Project, 2018-2020: Pushing the Management of Cover Crop RyeThis article discusses cereal rye cover crop management in the spring prior to planting soybeans. For results from this project, click here and here. Achieving sufficient biomass from cover crops is essential to reaping their soil benefits. Dr. Humberto Blanco, Professor of Soil Management and Applied Physics at University of Nebraska-Lincoln, spoke recently at the University of Guelph about his…
Jake Munroe December 17, 2018 5284 Comments Off on To plant green or to plant brown? Rye cover crop termination timing before soybeansGo here for the updated version of this article. Cereal rye has several strengths as a cover crop option. It’s relatively inexpensive and easy to kill. Rye improves soil structure, builds organic matter and helps protect against water and wind erosion. It also competes with weeds, as Mike Cowbrough has written here (see Figure 1). However, in most cases, rye…
Did you know that OMAFRA has a handbook that’s all about nutrients and soil fertility? It’s called the Soil Fertility Handbook and was first published in 1998. The book covers topics such as soil testing, soil pH and lime and fertilizer application. There’s a chapter on organic nutrient sources, like manure, biosolids and cover crops, as well as tips for…
Jake Munroe September 20, 2018 7844 Comments Off on Cereal Rye – A Simple but Effective Cover Crop OptionWith fall now officially here, thoughts are turning to harvest. And with each acre harvested, there is potential for a cover crop to be seeded. At this point in the season, the main cover crop option left is cereal rye. Not to be confused with annual ryegrass, rye is a cereal that is competitive, winter hardy and, like winter wheat,…