Breakfast meetings bring crop agronomists and industry professionals together during a key time in the growing season to discuss current field conditions. These meetings are a great opportunity to ask questions, work through field challenges, and share clear, consistent messages for growers across the industry. Participants are welcome to purchase their own breakfast and the meetings offer a valuable chance to connect and network with peers.
The meeting locations and meeting dates for all breakfast meetings are listed below. For the 2026 season, the Ridgetown meeting will be live-streamed and in-person. The Northern meeting will continue as a virtual meeting. All other meetings will be held in-person only and cannot be livestreamed because they are held in restaurants.
If you cannot join us for breakfast, you can catch up on the discussion in the summary notes below (posted later that same week).
Breakfast meetings bring crop agronomists and industry professionals together during a key time of the growing season to discuss current field conditions. These meetings are a great opportunity to ask questions, work through field challenges, and share clear, consistent messages for growers across the industry. Participants are welcome to purchase their own breakfast, and the […]
Wet conditions stalled many field activities with significant rainfall received over much of the province over the weekend. Field drying weather has occurred since and will allow for remaining crop acres to be planted with continued warm and dry weather in the forecast. Winter Wheat The most advanced fields of winter wheat are at head […]
Summer weather arrived suddenly over the Victoria Day weekend. Hot temperatures and sunshine created good conditions, and a lot of field work was accomplished quickly. Soil temperatures have also been rising, which will speed up germination. Violent storms moved across the province on Tuesday evening ahead of a cold front, which will bring temperatures back […]
Cool temperatures have influenced the start of the growing season across Ontario. Despite this, fieldwork has advanced steadily where soils are fit. Soil moisture and temperature variability across the province are driving differences in planting progress – with significant activity on loam soils in relatively drier areas and no activity to date on clay soils in wetter regions such as Haldimand and Niagara. Parts of northern Ontario have experienced drier than […]
Variable weather has led to short windows for field work across the province. Most areas have had at least a few days to spread fertilizer and manure and begin tillage and planting. Manure applications are being strategically planned to reduce some rates of starter or broadcast fertilizer. Very windy days across the province this week have emphasized soil […]
Weather conditions: Seasonal temperatures and relatively good drying conditions allowed fieldwork to begin in some regions. Nitrogen application on wheat, fertilizer applications and tillage on lighter soils, and planting of spring cereals, new forage seedings and even corn all began as soil conditions permitted. Manure application, some from storages near capacity, was evident by smell […]
Cool temperatures with persistent rainfall have slowed field drying which has resulted in little field work completed to date. Very few winter cereals outside of the deep south have received an application of nitrogen and sulphur but are expected to receive an application before the weekend. Manure applications and tillage operations are slowly beginning where the conditions allow. Very little corn and no soybeans have been seeded to date. Cereals The majority of winter […]
Spring has returned following a cold, snowy winter; however, weather conditions through March and early April remains cooler than normal, and soils continue to be wet and cool in many areas. As a result, meaningful field activity has been minimal to date across the province. Ontario field crop producers are entering the 2026 growing season […]
Optimizing Crop Residue Management for Overall Profitability When and where should crop residue management start? It’s an ongoing and system-wide aspect of overall crop management, so choices such as crop rotation, fertilization and tillage feed into it. However, crop residue management generally starts with the combine. Combining crops without the proper equipment or setup can […]
Fall Herbicide Applications: Maximize Impact on Perennial Weeds Many farmers have seen the benefits of applying systemic herbicides in the fall, especially for the control of perennial weeds (Figure 1). Dandelion control can be improved by over 20% with fall application timings (Figure 2), while the population of other perennial species will be reduced and […]
Hazardous Gases on the Farm: A Silent Threat to Safety Hazardous gases are an often-overlooked danger on farms, lurking in silos, manure storages, anaerobic digesters, grain bins, and any confined space with poor ventilation. They can pose serious health risks to both humans and animals. Common farm gases include: Some gases, like nitrogen dioxide and […]
Crop Conditions – Week of September 1st, 2025. As the 2025 corn season nears its end, two significant diseases—tar spot and southern rust have been getting considerable attention from agronomists and growers across Ontario and the US Corn Belt. Tar spot has been confirmed from Ontario to Kansas, while southern rust’s fast-moving progression from the […]
Pre-harvest Management of Soybeans Many soybean fields are now beginning to yellow, which indicates they are at the R6 (full seed) growth stage. This means that green soybean seeds fill the pod cavity on one of the 4 top nodes. At this stage, pods have reached their full length and no new pods form. Root […]
Resources for Evaluating and Salvaging Moisture Stressed Corn for Corn Silage Under exceptionally dry conditions, there can be corn fields which are severely moisture stressed to the point they will make very poor (or in some cases almost zero) grain yield (Fig. 1). Under these same conditions, forage yields on livestock farms may also be […]
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 […]