Fall Frost Risks and Management Options for Corn

With the first usher of cool fall weather this past week, there were frost warnings for parts of Northern Ontario. With the introduction of increasingly shorter maturity corn hybrids, there has been more corn grown in shorter season areas than what has been typical in the past, and also growers who may have recently started […]

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Continuous Corn Growers Should Check Fields for Rootworm Resistance to Bt Hybrids

Canadian Corn Pest Coalition News Release: Corn rootworm (CRW) has historically been one of the most important pests of corn in Canada and can cause extreme economic loss and increased management costs.  High CRW pressure in Ontario in 2020 is challenging current Bt corn rootworm hybrids and several growers of Bt rootworm hybrids are reporting […]

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Natural Air Drying of Corn

This graph shows the estimated time for natural air drying of corn, with and without additional heat added.

Farmers who may be struggling to get corn dried this year are looking for alternate options.  It is possible to use natural (unheated) air to dry the corn.  Natural air drying is gentle and does not require any specialized equipment, other than a grain bin with a reasonably-sized fan, and maybe a small heater.  However, […]

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Storing Wet Corn Safely

This graphic shows a grain bin and highlights the centre core where fines collect.

Many grain farmers may have questions about storing and drying corn this year, with recent propane shortages and a lot of wet corn still in the field.  Decisions for harvesting corn will vary from farm to farm based on local conditions and factors (corn moisture, distance to alternative dryers, crop standability).  Some farmers may already […]

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2019 Ontario Grain Corn Ear Mould and Deoxynivalenol (DON) Mycotoxin Survey

  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. […]

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