Weekly in-season progress reports of the Ontario field crop landscape
Growing Conditions Temperatures have been warmer than average since early March, which has advanced crop development faster than normal. Forecasts predict a few days of cold weather (Figure 1.), snow and frost, followed by more normal temperatures for this time of year. Dry field conditions have been excellent […]
2020 was an exceptional year for many Ontario soybean growers. Although not all regions had good yields, much of the province harvested outstanding soybeans. The overall provincial average will be one of the highest on record at 50.7 bu/ac. In several cases growers were able to achieve over 80 bu/ac. The 10-year average for those reported […]
Planting In March 2020 Statistics Canada estimated Ontario farmers intended to plant 2.3 million acres of grain corn, 10% higher than the 5-year average seeded acres of 2.1 million acres (2015-2019) (OMAFRA Crop Statistics). Spring 2020 provided a great start to planting. April remained cold but sun and dry weather provided an extended period of […]
Fall 2019 A cool, wet 2019 spring pushed soybean planting well into June for most of Ontario with some regions planting well into July. Although this was expected to cause a delay in winter wheat seeding, good conditions throughout September and October allowed for a timely soybean harvest and overall, wheat was seeded into excellent […]
Acreage of dry beans increased approximately 20% over 2019, and 50% over 2018. Total acreage of dry beans insured by Agricorp in 2020 was 157,610 acres (Table 1). There were more acres of all market classes compared to last year, except for cranberry beans. Table 1. Acres of dry edible beans insured by Agricorp in […]
Canola acreage in Ontario was similar to last year, with 29,019 acres insured in 2020. Spring canola acres have declined in most regions, including a drop in Temiskaming District from about 11,300 acres in 2019 to about 9,300 acres in 2020. Nipissing added 700 acres compared to last year, for a total of nearly 2000 […]
2019/2020 Winter Conditions Much of the province had a mild winter, with average amounts of precipitation. Areas of Chatham-Kent, Lambton, Huron, Grey, Bruce, Timiskaming, Cochrane, Rainy River, and Kenora received below-average winter precipitation. Forages broke dormancy early in much of the province, with green-up starting in mid-March in the southwest. Overall, reports of winterkill were […]
Take the Test – Beat SCN Soybean harvest has begun, and many growers have asked if they could sample for soybean cyst nematode this fall. For many growers, managing soybean cyst nematode (SCN) means planting SCN resistance varieties BUT effective SCN management does not end when you have selected your soybean varieties! It is imperative […]
Managing Eroded Knolls 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. This article is to explore knolls: how they’ve formed, how they differ, and how they can be managed or even re-mediated. How […]
Is It Bad to Plant Corn After Cereal Rye? There has been interest in rye for cover crops or maximizing yields in silage systems (Figure 1) where rye can be harvested for silage by mid- to late May which still allows time for planting a corn silage crop. Benefits of rye include good winter hardiness, […]
High corn rootworm (CRW) pressure in 2020 is challenging current Bt rootworm hybrids and several Ontario growers have reported unexpected injury by CRW. This indicates that possible cross resistance has occurred, where even pyramid hybrids with multiple rootworm traits are impacted. Currently, we know that several fields with injury in Huron, Perth and Durham Counties […]
Managing to get the most from available water Water is the most important limiting input for crop production. In more than a couple of the past years, producers across the province have been forced to watch while their crops suffer from dry conditions in the heat of summer. Other than irrigation (which is rare for […]
This week we would like to discuss tar spot in corn as well as soybean cyst nematode and sudden death syndrome in soybean. Tar Spot in Corn There is a lot of discussion and questions surrounding tar spot this year in Ontario. Tar spot is a new corn disease in the US midwest and since […]
There are currently three key topics for forage production: nitrates, potato leafhopper, and planting annual forages for fall production. Nitrate poisoning of livestock is a risk in a dry year In a dry year, high nitrate levels in forages are a concern. Fast-growing grass species, such as corn, sorghum-sudangrass, and cereals are most likely to […]
The establishment of cover crops after cereal harvest has been shown to reduce weed seed production and dispersal to the soil. This is of particular benefit when trying to manage glyphosate resistant weed species like Canada fleabane and waterhemp (a relative of redroot pigweed). Some highlights from recent studies include: […]