Weekly in-season progress reports of the Ontario field crop landscape
Optimizing Winter Wheat Quality at Harvest Fusarium Head Blight Management With frequent rain events in some areas as winter wheat matures, managing fusarium head blight (FHB) fungus is crucial to prevent yield loss, reduce mycotoxin contamination, and maximize grain quality. Identification FHB symptoms are noticeable soon after flowering. Diseased spikelets (glumes and florets) appear to […]
Turning soil tests into fertilizer recs Take one soil test, give it to two agronomists, and get four different fertilizer recommendations. How is this possible? Soil testing is one of the most profitable operations that a farm business can do, assuming proper sampling technique, and aligning samples with the field conditions and management. Soil testing […]
Swede midge and imported cabbageworm observed in canola At this time, canola exists in Ontario at almost every growth stage. Late planted or re-seeded spring canola is at the seedling stage in Northeastern Ontario. There is also spring canola approaching first flower, and some already in full bloom in the far north and Grey, Bruce, […]
The start of this week has been marked by several days of well above normal temperatures – daily highs in the low to mid 30’s brings the first summer-like hot spell across much of Ontario. These temperatures have helped reduce the heat unit deficit that has been a hallmark of spring 2025. Field Corn Very […]
The province experienced weather extremes. Southern Ontario saw warmer conditions that supported corn and soybean growth and helped dry fields still awaiting planting. However, wind and scattered rain complicated weed control efforts. In the Northeast and Northwest Ontario, temperatures neared 0°C, raising concerns about frost damage to emerged soybeans and white beans. Field assessments are […]
It’s been a tough spring across much of Ontario and growers continue to face variable weather conditions, creating both opportunities and challenges across regions. Frequent rain events have delayed planting in parts of eastern Ontario, particularly on heavier clays from Belleville to Kingston and Essex which had up to 3” of rain last week halting […]
Soybeans Soybean planting is largely complete on lighter textured soils and well drained fields. Planting is still underway on heavy soils and in regions of the province that continue to receive sporadic rainfall. Cool temperatures during April and May have slowed emergence, with fields taking longer to emerge this year. With warm weather, soybeans typically […]
Cooler than normal weather continued, with several overnight lows below 10°C. In the southwest, crop heat units (CHUs) are below normal and about 200 below last year on this date. Planting is progressing as soils become fit; however, crop emergence has been slow. Cereals Winter wheat is moving into the heading stages with T3 fungicide […]
Field work progressed quickly across the province in the past week, with sunny skies and warm temperatures peaking on Friday, May 16th before scattered showers and below seasonal temperatures began on the Victoria Day long weekend. Widespread rainfall slowed field activities beginning mid-week. Soil temperatures have generally been cool, resulting in slow crop emergence and […]
Field work has progressed quickly in the last week and a half. Soil temperatures are still cool, resulting in slow crop emergence. Cereals Sulphur deficiencies continue to be reported in winter wheat. Options to correct this deficiency include streaming on liquid ammonium sulphate, (ATS) cut with water, or spreading dry ammonium sulphate. Be aware of […]
Variable weather conditions across the province over the last week have led to a range of planting progress. Areas of the southwest are well into spring planting, with some areas estimating over 50% of the crop acres planted, while others are just getting started with field work. Growing Degree Days (GDD) are behind last year, […]
Field Conditions Soils are steadily drying out as we have more sun and wind. With warmer temperatures, more seeding and herbicide applications have been completed. Extreme winds during storm events this week resulted in a lot of soil movement out of fields that have been worked, and noticeably less soil movement in fields that have […]
Crop Conditions Cool temperatures with variable rainfall has slowed field drying. Some field work has started in the last few days where the conditions allowed. Nitrogen and sulphur applications are being made to the winter wheat crop, manure is being applied, and tillage operations are beginning. Corn planting has begun in the southwest of the […]
Planting In March 2024, Statistics Canada estimated Ontario farmers intended to plant 2.3 million acres of grain corn, 5% higher than the 5-year (2019-2023) average seeded acres of 2.2 million acres (OMAFA Crop Statistics). Unsettled weather and highly variable planting progress dominated the spring of 2024. Frequent rains through April limited early corn planting. Frequent […]
A wet spring pushed Ontario soybean acres to a record high of 3.1 million acres seeded in 2024. This was up 7% from 2023. To date, with approximately half of yields reported the provincial yield is above average at 108%. This number will be updated in January when all acres have been reported. The Agricorp […]