Crop Conditions – Week of April 20, 2023

A lot of manure application occurred during the warm weather late last week.

Weather  The weather late last week was unseasonably warm, with maximum temperatures exceeding 24˚C in most of the agricultural regions of the province. Crops already in the ground responded well to the heat and growth progressed quickly. With more typical single-digit temperatures this week, crop development is expected to slow, and staging should become more […]

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Crop Report – April 13, 2023

Figure 2. Waterhemp seedlings (photo by Mike Cowbrough, OMAFRA)

Spring conditions have arrived across Ontario this week and some tillage and field preparation has started in fields with light-textured soils. Manure application is also underway. Taking a manure sample at the time of application is recommended and will help fine-tune fertilizer needs. Several heavy rainfall events in early April have some producers concerned about […]

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2022 Corn Seasonal Summary

Black tar spot fungal structures (stromata) on leaves in a field near Ilderton in late September 2022.

Planting In March 2022, Statistics Canada estimated Ontario farmers intended to plant 2.3 million acres of grain corn, 6% higher than the 5-year (2017-2021) average seeded acres of 2.16 million acres (OMAFRA Crop Statistics). Spring arrived slow. Lingering snows and rain limited field work on all but the lightest soils in late April. A very […]

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2022 Soybean Seasonal Summary

Poor soybean plant stands in Lambton County. (June 23, 2022)

Over three million acres of soybeans were seeded in 2022. High prices have increased the farm gate value of soybeans to over 2.5 billion dollars. The Agricorp floating claim price was $18.72/bu in 2022. Rainfall was sporadic during key plant growth stages, so yields were variable across the province. Field averages ranged below 25 bu/ac […]

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2022 Cereals Seasonal Summary

Wheat during stem elongation. As the leaf sheath lengthens, plants will appear to stand more upright compared to earlier vegetative growth stages.

2021 Winter Wheat Planting Conditions Planting conditions varied across the province. Areas with ideal conditions and a timely harvest of edible beans, canola, and oats were able to seed winter wheat within the optimum date range. Other areas experienced above average rainfall in October that resulted in pooling and heavy tile-run wheat. Most planting was […]

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2022 Dry Bean Seasonal Summary

Dry bean puller in desiccated dry bean field

Total acreage of dry beans insured by Agricorp in 2022 was 101,901 acres (see Table 1.). The number of insured acres has slowly declinedfrom the 2020 high, when acres were the highest Ontario has experienced since 2007. Most market classes declined in 2022, except Adzuki Beans which saw a slight increase. Overall, 2022 acreage is […]

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2022 Canola Seasonal Summary

Figure 1. Yellow canola flowers with branching green stems

Spring Canola There was roughly 36,800 acres of spring canola insured by Agricorp in 2022. Compared to 2021, planted acreage across Ontario was similar. There were regional differences with planted acreage being slightly higher in Northeastern Ontario, and slightly lower in Northwestern Ontario Spring conditions were favourable for early planting throughout most of Ontario with […]

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