Weekly in-season progress reports of the Ontario field crop landscape
Winter Wheat Winter wheat stands continue to look excellent with very high stem counts (up to 144 stems/sq ft) in the southwest. Most fields have received at least one application of nitrogen, with many opting to add sulphur. Fields that have not yet received a nitrogen or sulphur application are showing signs of yellowing. Manganese […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Winter 2021/2022 Conditions Fall of 2021 was very open, and many hay fields grew significantly more than usual. Stands that were predominantly grass created a higher risk for smothering alfalfa where there was too much top growth. Ideally grasses should be mowed to 15 cm (6 in.) to reduce smothering risk. Alfalfa will not smother, […]
When does a killing frost no longer damage soybean seed? Late planted fields or double cropped soybeans may still be green in late September or October. A killing frost will not significantly harm seed quality once the field is at the R7 (beginning maturity) growth stage. R7 is reached when 50% or more of the […]
Tar Spot and Fungicide Application Timings! Although tar spot was detected in Ontario in the first week of July the past two years, 2022 is much different than 2021 and shows the importance of environmental conditions for disease development. Remember, this holds true for any disease! The big difference was the dry conditions early and […]
Managing cover crops ahead of the 2023 corn crop If you’re like many Ontario farmers, you are not only watching as your crops head toward the finish line, but also keeping an eye on the progress of the cover crops you seeded after cereal harvest. With recent rainfall in many parts of the province, cover […]
How Close is Your Corn Nitrogen Rate to Optimum? Testing Nitrogen Rates On-Farm. Simple Summary Three methods can provide insight for how close grower corn nitrogen (N) rates may be to the optimum Multi-Rate N Trial – the most accurate for determining optimum N rates, but also the most work Delta-Yield Estimation – provides a […]
Continuous Corn and Bt Corn Rootworm Resistance Unexpected damage on Bt rootworm (Bt-RW) hybrids – hybrids with below-ground protection – has been found in several fields and new counties this month. The damage includes significant stunting, root clipping, goosenecking, silk clipping and abundant rootworm adult populations mating and feeding (Figure 1). All of these are […]
Root growth of corn plants (V5 growth stage) growing in soil compacted to different bulk densities before corn seeds were planted (Strachan and Jeschke 2017) […]