Ontario Hay Listings is a free classifieds service provided by the Ontario Forage Council. Producers looking to buy or sell hay or straw are encouraged to post an ad. In 2020 there were several reports of corn rootworm injury to hybrids with below-ground protection from Bt traits. This suggests that Bt-resistant corn rootworm populations exist […]
Several reports of fields with fall armyworm (FAW) larvae have been coming in over the last few days. Growers or scouts drive by a field and pull over, shocked to see only stems left of plants with larvae happily feeding. So far most of the damage has been found in oats, rye cover crop, mixed […]
Ontario Hay Listings is a free classifieds service provided by the Ontario Forage Council. Producers looking to buy or sell hay or straw are encouraged to post an ad. As cereal grain crops are harvested, there is an opportunity to establish an annual forage crop. For a late fall grazing or harvest, research by Dr. […]
Forage soybeans are not normally recommended as an emergency forage. Forage soybean production has a steep learning curve. Successful producers started with a small acreage and took several years to learn how to manage this crop. Whole unroasted soybean seeds pose a risk of ammonia toxicity. Limit to 2-4 lbs/head/day. Protein exceeding animal demand will […]
This article was written by Breann Saulnier, OMAFRA Grazing Livestock Assistant You may look out into a pasture and see an abundance of tall, delicious-looking grass for livestock to graze but this is not necessarily what the livestock see. The amount of forage available for grazing is the portion of plant material that the animal […]
Regrowth rates of hay fields following a cut and pastures following a grazing event is dependent on rainfall. Areas that received below-average rainfall may experience slower regrowth. Producers looking to buy or sell hay are encouraged to check out the new and improved Ontario Hay Listings website Southwest According to AAFC, most of the area […]
Co-written by James Byrne, OMAFRA Beef Cattle Specialist Grass doesn’t just happen. Maximizing pasture yield requires management, and one of the most important decisions a manager can make is to give their grass enough time to fully recover after being grazed. Pastures have fully recovered from a grazing event when the grass plants have 3-4 […]
Frost seeding is a popular way to renovate an existing forage stand and is most effective in fields where patches of bare soil at least the size of a loonie are visible. With spring around the corner, many producers have questions about how to best use this technique to improve their hay fields and pastures. […]
Photo: It is impossible to tell by looking at frost-damaged sorghum-sudangrass what the prussic acid levels may be. Silage Corn In fields where rootworm Bt hybrids have been used for three or more consecutive years, resistance among corn rootworm populations is suspected. Producers can no longer rely solely on Bt rootworm hybrids for protection against […]
Caution! Members of the sorghum family – sorghum, sudangrass, and hybrid sorghum-sudangrass – contain dhurrin, a glucoside that breaks down to release hydrocyanic acid, also known as prussic acid (hydrogen cyanide, HCN). A sudden disruption of growth such as frost, drought or cutting, causes prussic acid to be released inside the plant at a more […]
Photo: Many winter wheat fields were planted to an annual forage crop after harvest this year. Premiums for summer-seeded New Forage Seeding insurance are due to Agricorp September 15. Silage corn growers should check fields for rootworm resistance to Bt hybrids Scouting for corn rootworm injury in silage fields is important to detect potential resistance […]
This post was written by Jessica Brasier, OMAFRA summer student. Jessica works under the supervision of Christine O’Reilly (Forage and Grazing Specialist) and James Byrne (Beef Cattle Specialist). Grazing pasture is a great way to save on feed costs and utilize marginal land. To maximize the profitability of a pasture, a producer can use different […]
Photo above: Potato leafhopper damage (called “hopper burn”) is frequently mistaken for insufficient water. To maximize the forage yield of fall cereals next spring, research from New York state suggests planting fall rye or winter triticale 10-14 days before the optimal winter wheat planting date (Figure 1). September 1st is the deadline to report […]
Southwestern • According to AAFC, Lambton, Huron, Perth, Bruce, Grey, Dufferin, Wellington, Waterloo, and Halton counties had average amounts of precipitation for the month of June. The rest of the region had below-average amounts of rainfall. • First cut was fully underway the first week of June. • There have been many reports of true […]
Cool conditions in the first half of the month slowed forage growth across the province. Victoria Day – the weekend before May 24th – was early this year, with the holiday falling on May 18th. This further affected perceptions of crop development, as many dairy farmers aim to start first cut based on the long […]