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Field Crop News is a resource for Ontario field crop production. It is managed by the Field Crop Unit of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA). Browse our library of information by:

  • Managing Winter Wheat with Growing Degree Days

    Managing Winter Wheat with Growing Degree Days

    Calculating Growing Degree Days Growing Degree Days (GDDs) can be a helpful tool to track cereal crop growth and development. GDDs are calculated by adding the average daily temperatures during the cereal crop’s growing season. If the daily average temperature is equal to or less than 0˚C, the degree-day value is zero and no GDDs…

  • Managing Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus in Oats

    Managing Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus in Oats

    Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus (BYVD) effects a wide range of grass hosts including wheat, oats and barley with oats being considered the most susceptible crop. In some regions of the province, BYDV has been reported as having a significant negative impact on oat yields. Appearance: The primary symptoms of BYDV include stunting and yellowing, reddening…

  • GoCrops.ca is live!

    GoCrops.ca is live!

    The Ontario Corn Committee (OCC), the Ontario Cereal Crops Committee (OCCC), the Ontario Pulse Crop Committee (OPCC), and the Ontario Soybean and Canola Committee (OSACC) launched their new website: GoCrops.ca. The new website brings together the four previous crop committee websites under one cohesive banner. Ontario growers rely on third-party variety performance trial information to…

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    SHAP: Soil Health Assessment & Plan In-Field In-Office Match SHAP to your needs Assess Benchmark 5 Key Soil Health Indicators Improve Find Potential for Improvement Adapt Take a Flexible approach Interpret Use the SHAP Score Calculator to compare your test results to a database of results from similar Ontario soils. Use this benchmark to identify…

  • Soil Management Day – August 23, 2023

    Soil Management Day – August 23, 2023

    Join the OMAFRA Soil Team and the Ontario Soil Network in London for a full day of collaborative learning. Dive deep into diagnosing and finding solutions for real soil health challenges in a real field! Share learnings and experiences with other soil health professionals, and pick up a great new ideas along the way. A…

  • How to Make Annual Ryegrass Easier to Kill

    How to Make Annual Ryegrass Easier to Kill

    Co-authored by Mike Cowbrough, OMAFRA Weed Management Specialist – Field Crops An annual ryegrass cover crop is excellent at scavenging nitrogen, improving soil structure, and preventing erosion. It tolerates low light levels well enough to be inter-seeded into an established corn crop and grows quickly enough with adequate moisture to help suppress weeds. For ruminant…

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  • When do cover crops, with and without manure applied, release nitrogen that can be used for my corn crop?

    When do cover crops, with and without manure applied, release nitrogen that can be used for my corn crop?

    Cover crops can produce nitrogen. We looked at when different species release nitrogen and the impact that adding manure has on the timing and release of nitrogen. The simple answer Predicting nitrogen (N) availability from cover crops is complicated. Cold and wet conditions in the spring negativelyimpact soil microbial activity and can result in significant…

  • When should I spray my cereal rye cover crop before soybeans?

    When should I spray my cereal rye cover crop before soybeans?

    Cereal rye is a versatile cover crop that can be seeded late into the fall in Ontario. Not to be confused with annual ryegrass – a grass that can be challenging to control – it is a winter cereal that overwinters reliably and grows rapidly in the spring. Delayed termination of rye by herbicide prior…

  • Is the yield potential of alfalfa increasing?

    Is the yield potential of alfalfa increasing?

    The relationship between alfalfa breeding efforts and yield potential is complicated. While most literature on annual grain crops shows yield improvements with the release of new varieties over time, a literature search on alfalfa yield will show improvement, stagnation, and declines, depending on the paper. One of the latest attempts to discern what is really…

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