Northern Breakfast Meeting Minutes – May 4, 2022
Wednesday May 5th was the first virtual Northern Breakfast Meeting of the season. There will be 3 more meetings, according to the schedule below. After short updates from the OMAFRA specialists listed, the group will discuss any current cropping questions and give updates on cropping conditions and progress across the northern regions. Contact meghan.moran@ontario.ca to […]
Ridgetown-Simcoe Breakfast Meeting Minutes – May 3rd, 2022
Winter Wheat Quite a bit of nitrogen was applied to winter wheat fields leading up to Sunday’s rain across both regions. Estimates are that 60-70% of total nitrogen (N) has been applied in the Chatham area, with 30-40% of N applied in Essex. In the Niagara/Haldimand area, 50% or more of the nitrogen has been […]
Winchester/Cobourg Breakfast Meeting Minutes – April 27, 2022
Winter Cereals Untimely rainfalls have been putting a damper on field work across the province. The last few days have seen growers and agronomists walking fields and evaluating winterkill in both forages and winter cereals. While there are some losses in the region, particularly in low lying areas of heavier soils, the consensus is that […]
Exeter/Mount Forest Meeting – April 26, 2022
Winter wheat: Applied nitrogen varies from region to region, but significant progress has been made over the last week. Estimates range from < 50% to 75% of acreage having received an application of nitrogen. Some producers that have pushed higher nitrogen rates (150 lbs N/acre) last year have opted to cut back this year by […]
Crop Report – Week of April 25th, 2022
Due to cool temperatures and wet conditions (in some areas) over the past week, essentially no meaningful acreage of corn or soybeans have been planted. Most field activities thus far have been field preparation such as manure applications and tillage Winter Wheat Fields that went into last winter in good shape, with uniform emergence and […]
Crop Report – April 13, 2022
Cereals Coming out of a wet fall, winter wheat conditions are variable across the province. Bare spots from standing water and poor drainage have been reported in some areas, especially on heavy clay soils. In many cases it may be too early to decide on whether to keep a “spotty” field. Higher wheat prices are […]
Growing Winter Canola in Ontario — Spring: Assess Plant Health and Fertilize
Vegetative/Reproductive Overwintering Growth resumes when average temperatures reach 5°C but will be slow until it is consistently warm. Leaves may have rotted off or be discoloured but the centre of the rosette should be green. Determine the population of healthy plants. 5 plants/ft2 or more is ideal. 3-4 plants/ft2 is acceptable. 1-2 plants/ft2 can be […]
2021 Cereals Seasonal Summary
Fall 2020 Many experienced optimal weather in September and October of 2020 allowing for timely soybean and edible bean harvest. This provided an opportunity to get winter cereals seeded in their optimum planting window and into ideal conditions. Approximately 1,100,000 acres of winter wheat were seeded. The proportion of hard red wheat acres was down […]
2021 Canola Seasonal Summary
Spring Canola There were about 33,000 acres of spring canola insured by Agricorp in 2021. Compared to 2020, total acres of spring canola decreased in regions south of Huntsville and increased in regions north of Huntsville. There were over 14,500 acres of canola seeded in Temiskaming District, which is a significant increase from 9300 acres […]
2021 Forage Seasonal Summary
Winter 2020/2021 Conditions Overall, winter 2020/2021 was mild, with below average snow cover. Much of the province experienced a big thaw in March, losing most, if not all, snow cover. The rest of the month was dry. There was a good two-week window to frost seed in the middle of March. Some cover crop oats […]
Fall Armyworm Alert – Again!
Scout vulnerable crops for feeding and larvae including winter canola, winter cereals, forages and cover crops. Especially in the southwestern counties but not limited to this area. Currently, there seems to be a pocket in the Blenheim area that requires attention. Meghan Moran has found three winter canola fields near Blenheim this week that have […]
Crop Report – July 21, 2021
Revitalizing Soil with Manure and Cover Crops After Wheat Harvest Wheat in a crop rotation provides many benefits, including spreading weather risks that can impact yields and balancing workload more evenly between planting and harvest season. Wheat also provides the opportunity to revitalize the soil; to disrupt pest cycles; alleviate compaction and increase subsequent corn […]
2021 Ontario Virtual Crop Diagnostic Days
This post contains information on how to participate in the 2021 Ontario Virtual Crop Diagnostic Days. […]
Monitor and Report Spider Mite Resistance in Ontario Soybean and Dry Bean Crops
Written by: Tracey Baute, Field Crop Entomologist, OMAFRA, Dr. Vojislava Grbic, Associate Professor, Western University and Dr. Ian Scott, Research Scientist, AAFC-London With the exception of the significant rain events in the last week, this year’s hot, dry conditions and early wheat harvest could be priming us for another bad spider mite season in soybeans […]
Crop Report – June 23, 2021
It is proving to be another good insect year with several early season pests keeping everyone busy scouting to stay ahead of. Going into July and August, there are a few more pests that we need to keep watch for. Thrips continue to be spotted in soybeans, corn and wheat fields. There are several different […]