2017 Mt Forest Ag Breakfast Meeting Notes 2017-jun-13 General While still dealing with some impacts of wet and cooler conditions, almost all the crops are planted. Some areas may not get planted as persistent rains prevent that heavier ground from drying out. Consensus was that things looked way better than the previous meeting two weeks […]
Weather Overnight rainfall ranged from 1 to 10 ml in the region. From the 1st of May, the area has accumulated about 825 Crop Heat Units (CHU), which is only about 25 CHU behind normal. Heat this last week has brought us closer to normal. Long range forecast is for cooler temperatures, so less CHU […]
It has been a few years since soybean aphids have been noticed in fields this early in the season. This is in part, because many fields were treated with insecticide seed treatments and were assumed to be protecting the crop early in the season. However, very recently published research across several US states has shown […]
Winter Wheat Winter wheat has headed, however some areas are behind in terms of growth stage. On the south shore of Lake Ontario where cool winds are more frequent, wheat is up to 2 weeks behind other areas of the region. A comment was made that while a lot of wheat is quite variable, tiled […]
Authored by: Tracey Baute, Meghan Moran, OMAFRA and Dr. Rebecca Hallett, University of Guelph Swede midge populations are high this year while the canola crop is still quite young. Despite trap captures already reaching the accumulated trap threshold of 20 midges total, there are a few things to consider before deciding to spraying this early: […]
Breakfast Sponsor: Thanks from the group to “Michigan Sugar – Wayne Martin” Quotes of the week – It was a stellar morning for great quotes. Here is a selection of some of the ones we can remember! “The coffee shop should only be drive-thru in the spring – Al McCallum “Good thing about mistakes is […]
Cereals A large majority of the winter wheat crop has progressed beyond the post-flowering stage, and spraying for Fusarium Head Blight protection has been completed in many regions. Stripe rust is reported to be advancing in some areas in fields that did not receive a fungicide application. Significant yield loss can occur in cases where […]
Planting canola early is the best way to beat swede midge. Canola was planted late across much of the province this spring, so the risk for damage by swede midge is very high. This year swede midge are present long before bolting, and in some regions even before planting was complete. It is important to […]
A recent news article (Ontario Watershed study shows over application of phosphorus) phosphorus is being over applied by Ontario farmers. The research quoted in the article gives no indication of soil fertility levels, and gives little information on soybeans in the rotation, all of which are essential to nutrient balancing. If growers apply 50 lbs […]
True armyworm have been found in a few fields this weekend. Cereals, corn (especially, though not exclusive those fields planted into rye) and mixed forages are at risk and should be scouted every three or four days over the next three weeks. True armyworm identification was covered in a previous blog this spring (here). Scouting […]
Thanks to Robert Maloney, for chairing the meeting and to Jack Legg (SGS Labs) for sponsoring breakfast. The next meeting will be Tuesday, June 20th starting at 7:00am for breakfast and 7:30 for the meeting at the Malibu Restaurant. Synopsis: Corn in most of the area has emerged with few replants reported to date. About […]
Cereals: Current weather conditions are ideal for fusarium head blight development in winter wheat. Many wheat fields in Southwestern Ontario have applied a T3 fungicide to reduce their risk particularly if they are growing a FHB susceptible variety. T3 fungicide applications further east will begin this week and continuing into next week for Eastern Ontario. […]
With delayed planting, slower crop emergence and frequent rain events, early season pests get a longer period of time to feed on the seed and seedlings. There are a number of pests causing problems right now. Seedcorn maggots are causing injury in both corn and soybean fields. Although higher risk fields include those that have […]
When we think about getting the highest yields and the best quality out of our winter wheat crop we tend to think about management practices such as timely planting, variety selection, nutrient management (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and sulphur), as well as timely fungicide and herbicide applications. However, one management practice that can often be overlooked […]
Breakfast Sponsor: Thanks from the group to “C & M Seeds – Alex Zelem” Quote of the week – “We don’t want to create a sense of panic but create a sense of urgency” from Roger Bourassa in reference to the need to control weeds in planted fields. Synopsis: The wet weather continues to keep […]