Crop Report – June 6, 2024 Field Conditions Significant planting progress has been made in many areas across the province over the last two weeks. Some growers were able to wrap up their corn, soybean and edible bean planting and apply their T3 fungicide applications in wheat. However, those on heavier soils or those who […]
Field Conditions It continues to be a frustrating spring through much of the province. Frequent precipitation has continued to cause delays in tillage, planting, and spraying in some areas, and weather earlier this week has shut down field work once again in many areas. However, with 3–5-day windows of good weather, many producers have covered […]
Crop Report – May 23, 2024 Figure 1. Corn is beginning to emerge across the province this week. Field Conditions This past week, much of the province was able to make some progress on field work. Crop Heat Units (CHU) and Growing Degree Days (GDD) are still well above the five-year average across the province. […]
Field Conditions The season continues to be advanced of normal, which is especially evident in perennial and over-winter crop development. Crop heat units (CHU) and growing degree days (GDD) are significantly above the 10-year average, especially in southern Ontario. Progress for field work, particularly on heavier-textured soils has been limited due to frequent patchy rain, […]
Cereals Winter wheat is advanced by 10-14 days in southern Ontario compared to other years, particularly in early planted fields. Fields in Essex are now at the early boot stages. Regions of the province further north and east as well as later planted fields are not as advanced and are at the first to second […]
Frequent rains and wet soils across the province have slowed or prevented field work. Soil compaction is likely to be an issue this year, especially for farmers trying to get manure spread ahead of spring planting. Fertilizer has been moving out to farms with storage. Retailers are full and ready to apply product once soil […]
Field Conditions Light rains and cool temperatures this past weekend and early this week slowed field drying and limited opportunities for early planting of field crops. While it is generally too wet for field work, conditions are variable depending on rainfall received. The remainder of this week was mostly sunny, but expectations are tempered by […]
Planting In April 2023, Statistics Canada estimated Ontario farmers intended to plant 2.3 million acres of grain corn, 5% higher than the 5-year (2018-2022) average seeded acres of 2.19 million acres (OMAFRA Crop Statistics). A warm sunny window opened for one week starting the Easter weekend (April 7 to 9) and provided a small opportunity […]
To date the provincial average yield reported by Agricorp for 2023 is 53 bu/ac. This number will be updated as more acres are reported. For comparison the 10-year average farm yield is 48 bu/ac. Seeded acreage was also relatively high at 2.91 million acres. The Agricorp floating claim price was $16.56/bu. Canada is the world’s […]
Dry Bean Acreage In 2023 there were 93 161 acres of dry beans insured in Ontario, which is the lowest it has been in at least a decade. Acreage peaked in 2020 at 157 500 acres and has been declining in the years since. In much of the last decade, white beans represented approximately half […]
Three tips for weed management this fall. Reflecting on some of the weed control issues that came up this past spring, below are three key items where management activities this fall can significantly improve control and/or financial return next season. 1. Fall management provides better dandelion control. In the fall, resource allocation of perennial weeds […]
Bacterial infections in dry beans Growing conditions this season have been ideal for certain bacterial diseases. Adzuki beans in a few different regions are exhibiting symptoms of bacterial brown spot (BBS), and in some cases the injury is severe. Symptoms on leaves appear as small necrotic lesions with a yellow margin (Figure 1). As symptoms […]
For forage producers, the production year starts in the fall. What farmers do from mid-August to the end of the growing season impacts this winter’s feed inventory and next year’s forage yield potential. Feed the crop that feeds the livestock! Forage crops have the highest crop nutrient removal values of any field crop grown in […]
What to do with those stubble fields now? Consider BioStrip Till! Winter wheat combining has almost wrapped up across the province after a challenging harvest due to persistent rainfall. There is a lot of enthusiasm for wheat across Ontario as yields were good to excellent and quality was good. Now, what to do with the […]
Knowing What’s in Your Toolbox It’s the middle of August and we’re in that awkward lull where cereals are off, the last passes of fungicides on soybeans are done and it is almost time to start attending all those in-field plot days. Those days are meant to get producers talking, asking questions and get the […]