Presentations and Videos

When More Isn’t Better: Thoughts from the world’s #1 management thinker on farm resilience

OMAFRA Field Crop TeamOMAFRA Field Crop Team April 30, 2021 247 Comments Off on When More Isn’t Better: Thoughts from the world’s #1 management thinker on farm resilience
Cover Crops

By Paige Kennedy (view original post on Soils at Guelph website here) “I have a view worth hearing, but I might be missing something.” This is the attitude of an innovator described by top business mind, Roger L. Martin, at the virtual Midwest Cover Crops Council Conference on February 24. Roger Martin is professor emeritus and former Dean of the…

Early Lessons from Ridgetown’s Long-term Cover Crop Trial for Field Crops

Alexandra CollingwoodAlexandra Collingwood December 28, 2020 1019 Comments Off on Early Lessons from Ridgetown’s Long-term Cover Crop Trial for Field Crops
Cover Crops

Dr. Dave Hooker and his colleagues have been curious about the value of integrating cover crops into a farming operation in the long term. These questions have remained unanswered by numerous short-term trials they had been conducting, which led them to establish a new trial. As it can take time for a cropping system to equilibrate, this long-term cover crop…

Strip-Till Speaker Series – Now Online!

Jake MunroeJake Munroe December 23, 2020 856 Comments Off on Strip-Till Speaker Series – Now Online!
Corn

The OMAFRA Soil Team recently hosted a three-part webinar series on strip-tillage. Each event focused on a different aspect of strip-till and featured four different farmer speakers from across Ontario. To view the recordings, check out the videos below. Timing & Tools: Shank vs. Coulter and Spring vs. Fall (recorded December 8th, 2020): Strip-Till and Cover Crops: How Do They…

The Impact of Cover Crops in a Processing Vegetable-Grain Cropping System

Alexandra CollingwoodAlexandra Collingwood December 21, 2020 620 Comments Off on The Impact of Cover Crops in a Processing Vegetable-Grain Cropping System
Cover Crops

There are a variety of agricultural research trials in the province, but one that stands out from the rest is the long-term cover crop trial set up by Dr. Laura Van Eerd in Ridgetown, Ontario. This trial was established in 2007 and has had consistent cover crop treatments within a processing vegetable-grain crop rotation on the same plot since then….

Cover Crop-Based Organic No-Till Soybean Production In Ontario

Alexandra CollingwoodAlexandra Collingwood November 3, 2020 1083 Comments Off on Cover Crop-Based Organic No-Till Soybean Production In Ontario
Cover Crops

In the video series below, we provide an overview of roller crimping rye for organic no-till soybean production. We give an overview of the system and profile the experiences of two Ontario farmers. To learn about the on-farm trial results, click here. A detailed project report can be found here. While there are many benefits of organic agriculture, one of…

Understanding the Impact and Measures Needed to Address Bt Resistant Rootworm

Tracey BauteTracey Baute October 26, 2020 1276 Comments Off on Understanding the Impact and Measures Needed to Address Bt Resistant Rootworm
Baute Bug Blog

Why be concerned about the Bt resistant rootworm populations showing up in Ontario? Dr. Jocelyn Smith, University of Guelph Ridgetown Campus stands in a field that has cross resistant rootworm.  The grower experienced more than 50% yield loss in this 2nd year silage corn field planted with a pyramid hybrid in 2020.  Jocelyn discusses the impacts of these resistant rootworm…

Getting to Know Your Knolls Part 2: Understanding and Managing Low pH Knolls

Ben RosserBen Rosser September 24, 2020 1107 1 Comment
Soil Health

Ben Rosser, Corn Specialist, OMAFRA While high pH knolls tend to be more common in Ontario, often caused by soil erosion leaving higher pH calcareous subsoils, this is not the case for all regions. How do low pH knolls develop? Low pH knolls (Figure 1) can develop on undulating landscapes where surface soils formed from deposits of sand, such as…

Getting to Know Your Knolls Part 1: Understanding and Managing High pH Knolls

Jake MunroeJake Munroe September 23, 2020 849 Comments Off on Getting to Know Your Knolls Part 1: Understanding and Managing High pH Knolls
Soil Health

Jake Munroe, Soil Management Specialist – Field Crops, OMAFRA We’ve all seen them. Hilltops. Whitecaps. High spots where the crop struggles year after year. Eroded knolls are common to Ontario agriculture and cost farmers in lost productivity each season. However, not all eroded knolls are alike. In this two-part series, we will explore knolls: how they’ve formed and how they…

Innovations in Manure Application Equipment

Christine BrownChristine Brown August 19, 2016 8750 Comments Off on Innovations in Manure Application Equipment
Soil Fertility

Innovations in Manure Application Equipment Wouldn’t it be nice if liquid manure application could wait until after corn planting was completed, with little risk of compaction or damage to corn plants? It may be the dog-days of summer, but kicking tires at an equipment demonstration and field day is a good way to evaluate how the newest technology may fit…

Toolbars for manure injection

Christine BrownChristine Brown January 2, 2013 4554 Comments Off on Toolbars for manure injection
Soil Fertility

Manure Injection – New technology = More Options The goal:  To increase the opportunities for injecting manure into a variety of growing crops with nutrient placement as similar to commercial fertilizer placement as possible. Traditional manure injection combined manure application with primary or secondary tillage gives the benefit of full disturbance of the soil profile allowing ideal mixing of manure…

Early Warning System for Field Crop Pathogens

Albert TenutaAlbert Tenuta May 15, 2012 2515 Comments Off on Early Warning System for Field Crop Pathogens
Uncategorized

I’m working on an early warning system for producers, which will be able to identify diseases before they are visible in the field. Below is a video that the University of Guelph SPARK (Students Promoting Awareness of Research Knowledge) put that nicely summarizes the project.

Evaluating Winter Wheat Plant Stands

Peter JohnsonPeter Johnson March 9, 2012 5923 Comments Off on Evaluating Winter Wheat Plant Stands

Winter wheat is one of the few crops that provide a second opportunity to assess the crop in spring and replant to another crop if winter survival is not acceptable. Assess the wheat crop during April and early May. Leave the replant decision as late as possible to accurately determine plant stand and plant health. Table 1. Determining Yield Potential…

Equipment Profile: Liquid Manure Injection in Forages

Christine BrownChristine Brown October 12, 2011 1935 Comments Off on Equipment Profile: Liquid Manure Injection in Forages
Uncategorized

There are many benefits to liquid manure applications made after forage harvest. Ideally you want an applicator that uniformly applies the liquid manure. The video below shows a liquid tank applicator with a unique toolbar having a series of coulters that go into the ground at a depth of about 1 inch or 2.5 cm. Rubber slurry outlets then place…