Thank you to Martin Harry for chairing the mid-summer meeting and to Bill Norman (Belchim Crop Protection) for sponsoring breakfast. Thank you to those who came out to all the meetings this season. Synopsis: The status of crops varies in the region with some areas not looking too bad while others are showing signs of moisture stress with growers…
Thank you to Alex Zelem (C&M Seeds) who chaired the meeting and to Chris Meier (A&L Labs) for sponsoring breakfast. This was the last spring meeting for 2019. This year’s meetings have been the best attended since these meetings started over 20 years ago so thanks to everyone who attended. Since this has been such an unprecedented spring, a follow…
Achieving sufficient biomass from cover crops is essential to reaping their soil benefits. Dr. Humberto Blanco, Professor of Soil Management and Applied Physics at University of Nebraska-Lincoln, spoke recently at the University of Guelph about his cover crop research. He concluded that when cover crop biomass is less than 0.5 ton/acre (see Figure 1), benefits – such as improved soil…
Thank you to Joanna Wallace for chairing the meeting and to Corteva for sponsoring the breakfast. The next meeting will be on May 28th starting at 7:00 am for breakfast (meeting starts at 7:30). Synopsis: Very little planting progress has been made in the region with much of the area receiving rainfall over the weekend again keeping things saturated. Some…
Cereal rye has several strengths as a cover crop option. It’s relatively inexpensive and easy to kill. Rye improves soil structure, builds organic matter and helps protect against water and wind erosion. It also competes with weeds, as Mike Cowbrough has written here (see Figure 1). However, in most cases, rye doesn’t put on much growth until the month of…
The wet fall and delayed harvest of 2018 has left a lot of Ontario soybeans still in the field. This is a big deal, especially for farmers who are growing Identity-Preserved (IP) soybeans with a premium of several dollars per bushel! And the main question growers are asking: If my beans are wet, can I bin-dry them with regular air? …
Breakfast Sponsor: Thanks from the group to “Richard Anderson – BASF Canada“ Quote of the week – If you need anything other than glyphosate up front – you haven’t been doing a good job.” Roger Bourassa And a couple more: “Resistant Weeds Cost More Money” and “Not hard finding a tillage resistant weed” Synopsis: There is snow on the ground…
There is still a lot of field activity happening, but the real busy rush is starting to slow down. Accumulated heat units are shown in the table below. Thanks Bill Brown and FS Partners for sponsoring breakfast. The June 14 meeting was the last of the year at Mt Forest, and we thank everyone for participating. Corn Most corn is at…
Conditions: Sunny and dry conditions over the last 2 weeks were ideal for field work. Temperatures were below normal for the period. From May 1st to 9th, the area received less than 10 mm rain and roughly 65 CHU, while the 30 year average is 20 mm for precipitation and 90 for CHU. Forages: Forage growth is about 5 day…
Below are 10 herbicide injury scenarios applied to 4 different soybean varieties, specifically, Liberty Link (glufosinate tolerant), Enlist (glufosinate, glyphosate and 2,4-D tolerant), Xtend (glyphosate and dicamba tolerant) and Roundup Ready (glyphosate tolerant). Since it is possible that both Enlist and Xtend varieties may be available for the 2016 growing season, one of the main objectives of the stop was…
In 2013, Grain Farmers of Ontario and the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) met with a number of farm service companies and producers to discuss what obstacles exist to farmers getting started with precision agriculture techniques. The group created a list of research topics that would benefit farmers and consultants in Ontario and committed to a…
Conditions: Warm, sunny and dry conditions over the last 2 weeks were ideal for field work. Timely rains May 10-12 brought 20 mm (5 to 50 mm) of welcome precipitation across eastern Ontario. With most of the cereals, new forage seedings, corn and part of the soybean acreage seeded/planted between April 27th and May 10th, the fertilizer/seed supply/delivery chain was…
From May 1st to 12th, accumulations of 15 to 30 mm of rain and 220 Crop Heat Units (CHU) were recorded. The long term average for this same period is about 130 CHU. There was frost on May 14th across eastern Ontario with a low of -2o to -3o C. Little damage expected as the corn growing point was still…
Compiled by Chris Brown, edited by Horst Bohner 2012 Soybeans were originally introduced to Ontario as a forage crop for cattle. Today, the vast majority go for crush and the IP market. Letting the crop mature and harvesting the seed is far more profitable than using it as a forage crop but in some cases forage soybeans may be an…
Since it was first identified in Ontario in 1988, soybean cyst nematode (SCN) has been identified in most counties west of Toronto and more recently in parts of Eastern Ontario. The disease can be managed effectively, but the first step is identification and awareness. Losses to SCN in Ontario have ranged from 5%-100%. Unfortunately, by the time SCN symptoms become visible…
