Canola is a "cool" crop in more ways than one, including how it can have a role in mitigating climate change. "From the point of view of global warming or climate change, canola is different from other crops that we grow commonly, and that is that it produces a lot of residue for every seed... Read More
Category: Crop Schools
Big yields, big carryouts and little volatility. It's a corn market story that's been with us for two years and may persist throughout 2018. In this edition of RealAgriculture Corn School, Grain Perspectives market consultant Matthew Pot takes a look at what growers can expect from the corn market in 2018. "With huge U.S. supplies,... Read More
Can rolling soybeans pump up your yields? If you get the timing right it looks like there's a two bu/ac payoff, according to research conducted this summer by OMAFRA soybean specialist Horst Bohner. In this edition of RealAgriculture Soybean School. Bohner explains that growers traditionally get a 0.5 bu/ac return on rolling due to better... Read More
As clubroot disease spreads in Western Canadian soil, growers who have yet to see symptoms in their fields have a decision to make: when should they start growing varieties that are marketed as resistant to clubroot? "From the Canola Council's perspective, ideally, we all start growing clubroot-resistant varieties early. We take a proactive approach and... Read More
It's not official, but it looks like Ontario's 2017 soybean yield will come in at around 43 bushels per acre. That's down from the 46-bushel five-year average, but considering the challenges Mother Nature threw at the crop during the past growing year, OMAFRA soybean specialist Horst Bohner will take it. In this edition of RealAgriculture... Read More
Mechanically harvesting, drying and handling grain corn can compromise quality and take a bite out of a grower's bottom line. Earlier this fall, OMAFRA crop systems and environment engineer James Dyck worked with Dietrich Farms of Lucan, Ontario to study mechanical breakage – the impact it has on dockage and what growers can do to... Read More
Soybean cyst nematodes have been stealing yield in Ontario fields for more than 20 years. SCN-resistant varieties are a key tool to help defend against the invading pest, but growers need to ensure they're not putting the effectiveness of these resistant varieties at risk. In this episode of RealAgriculture Soybean School, OMAFRA plant pathologist Albert... Read More
The bushel is a critical unit in grain farming. It's used to describe volume in many contexts, including a crop's yield per acre, the amount of grain that fits in a truck or bin, and as a fundamental piece of information in grain sales contracts. But not all bushels are the same. More specifically, a... Read More
Which clubroot-resistant canola variety with herbicide tolerance trait X is the earliest maturing in your area? What about the highest-yielding blackleg resistant variety with herbicide trait Y? Every year the Canola Council of Canada administers the Canola Performance Trials — a third-party small plot and field scale evaluation of current canola varieties. The program is... Read More
Canada has a stellar grain safety record and reputation, but the president of Cereals Canada believes there needs to be more awareness of one specific mycotoxin that can show up after the crop is in the bin: ochratoxin A, or OTA. OTA is a potent toxin produced by fungus in storage. It's considered to be... Read More