Category: Crop Schools

Why on earth should corn growers take a page out of wheat growers' handbook? Paul Sullivan of Sullivan Agro near Kinburn, Ont., says there are management lessons learned in wheat that apply to corn production, too. It all comes down to managing stress at key points in the growing season. Looking to the Great Lakes... Read More

While small plot research allows for well-controlled studies, it can be challenging for farmers to implement new findings at a farm scale. Variability in environment, soil, topography and equipment can change the outcome of practices that may have worked very well in small plots. One way to solve the issues experienced by growers when implementing... Read More

When Dave Van Belle hears the word 'sustainability' the first two things that come to his mind are environmental sustainability and economic sustainability. The two go hand in hand, says the president of Van Belle Nursery, a family-owned wholesale nursery located just north of Abbotsford, B.C. Over the last 50 years the business has grown... Read More

The time is coming when farmers will check an in-field diagnostic tool for presence of a disease or insect and know it's time to apply a crop protection product. We're not exactly there yet, but sensor technology and apps are advancing to the point where it's possible to get diagnostics on a field-by-field basis. One... Read More

When out walking corn fields, growers will often come across what look like branches off of the main stalk of the plants. Tillers can be found on many grass plants, and while being an essential part of other crops, producers often do not know what to make of seeing them in their corn crop. In... Read More

Nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorous move quite differently though the soil, and understanding how they travel is key to helping growers choose the best application strategies. Phosphorous, for example, tends to be more like a tortoise, moving slowly and methodically. Nitrogen, on the other hand, is the hare, racing quickly through the plant root... Read More

To pulse producers, grasshoppers represent both a significant challenge and a potential threat. With last year being hot and dry across the Prairies, growers are wondering what the current growing season will hold for these resilient crop consumers. Farmers and agronomists alike hope that the cool, wet spring might keep pulse crops safe from the... Read More

Proper staging is important for understanding how to scout and manage corn, whether for timing fertilizer, herbicide, insecticide or fungicide applications. It's also critical for understanding plant development, and how stressors at different stages can affect results, including yield, cob size, and kernel weight. But the problem is there are multiple ways to measure corn's... Read More

The beast is back! Ontario's winter wheat crop has high yield potential but there are also high levels of yield robbing fusarium in fields in some regions of the province. Real Agriculture agronomist Peter 'Wheat Pete' Johnson says it's not as bad as 1996 when fusarium decimated the provincial winter wheat crop, but growers will... Read More

Work for the growing season doesn't end with seeding. Soon after, it's important to be out doing early season scouting in order to mitigate potential issues. There are two main things that a producer is looking for when early season scouting: one is to measure the success of the seeding operation, including how many plants... Read More