2021 was a big year for corn yield in Ontario. Although not official, the average yield is expected to check in at just over 200 bu/ac — a new record. On this episode of RealAgriculture's Corn School, we take a closer look at where this yield is coming from with Purdue University agronomy professor Dr.... Read More
Category: Crop Schools
The 2021 growing season was one of challenge and opportunity, and Ontario's soybean specialist, Horst Bohner, says that it all added up to a record average yield for the province at 51.6 bu/ac over 2.9 million acres. The record isn't a surprise, given that early field tour estimations pegged yield potential well above average. On... Read More
How do you measure soil heath? On this episode of RealAgriculture's Soil School, OMAFRA soil scientist and land use specialist Dan Saurette joins Bernard Tobin to look at some of the assessment tools available to farmers and the type of insights they provide. One of the most well known soil health tests is Cornell’s Comprehensive... Read More
2021 will certainly be remembered for the drought in Western Canada, but there were other factors, such as late frost, damaging winds, and new pests that also challenged the soybean crop on the eastern side of the Prairies. Despite all of those stresses, there was still a crop to harvest in most cases, with yields... Read More
Using surveys and science to detect regional pathogens aren't new methods to detect diseases in pulse crops, but how are our U.S. pulse crop growing counterparts dealing with the diseases present in their areas? In this Pulse School episode, Lyndon Porter, research plant pathologist with the United States Department of Agriculture, joins Kara Oosterhuis to... Read More
With high fertilizer prices heading into 2022, corn growers can't afford to over-apply nutrients. But they also can't risk losing money by shorting the crop of its fertility needs. On the season-ending episode of RealAgriculture's Corn School for 2021, University of Guelph associate professor Dr. David Hooker returns to comment on this conundrum and share... Read More
Lentils are one of those crops that can be difficult to keep free of weeds. Lentils are a poor competitor with weeds not just as seedlings, but throughout the growing season, as well. Over the past five years, the Western Applied Research Corporation (WARC), has been doing research trials that look at herbicide layering to... Read More
The soil health benefits of growing a forage crop, such as alfalfa, are well documented. Traditionally a staple crop on livestock farms, alfalfa delivers increased biomass, especially in its root structure where the plant boasts a large tap root which contributes to soil health, while reducing compaction. There's also increased organic matter and water-holding capacity,... Read More
Which management practices help boost soybean yields and give you the best return on investment? That's a question Wisconsin soybean specialist Shawn Conley and his colleagues have been working on for four years, and the answers may be surprising for many growers. On this episode of the RealAgriculture's Soybean School, Conley shares how the researchers... Read More
The dry 2021 growing season will certainly put pressure on the risk for herbicide carryover in 2022, and special attention should be paid to pulse crop planning in that respect. "Growers should look to understand what active ingredients were applied and what crops may be sensitive to carryover," says Sarah Anderson, agronomy manager at Saskatchewan... Read More