Planting across Ontario is nearing completion in many regions, but excessive rain continues to stall progress in some areas, leaving farmers to contemplate switching intended corn acres to soybeans. It's a decision that has significant cropping implications, says RealAgriculture agronomist Peter Johnson, and he wants growers to look at all the potential impacts before making... Read More
Category: Crop Production
A plant growth regulator (PGR) can play a key role in helping growers manage the impact of lodging in spring and winter wheat crops. But growers have plenty of management decisions to consider to effectively use a PGR to reduce lodging, increase harvestability and protect and increase grain yield. Reducing lodging starts with selecting a... Read More
So many decisions that influence yield need to be made throughout the growing season, and it begins with the optimal seeding rate. As discussed in this Wheat School episode, seeding rate is a factor in tillering, tiller timing, and head size. The ideal seeding rate can also help with a smoother harvest and to time... Read More
There are lots of good things happening as heads emerge in Ontario winter wheat fields. There's plenty of potential but final yield will likely be determined by how the crop deals with the many stresses it could encounter between now and harvest. What role could biostimulants play in managing those stresses? Could this burgeoning category... Read More
Controlling weed populations in fields destined for pulse crops is complicated by a few factors, including pulse sensitivity to carryover, poor early crop competition, and herbicide-resistant problem weeds. Sean McKnight, technical marketing specialist for herbicides with BASF, explains in this Pulse School episode how the concept of herbicide layering is an especially useful one for... Read More
It seems that everywhere you go right now, farmers are talking about cover crops. Producers across the country are not only using a diverse plant mix to provide feed for livestock, but also as potential solutions to compaction, a lack of nutrient availability, and to address weed issues in their fields. In this Farming Forward... Read More
The Manitoba Crop Alliance is now four years old, and the amalgamation of five producer groups is moving on from getting itself up and running to charting big things for its next strategic plan. The organization that represents spring and winter wheat, flax, sunflower and barley growers in Manitoba has a focused vision for the... Read More
What a difference a week makes! For many parts of Ontario, corn and soybeans are up and loving the heat, but the mid and eastern parts of the province are still struggling to get the crop in as conditions are quite wet. The early warmth has also brought on stripe rust in wheat (scout!), more... Read More
Fast-moving, highly destructive stripe rust is popping up in winter wheat fields across Ontario. RealAgriculture agronomist Peter Johnson says the disease is a significant threat to the crop and can cause up to 50 per cent yield loss if not managed properly. He stresses that timely fungicide applications are crucial for controlling the disease. In... Read More
Farms are workplaces where interaction with several classes of chemicals is inevitable. Chemicals can enter the body in different ways: through inhalation, absorption, ingestion and injection, so it's important for farmers and farm workers to understand the risk associated with each type of chemical and how to avoid exposure whenever possible. For this episode of... Read More