Appearances can be deceiving in the midst of continued warming temperatures and timely rains for southern Ontario. That was the underlying theme of the bi-weekly meeting of certified crop advisors and provincial ag ministry personnel here Tuesday. The good news is that corn across much of the region is all but done. Since the last […] Read more
Looks can be deceiving for Ont. crop conditions
Ont. corn planting past halfway point; soybeans next
What once appeared to be an early spring has gradually shifted to a more normal planting season across most of southern Ontario. At the bi-weekly meeting of certified crop advisors (CCAs) and provincial ag ministry personnel in Exeter, there was notable relief coming from reports of the percentages of corn and soybeans planted since the […] Read more
Ont. corn planting proceeding ahead of normal
April weather has put a damper on the optimism brought on by a summer-like stretch in late March, and that damper has many farmers across southern Ontario questioning the value of early planting for corn. At the bi-weekly meeting here, crop advisors, dealers and provincial ministry extension personnel debated the merits of going early on […] Read more
When it comes to weather, what IS normal?
March 2012 gave Ontario’s crop producers unprecedented opportunities for an early start, from working the soil to planting spring cereals. There were even reports of a few acres of corn going in the ground on or near the first day of spring. For farmers in parts of the U.S. Midwest, the warm start to spring […] Read more
Application deadline nears for Guelph’s ag MBA
Nothing stays the same, be it in agriculture, business, international trade or learning. And the University of Guelph has a unique Masters of Business Administration program that reflects that notion. The school is combining those factors in its MBA (master’s degree in business administration) in Food and Agri-business Management, a program considered innovative in a […] Read more
Weather has Ont. growers heading to the fields
Record-breaking temperatures during the third week of March have many growers in Eastern Canada heading to the fields performing a variety of tasks. That’s the news from Peter Johnson, cereals specialist with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs in Guelph. Much of the winter wheat crop has emerged from dormancy in fairly […] Read more
Corn prices: The unfortunate kernels of truth
Talk to growers in Ontario and Quebec where "Corn is King" and there is considerable optimism. Corn prices are riding a wave of consistency unlike any other time, and suggestions from other parts of the world indicate this wave may last a long time. On a continental basis, the U.S. ethanol industry has been both […] Read more
More money for ag research, Gates urges
When it comes to solving the challenges of developing countries, Bill Gates believes agriculture has a vital role to play. In his annual letter for 2012, Gates, the founder of Microsoft and now a leading philanthropist through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, called for an increase in research for seven major crops, all of […] Read more
Problematic weed moving into Illinois
In 2010, a two-day conference centred in Memphis offered farm dealers from the U.S. and Canada, a glimpse of the effects of glyphosate resistance. The "Respect the Rotation" event, sponsored by Bayer CropScience, provided a first-hand testament to the growing issue of glyphosate-resistant Palmer amaranth and its impact on soybean fields in the mid-South region […] Read more
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