ONTARIO FARMER - PRODUCTION BLOG

Global wheat markets face bumpy ride

2010-11-21T11:12:00.001-05:00

When it comes to wheat we’re pretty lucky in these parts. We’re coming off a very successful winter wheat season and followed that up with almost a million acres seeded for next year.
Not everyone in the world is as optimistic about this crop as farmers here apparently are. In fact, in some areas folks are openly questioning its future. Weather challenges are taking their toll and growers say it’s just not as profitable as it used to be. Out in Manitoba this year, a lot of growers got only about half a crop. And Russia’s heat wave this summer took a 40 per cent bite out of the crop in some of the major growing areas there.
Add in the evolving threat of a new race of stem rust that has spread across east Africa and the Middle East and is now threatening Pakistan’s nine million-hectare crop.
It’s prompted the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization to call an emergency meeting this fall to discuss declining wheat production and the inevitable impact on food prices, especially in the developing world. They say that, while the world’s population is increasing at a rate of 1.5 per cent a year, wheat production per hectare has declined at almost the same rate.
There is an inherent belief in the agricultural community that rising prices can cure any supply problem. Unfortunately economic theory doesn’t account for weather and disease issues. And that’s what’s hurting production, not an unwillingness by farmers to grow the crop.
Consider this possibility: what if the heat wave that struck Russia had been centered over the U.S. Midwest? Some analysts are saying that, even with the most stress-tolerant varieties, a 40 per cent yield reduction would have amounted to a loss of 160 million tons of grain. Can you imagine the impact on world grain markets?
Economists have been telling us for a while now that volatility will be the norm in crop markets in the foreseeable future. After what we’ve witnessed the past couple of years, chances are we ain’t seen nothing yet.

Beyond the obvious

2010-09-20T09:25:00.000-04:00

My apologies for the rather infrequent updates lately. Sometimes life gets in the way. I’ll try to do better.
Just had a look at the Ontario weather statistics for this growing season and two things struck me: the remarkable heat unit accumulation and also how deceptive statistics can be.
On the CHU side, nothing surprising. We’re running well ahead of the 30-year average. Starting on May 1 and up to Sept. 7, Windsor has enjoyed 3557 CHUs compared to the 30-year average of 3295. London stood at 3132 compared to 2882, Woodstock was 2914 compared to 2895, and Elora was at 2949 compared to 2745 long-term. Hamilton, Trenton and Ottawa are all at or close to 3100 CHUs. What a year to grow some longer-day crops. But, if my guess is right, a lot of growers decided to cut back on their maturities following the drydown scare of 2009. Oh well, at least the drying bill should be a lot more tolerable this time around.
While the heat unit side of the statistics held few surprises, the rainfall stats are quite remarkable. Right across Ontario they’re showing a year that had an above average amount of rainfall. For example, Windsor received over 500 mm of rain from May to Sept. 7. Normally that area gets about 375. London was 70 mm ahead of the long-term average, Hamilton almost 100 mm, Mount Forest an amazing 210 mm ahead and Ottawa about 50mm.
But those stats only give a running total. They tell us very little of when the rain fell. Looking at my own area – between London and Strathroy – we got lots of rain – some 14 inches in fact – between May 1 and July 24. That’s when the tap turned off. We got less than an inch over the next seven weeks, most of that in little dribs and drabs. We’ve had maybe another inch in the past week or so. There are a lot of sandy loams around here and the corn and soybeans just shut down by the start of September. I know some other areas have been just as dry – maybe more so.
Will it affect yield? Some early harvests from Lambton County to the west suggest it will. Soys that could have run in the high 50s are coming off at between 35 and 45. If the crop was planted early, chances are it finished development before the drought had an impact and yields should be okay. The later-planted fields are a different story.
That’s why statistics can be so deceiving. To someone casually looking at the numbers it would appear to have been an ideal growing season: lots or heat and rain. Why are those farmers whining? But look a little closer and, in some areas, the story is quite different.

Glyphosate resistance coming to a field near you

2010-08-13T10:30:00.002-04:00

Anyone who still thinks that glyphosate resistance is mostly a problem for U.S. farmers should have a chat with University of Guelph weed researcher Dr. Peter Sikkema.
Sikkema and his university colleagues last year confirmed Ontario's first case of resistance- a patch of giant ragweed in an Essec County field. Since then he's become convinced that the problem is a lot bigger than one species in one small area. One of his grad students has been collecting giant ragweed seed from all over the county and concluded that resistance is becoming more widespread.
And giant ragweed may not be the only problem. Sikkema is now convinced that we also have resistant Canada fleabane in the province. What convinced him? The fact that a farmer found the weed still alive after two litres of glyphosate - normally a half litre will fry it. And the fact that researchers applied up to another eight litres to the same weeds without much ill effect.
Yes, there is still a scientific protocol to follow before something can be "officially" called resistant. But if it looks and walks like a duck...
Sikkema's key message to producers is: don't assume the problem is somewhere else. Start using multiple modes of action now to keep the problem from gettign worse. And to help us protect what is arguably our most valuable weed control tool.

Also heard from OMAFRA field crops entomologist Tracey Baute who's telling edible bean farmers to check their fields for pod feeding damage from Western bean cutworm. This may be the critical week. Since there is no reliable threshold, the message is: if you see pod feeding, spray. Once the larvae get into the pods and begin feeding on the seed, they're protected from the spray and you'll be left with a lot of pick.
Matador is registered for WBC control, she says. Cygon doesn't work.

Armyworm are marching again

2010-08-06T09:59:00.000-04:00

Got a crop update from Syngenta Seeds agronomist Deb Campbell yesterday about fall armyworm showing up across a wide area of Grey, Perth, Oxford, Huron and Simcoe Counties.
She says numbers are low and the larvae are small but they're and are being found in a widespread swath across the Midwest District.
The crops that are most at risk are corn and forage grasses. Fortunately the corn is well advanced and already half-way through the grain fill period. That means any defoliation wouldn't cause a major yield impact.
But Campbell says fall armyworm can also get into the ear to do their feeding - something that would be a much bigger problem.
She is advising growers to check for these pests, take action if necessary but keep an eye out for any biological controls that might be working. That's one thing about getting a lot of rain - it may benefit from beneficial fungi that keep pest larvae in check.

With soybean harvest and winter wheat seeding not too far off, growers may be thinking about what varieties to plant this fall. I'm hearing that premiums for white wheat are still available but they're not as lucrative as last year. Instead of the $1/bu premium it may be more like 60 or 65 cents. Make sure you check with some elevators to get an exact quote.

Western bean cutworm pressure builds

2010-07-21T13:43:00.000-04:00

Don’t let coffee shop stories about high Western bean cutworm push you into spraying corn or edible beans without at least knowing what you have and what stage of development the little critters are at.
That’s the advice from OMAFRA field crops entomologist Tracey Baute, who called this week to put out an alert about the high number of WBC found across the province this summer. Just like everyone predicted, numbers are continuing to build like they have in Michigan and other nearby states in recent years. So far scouts have trapped more cutworm than in all of last year. And Baute expects peak flight to continue through this week and next.
For some growers that will mean having to spray an insecticide to protect their crop. But if you spray when populations are below threshold or before the timing is right you could be wasting your insecticide dollars and maybe have to do it all over again, she warns.
There are fields at threshold levels in the Strathroy and Bothwell area. But even here, egg laying can vary significantly from one field to the next.
Baute’s rule of thumb is to check five plants at about 20 locations throughout the field. If five of those 100 plants have egg masses, it’s time to spray, she says. The focus should be on later-planted field that are not yet in full tassel.
But make sure you spray when the young larvae are out and before they make it into the ear, where they’re protected from the insecticide. Look at the colour of the eggs. White means they were just laid. If they’re tan-coloured they’re about five days from hatching. Purple means hatching is imminent, Baute, explains. At that point you have about a week-long window before the larvae move into the ear.
It will be tougher to scout edible beans – where WBC go after the corn starts tasseling - because even experienced scouts have a hard time finding eggs on those plants. Baute says the best approach is to look at nearby corn field to assess WBC pressure and then check the beans for pod feeding. Don’t spray before you see pod damage because that’s the only way you know that the little larvae are out on the plants.
If you spray too early, you may miss the larvae and have to repeat the application.
As a rule of thumb, she says, you should see pod feeding within 10 to 20 days after peak flight in a given area.
More information and complete scouting guidelines can be found at bautebugblog.com

Planning ahead

2010-07-13T08:32:00.001-04:00

Farmers can be among the strongest critics of climate change claims. Yet one would think that a little open-mindedness might be in order here, considering that farming may be the most weather-dependent of all professions. No management decision made during the growing season ever has as much impact as the weather.
Let’s put all scientific arguing aside for a minute. Let’s just assume that those who believe rising “greenhouse gas” levels are changing our climate are correct. Those climate change models have already predicted more extreme weather: infrequent but severe drought, more intense rainfall events, and milder winters leading to greater insect pest survival.
Now, researchers at the University of Illinois are suggesting that rising CO2 and ozone levels in the atmosphere, along with warmer temperatures, will make some crop diseases worse. Researcher Darin Eastburn looked at elevated carbon dioxide and ozone on soybean diseases like downy mildew, septoria brown spot and sudden death syndrome under normal field conditions.
He found that plants growing in a high-CO2 environment grew faster and larger and developed denser canopies. That favoured disease development because of lower light levels in the canopy and less air circulation – just the kind of conditions that fungal disease spores love.
Plants growing amid elevated ozone levels grew more slowly and less dense, resulting in less favourable conditions for pathogens. On the other hand, he said, ozone damages plant tissue and that can allow pathogens to enter the plants more easily.
"Elevated levels of carbon dioxide and ozone can make a plant more susceptible to some diseases, but less susceptible to others," Eastburn said in an article published by SciDev Net.
"In some cases, changes of only a few degrees have allowed plant diseases to become established earlier in the season, resulting in more severe disease epidemics. The ranges of some diseases are expanding as rising temperatures are allowing pathogens to overwinter in regions that were previously too cold for them."
He says farmers and plant breeders should start planning now for these eventualities.
Whichever side of the debate you're on, it might be the prudent thing to do.

New year, different N strategy

2010-06-16T13:31:00.000-04:00

What a difference a year makes. If we had seen this year’s early warmth and corresponding increase in residual soil nitrate levels in 2009, growers would have fallen all over themselves to cut back on N rates and save some input dollars.
Fast forward a year and we have what we could have only wished for last season. Just one difference: nitrogen prices are quite a bit lower. Do we still opt to cut back on the rate because pre-sidedress soil tests are telling us there’s ample N being mineralized? From what agronomists from across the province are telling me, it doesn’t look like it.
Instead, it seems growers are looking at the rapidly advancing crop, seeing the above-average yield potential and deciding to maximize crop performance. If that means putting on a few extra pounds of N, so be it. Just don’t do anything to short this crop.
Is it a good strategy? We won’t know until the season is over. As Pat Lynch keeps telling me: “When it comes to nitrogen, I’ll be able to tell you in December, with 90 per cent certainty, what we should have applied.” In other words, it’s a crap shoot.
And to be fair, a lot of growers make their nitrogen decision well ahead of sidedressing. That application method is not nearly as popular these days as it once was. So, knowing in mid-June that there’s more N in the soil than we thought isn’t going to benefit a lot of growers.
As for the ones that do sidedress, I hope they at least left a couple of reduced N strips in the field. It’s years like this that can teach us a lot about how to fine-tune one of the most puzzling crop inputs.

Disease, pest and nitrogen alerts

2010-06-02T13:13:00.000-04:00

Some interesting tidbits from across the province this week:
It seems there’s a huge variation in the hay yields depending on whether the area got rain or not. Where the rains were sufficient, yields are said to be really big. But in the dry areas some growers are lucky to get two-thirds of a crop.
One good thing about planting late: crops tend to come up in a hurry. We’re hearing reports of beans emerging in three or four days after planting. That’s what happens when it’s almost 30C out there.
Wheat growers are being told to keep an eye on spot blotch and leaf rust. Both are being seen now, the latter much earlier than normal and therefore with a lot of potential to cause yield loss down the road.
If you’re sidedressing nitrogen on corn, take a pre-sidedress N test, Results so far from London north and east is that we have a lot more residual nitrate than normal. For some growers it could mean a significant saving on the nitrogen bill.
But agronomists warn against a blanket reduction in N applications. Fields tend to be different. If you’re on heavy clay and you received a lot of rain, for example, some of that N may have been denitrified or leached down. Take a quick test and you’ll know for sure.
The issue on tomato and potato growers’ minds this week is late blight. The disease is being reported in states just to the south and east of us and this week’s cooling trend with plenty of moisture in the forecast is increasing the risk in Ontario.
At last report, late blight had been confirmed in a couple of spots in Pennsylvania and Kentucky. Nothing widespread, just a couple of isolated areas: a greenhouse tomato transplant operation in Pennsylvania and a retail outlet in Kentucky that sourced its plants in Michigan.
Unlike potato growers, who apply preventative sprays for late blight whenever conditions get risky, tomato growers tend to wait until the disease actually makes an appearance here. As a result, vigilance is most important because this disease can take off and become devastating in a big hurry.
The other alert for vegetable growers involves pepper weevil. It’s not a common pest and it doesn’t become an issue until the fruit appears but it is being seen early and pepper growers are advised to keep an eye on it.

Cereal leaf beetles make a comeback

2010-05-21T09:50:00.000-04:00

Entomologists in Ohio are warning producers that this could be a big year for cereal leaf beetles.
So far, there's nothing widespread to report in Ontario but OMAFRA field crops entomologist Tracey Baute says there are hot spots and wheat growers are being advised to keep an eye out for the pests.
Ohio State university entomologist Ron Hammond wrote in a recent newsletter that the beetles are being found in southern and central counties but are likely to spread north as well.
The intriguing part is that cereal leaf beetles were thought to be under control. They had not been a problem for many year, controlled mostly by parasitic wasps and other beneficial insects. Now, suddenly they're back.
Why? Hammond isn't sure, but figures a recent stretch of mild winters may be helping the pests to survive in greater numbers, overwhelming predator attempts to keep them under control.
Hammond says the larva of the beetle causes the most damage in wheat crop, attacking the flag leaf soon after emergence. Just two larvae per flag leaf stem can be devastating.
Larvae are one-quarter to three-quarters of an inch in size and look like small black slugs because of their feces that sticks to their bodies. In the insect world, personal hygiene isn't always a requirement.
So far, folks in Ohio seem to be more concerned than those in Ontario. But the pests are here, they're showing up in decent numbers in a few fields - so keep checking those fields.

Too early versus too late

2010-05-14T10:08:00.001-04:00

Discussing this week's frost and the pros and cons of planting corn and soybeans in April, I heard a very poignant comment: "In May, you can go from being too early to being too late in a big hurry."
How true that is. Just look at all the rain we've had so far in May. Around my home at Poplar Hill - an area that always seems to miss the rains that other folks get - we've had about 80 mm so far this month - 30 mm of those on Thursday night. There are huge pools in fields all around the area. Even if there is no more rain - and they're calling for another 10-15 mm by Tuesday - it'll be next week before those fields even begin to dry up. With additional moisture we're probably looking at the Victoria Day weekend befoe field work resumes,
That's the real risk of ignoring that early planting window because "the right time to plant" is May 10-15. Sometimes May 10-15 never comes. Suddenly April 25 looks a heck of a lot better than May 25.
I'm sure all those guys running the planters in mid-April recognize there's a risk. But that risk also exists in waiting two weeks. You just take your best shot.
Like Syngenta agronomist Clare Kinlin - a staunch supporter of planting early when the fields are ready - told me: "I've had very few people ever tell me they regretted going early."

A little squirt could save big money

2010-05-07T09:44:00.001-04:00

OMAFRA cereal specialist Peter Johnson has been fielding so many calls about yellow patches in the winter wheat crop, he's decided to bring back the "squirt test."
The problem with yellow wheat is that there are so many potential causes: pH, compaction, nutrient deficiency. The way this year is shaping up, a micronutrient shortage is the most likely culprit - but who wants to spend a lot of money on a foliar application and then find out the real cause was something else.
So, to be sure, Johnson suggests using a little hand spray bottle filled with a micronutrient concoction on a small strip of wheat to se how it responds.
Here’s the recipe: “Mix up some hand spray bottles with a half a teaspoon (dry) or 10 ml (liquid) of the nutrient source, fill with water, and add five drops of a surfactant. Shake well. Flag a few meter-long sections of row in the affected area, and write (permanent marker) on the flags which nutrient was applied in between. Spray lightly with the nutrient solution. Results should be obvious within 48 hours.”
Make sure you use only products containing a single nutrient since those containing more than one, as well as N, P and K, may work to green up the crop but you won’t know which nutrient was actually in short supply, he says.
For manganese use a good something that contains 20% Mn or more, he says. For magnesium, use Epsom salts (MgSO4) and for copper, use copper sulphate (bluestone).

The other debate this week surrounded the use of 28% and herbicide in combination on the corn crop. It's best done before the crop emerges but this year things have been moving pretty quickly and you may find yourself looking at spike to first-leaf corn.
Here are th two schools of thought: Cargill agronomist Pat Lynch says companies are warning growers against spraying 28% and a herbcicide on emerged corn. You will get burn damage, although yield losses probably won't amount to much.
The real concern is the potential for frost later this spring. Some people figure the cumulative stress of fertilizer burn and a subsequent frost may be too much for the crop.
OMAFRA corn lead Greg Stewart isn’t quite as cautious. He says “there will be some damage” to the corn plant after emergence, but “like a frost it won’t have that much impact on the overall corn growth. It might a small step backwards.”
There are alternatives. Growers could spray their herbicide now and then come in later on and apply 28% with streamer nozzles instead of flat fans or floods. Or they could switch to another form of dry nitrogen product, Lynch says.
Stewart has another idea: why not wait until side-dress tiem, do a pre-sidedress nitrogen test and see how much N you really need? The way this spring is shaping up, there may be a lot of residual nitrogen released in the soil, allowing growers to cut back on their rates. Of course, you won't know for sure until pre-sidedress nitrogen test time.

Wheat problems show up early

2010-04-30T11:03:00.001-04:00

I've received a few heads-ups from agronomists about potential problems in the winter wheat. It seems that manganese deficiency is being seen in a number of fields and growers are being urged to correct the problem as quickly as possible. When a deficiency shows up - in this case there's a noticeable yellowing in the plants in some areas of the field - you will need at least a pound of actual manganese to correct it, agronomists tell me. That means using an actual manganese foliar product, not one of those "shotgun"-type micronutrient products that give you a little of everything. Soil-applied products are also not good enough.
Some farmers are reporting the problem between the tire tracks but not over the tracks themselves. The way the agronomists explain it to me is that manganese turns into a form that's not available to plants when soils are warm and have lots of oxygen. In the compacted areas there's less oxygen and the manganese remains plant-available.
Once the roots start probing deeper into the soil that problem won't exist anymore.
Cargill agronomy manager Leanne Freita called a week ago to say that powdery mildew and septoria were both being seen early in the wheat crop this year.
Today she emailed to say scouts are finding cereal leaf beetles feeding "at significant levels in Huron County and trace to low levels in the Tillsonburg area." Both adults and eggs have been found, but no larvae.
Eggs are orange to brown and are laid on the upper surface of the leaf in singles or pairs. The adults are tough to see because they fly as soon as you go near them, she says.
It might a good idea to get off the planter for a few minutes, just to check on the wheat.

Aphids and nodules

2010-04-09T10:28:00.000-04:00

Some interesting developments recently that bear watching for crop producers.
Researchers at the University of Illinois have discovered that some soybean aphids - known as Biotype 3 - can overcome current aphid-resistant varieties with the Rag1 and Rag2 resistance genes. They're different from the earlier discovered Biotype 2 aphids, which also have the ability to feed on some resistant material.
The researchers say these biotypes have existed in the population even before any resistant varieties were developed. In other words, there's enough natural variability in the soybean aphid population that efforts to breed an all-encompassing source of resistance into beans may prove difficult, if not futile.
Still on the aphid front, corn aphids are becoming more of an issue in the U.S. In fact, some agronomists are already suggesting that growers spray their crops at and possibly after silking because the little suckers - if they're present in high enough numbers - can do economic damage. In most cases that means aerial application.
Where did these aphids come from? OMAFRA field crops entomologist Tracey Baute believes it may have something to do with the increasing amount of fungicide being sprayed on the corn crop for "plant health" reasons. While these products are great at keeping plants healthier, longer, they also kill off beneficial fungi that just happen to keep aphids under control naturally.
So, growers may have some choices to make: spray an in-crop fungicide and perhaps be forced to also come in with an insecticide later, or limit fungicide spraying to only those situations where disease threatens yield.
Meanwhile, another U of Illinois scientist believes it's possible to "teach" corn plants to fix their own nitrogen.
Ag engineer Kaustubh Bhalerao says scientists have made progress by developing an amplifier inside bacteria, allowing the bacteria to sense the presence of an amino acid in their environment and produce a protein in response.
In other words, it may be possible to help nitrogen-fixing bacteria to communicate with the root systems of corn plants, similar to the way that soybean plants send messages to a bacterium telling it to colonize soy roots with nitrogen-fixing nodules.

2010-03-12T11:35:00.001-05:00

Fortunately I’ve never been in that position but I imagine being sued or having to sue someone would be a pretty stressful experience. There’s the time, the cost, and the emotional toll of having to defend yourself in front of a bunch of belligerent lawyers. Not exactly conducive to sleeping well.
But it seems that large corporations aren’t like the rest of us. If I ever doubted that fact, I don’t now, after spending a couple of days at a media event sponsored by Pioneer Hi-Bred in Des Moines. One of the fellows on the agenda was Jim Denvir of the law firm of Boies, Schiller and Flexner, who is representing Pioneer in its latest litigation against rival Monsanto.
Listening to Denvir outline the company’s case you begin to realize that “rival” is really just a business term. There’s nothing personal here. The two companies still work together on a number of seed and trait-related projects. But there are disagreements and marketshare to defend and the only way to resolve them is through the courts.
Denvir explained that Pioneer’s case is based on a traditional anti-trust concern: that Monsanto is engaging in business practices that prevent competitors having fair access to the marketplace. He likened it to Bell stifling competition by refusing to grant other long-distance carriers access to its transmission infrastructure until forced to be regulators.
The way Pioneer sees it, Monsanto has a monopoly on the trait market, especially in soybeans. Pioneer figures Monsanto is using its clout to prevent competitors like themselves, who have licensed that trait, the opportunity to stack their own traits onto the Monsanto platform. In other words, Pioneer can’t put out its own line of high oleic RR soybeans, for example, by combining its trait with Monsanto’s herbicide tolerance.
According to Denvir, Pioneer feels that this right is critical for competition in the marketplace. Without it, there is less incentive for other companies to invest in traits, which leads to fewer choices for farmers and higher prices. “We’re saying it discourages investment and innovation,” he said.
Pioneer is also alleging that Monsanto is forcing independent seed companies and farmers to switch prematurely from the old RR trait to the new RR2Yield in soybeans. That’s important because Monsanto’s patent on the original RR trait expires next year. By moving quickly to the new trait, Pioneer claims Monsanto is, in effect, preventing the development of generic versions of glyphosate tolerance and extending its own patent for a number of years.
Of course Monsanto will have an equally convincing counter-argument and the whole thing will eventually be settled at the highest court level.
It’s all just a part of doing business.

2010-01-29T09:08:00.000-05:00

There are some interesting tidbits that have come out of recent conversations and interviews with crop advisors and agronomists. I’m finding them intriguing enough to warrant a more detailed look in future articles.
There was one suggestion that alfalfa yields in Ontario have been stagnant for a long time and there hasn’t been much of an outcry from producers. It seems hay yields back in the 70sweren’t a whole lot different than they are today. In fact, with recent winterkill and heaving issues they’ve actually gone down. So, who’s at fault? The breeders? The equipment makers who aren’t doing much about the compaction issue? Or the farmer himself for leaving stands in production well beyond their prime yield years? We’ll be putting that question to some of those in the industry over the next couple of weeks and it should make an interesting article in a future issue of Ontario Farmer.
Then there’s the ongoing debate about the future of no-till. It seems a couple of cool, backward springs resulting in a yield penalty for no-till, even in crops like soybeans, has a lot of people looking for compromises. Some of the more impatient growers are back to mouldboard plowing while others are only willing to go as far as some light cultivation or vertical tillage. It’s time to let people on all sides of the issue have a say.
Finally, there’s been concern expressed that spraying soybeans with a fungicide for “crop health” reasons may be doing more harm than good. It seems one of the most important natural controls for soybean aphid is a fungus. It can do a better job of knocking down aphid numbers than an army of ladybugs. But fungicides don’t really care if their target is a plant pathogen or an aphid pathogen. So, are we risking aphid control by trying to promote a healthier plant and root system with a fungicide? What do the experts say? Stay tuned for articles like these in the Ontario Farmer Production Section over the coming weeks.

Soybean nostalgia

2010-01-08T10:00:00.000-05:00

Now that the new amalgamated grain growers group is a reality it’s interesting to see one of the former commodity groups take a last nostalgic look at its own history.
In December the Ontario Soybean Growers put out its last independent annual report – a large, glossy, collector’s item-style publication that also marks the board’s 60th anniversary. It’s a step up from the usual dry annual report fare, a fascinating look – in photos and prose – at the evolution of Ontario bean production. There are photos of all the board chairmen, from John Wilcox, who oversaw an organization known as the Ontario Soya-Bean Growers’ Marketing Board, right up to Leo Guilbeault.
But what I found most interesting was the statistical breakdown of soybean production. OMAFRA stats go back a few years before Wilcox, to 1943, when a handful of growers harvested 32,200 acres at an average yield of 17 bushels. By the time the board was created six years later there were already 6,000 growers and the acreage had climbed to 142,000. Yields also took a big jump, all the way up to 25 bushels. That’s four bushels more than we managed off 2.225 million acres in the forgettable summer of 2001. The first time the provincial average topped 40 bushels was in 1987, although we came within one bushel of that mark 10 years earlier. In fact, 41 bushels turned out to be a bit of a psychological barrier, as we matched that total in 1994, 1995, 1998, 1999, and 2005. It wasn’t until 2006 that Ontario finally set a new yield high at 46 bushels.
On the price side, those 545,000 bushels harvested in 1943 were worth an average of $1.80/bu. The average price topped the $3 mark in 1947, a lofty plateau that we wouldn’t achieve again until 1966. Ten years later, the price had climbed to over $7 and it finally cracked the $9 barrier in 1983. Interestingly, the price would not get that high again until 1996 – after a few years of sub-$7 returns – when it broke the $10 mark.
There’s some interesting reading in this annual report. Grab a copy and keep it around. It could well become a collector’s item.

What's the deal with the RR soy patent?

2009-11-17T18:07:00.000-05:00

I had an interesting conversation with Mike McGuire, the director of Monsanto’s Canadian corn and soybean seed trait business last week. The talk stemmed from some coffee shop talk recently that saw farmers getting excited about the impending end of Monsanto’s patent on its initial RR soybean trait. In other words, farmers were wondering when they’d be able to grow RoundupReady beans without having to sign a technology use agreement and then be able to plant bin run seed.
Let’s first get the timeline straight. The patent runs out in August of 2011. That means, for the 2010 and 2011 growing season it will be business as usual. In other words, Roundup Ready soybean seed bought for the 2011 season will still fall under patent protection and the technology use agreement. You can’t keep back that seed and plant it in 2012. “The agreement will still be in effect,” McGuire confirms.
Starting with the 2012 season the technology is fair game for other seed companies and for growers.
But McGuire isn’t losing any sleep over the issue. He knows all patents have a lifespan that eventually comes to an end. He says if he worried about that fact he wouldn’t be doing his company and growers any good.
Instead he’s concentrating on new technology – the Genuity RR2Yield varieties. The way McGuire sees it: by the time the initial patent runs out, these new beans will be so far ahead of the originals that no one with an eye on the bottom line will even think about the old RR beans or planting them bin-run.
I’m sure growers will be watching the variety plots over the next couple of years and doing their own calculations. As we’ve learned many times: just because something is suddenly cheaper doesn’t always mean it’s the best deal.

80 bushel beans, tilled or not?

2009-10-23T14:14:00.000-04:00

Got a message from OMAFRA soybean specialist Horst Bohner on my voice mail on Thursday night. He had just finished combining some research plots. His short message: "Now I know what 80 bushels of soys look like."
It was too late to do anything for the upcoming edition of the Ontario Farmer but I'm curious to hear more. Look for more details in the Nov. 3 edition.

While doing this week's Production Roundup I got into a discussion about tilling versus no-tilling soybeans. It seems that side-by-side comparisons over the past couple of years have shown a five to eight bushel advantage for doing some tillage. I can just hear those on the tillage side of the debate saying: "I told you so." But I don't think the results are as clear-cut as they seem. Let's not forget that the past couple of springs haven't been quite as warm and dry as the years before. It's common knowledge that no-till struggles when it's cool and damp early on. Anything that warms up the soil in such a spring is bound to help. So, I'll need a larger sample - more years - before I believe such a big yield advantage is real.
One more thing. Tillage costs money. It doesn't take too many field passes to blow a couple of bushels worth of beans out through the tractor exhaust. So, if the tillage versus no-till survey viewed over 10 or 15 years shows the two systems within three bushels or so, I'd stick to no-till.
Any thoughts? Are you planning to stick with no-till or compromise a little in the interest of warmer soil? You can leave any replies at this site or email me at: preschke@bell.net

Get ready for western bean cutworm next year

2009-10-06T14:46:00.002-04:00

Well, we've had a couple of years to learn all about the western bean cutworm as it slowly got a foothold in Ontario. But it seems like the dress rehearsal is over. Next year it's likely to be showtime.
I remember 2008 when the first reports came in and we had one hot spot in the province around Blyth in Huron County. This year they’ve been much more common in edible bean and cornfields over much of the western part of the province. Now they're even showing up as far east as Chesterville.
On Monday I got a call from Pioneer Hi-Bred technical service manager Dave Harwood telling me his group was finding WBC in Bt-protected cornfields around Alliston and north of Toronto. In some place there was just the occasional ear infested; in others it was much more widespread. For now they're finding just one larva per ear but these critters are very sociable and as many as four or five have been found eating on a single cob.
Of course there's the obvious damage to the seeds but these cutworms also open up a pathway for fungi and moulds to invade the ear and further degrade the grain.
With such a wide distribution this year, and with what we've seen from U.S. states to the west, count on having to deal with these pests next year and plan your strategy. As OMAFRA field crops entomologist Tracey Baute told me this week: “Next year promises to be an interesting year."

There's a chill in the air

2009-09-21T12:23:00.001-04:00

Reports are starting to come in from various spots in the province where the thermometer dipped below zero on Saturday morning. For corn fields, especially those planted a little later, that’s not good news.
I spoke to OMAFRA corn lead Greg Stewart this morning and he says the early dent stage is the cut-off point at which corn can tolerate a frost without much of a yield penalty. Otherwise, frost that kills leaves also shuts off photosynthesis and the flow of nutrients to the cob. But as long as the temperature wasn’t below -2C the stalk will remain viable and keep pushing some nutrients into the ear. Anything colder than that will kill the plant and it will start to black layer.
How much of a yield hit can you expect? The worst scenario has the plant shut down at mid-dough. That’ll cost you about 40 per cent. At early dent it’s about 25 per cent. If only the leaves are frost-killed at mid-dough there’s also a 25 per cent yield hit.
In any case, Stewart says that if your field hasn’t made it to early dent when it gets a taste of frost you won’t be too happy with the resulting yield and grain quality. Those fields that just got a bit chilly but escaped frost damage should resume normal photosynthesis as soon as the weather warms up again.
But it looks like at least some fields – both corn and beans - in Wellington and a few on the sands further south may have been damaged on Saturday.
Stewart says he’ll know the extent of the damage in a couple of days.
The weatherman is definitely not on our side this year.

Clover decisions and SDS planning

2009-09-08T09:37:00.001-04:00

We’re getting some reports from agronomists about Sudden Death Syndrome showing up in the soybeans. It’s a potentially damaging disease that can take a big bite out of yields if it’s severe enough. Bob Thirlwall, an agronomist with DeKalb tells me the early onset of symptoms tends to cause more of a yield impact. There are also big differences in how varieties react to the disease, he says.
There’s not a lot you can do at this point. Fungicides don’t work very well so you’re left with planning a strategy for next year. Thirlwall suggests. That includes planting soybean cyst nematode-resistant beans because there is a link between the two and maybe picking early maturing beans for these fields because they may be able to stay ahead of the disease. The real challenging part is deciding when to plant. From what all the soybean experts tell us, the key to higher yield is early planting. But that’s also shown to be one of the risk factors of Sudden Death Syndrome. So, pick your poison.

How are the red clover stands looking this fall? With all the additional moisture and a wheat crop that struggled early on, a lot of growers are getting a pretty good catch. OMAFRA tells us a really lush stand of clover is worth about 73 lbs of N or at least $30/acre in nitrogen credits. But what if the stand is uneven? It seems like a waste to simply ignore the thick clover areas and apply the normal N rate to the next field. But you also have to make sure the thin spots aren’t short-changed next year. OMAFRA’s Peter Johnson suggests taking an aerial photograph or making a GPS map of the field to do some variable rate N application next year. At $30/acre for even half the field it probably makes economic sense.
One more piece of advice from Johnson: let the clover stand grow to the end of October. Clover doubles its root mass during that month and 60 per cent of the nitrogen value is in the roots.

Holiday break is over

2009-08-25T08:20:00.001-04:00

It’s been a while since the last update – but when you’re hanging around a cottage in Tobermory, cropping is really the furthest thing from your mind. Anyway, we’ll try to keep up with the schedule from now on.
Got back to a phone call from Jeff Jacques, an agronomist with Cargill AgHorizons, to tell me soy aphids had just “taken off” in Huron and Perth. These critters can double their numbers in just three days and they’ve been doing just that – going from 50 or 100 to 250 to 500 in just a week in some fields. Jacques says they sprayed lots of fields last week.
An additional challenge has been the appearance of spider mites in the hot weather. That complicates the choice of insecticide, especially if you have both insects. If your only problem is aphids, stick with Matador, Jacques says. It’s effective and will allow the beneficial insects to bounce back a little quicker.
But if spider mites are present you’ll have to use dimethoate to get control.

The discussion about pollination effects of using in-crop fungicides in corn got a little more interesting last week. There had been suggestions from some agronomists that perhaps we should hold off spraying fungicides on corn until pollination was complete to eliminate any chance of affecting the pollination process – especially since disease isn’t really a big issue this year. The concern stems from work done at Purdue University by corn expert Bob Nielsen last year suggesting that arrested ear syndrome may be caused by fungicides or other pesticides mixed with non-ionic surfactants.
It’s the latter point that is the key to the discussion. Nielsen says pre-tassel applications of fungicides alone will not result in arrested ears. That problem only happens when fungicides are applied that contain non-ionic surfactants or crop oil concentrates or if fungicides and other pesticides are mixed together. In that case fungicide spraying should be delayed until “the entire field has tasseled”, he says.
Trevor Kraus of BASF also sent me an email to discuss the issue. He says he’s heard of a link between blunt ear syndrome and adjuvants. But he says Headline does not contain or require an adjuvant. “That is why we can have it applied to corn at any time, safely.” Other fungicide products may be different.

Correction to SmartStax Genuity posting

2009-08-04T10:12:00.002-04:00

Just got a note from Michael Nailor, the corn and soybean trait marketing lead for Monsanto, in response to the July 25th blog about the new SmartStax corn hybrids and the reduced refuge requirement. He says Pioneer Hi-Bred does not have access to the Genuity SmartStax technology and won't be able to sell hybrids with the reduced five per cent refuge.
In addition to DEKALB, companies like Maizex, Pride, Country Farm, Pickseed and Elite (out of Quebec) all have access to the technology for 2010.

Surprise, no soy rust again

2009-07-31T10:37:00.002-04:00

It looks like there may be a couple of nice days this weekend. If all goes well a big chunk of the Ontario winter wheat crop will be in the bin by Monday and we'll know if the early encouraging yields and quality held up as the harvest moved north. Just talking to folks north of London, my feeling is that yields and quality will be all over the map.

Lots of talk in recent days about spraying fungicides on corn. Will it keep the crop healthy longer to extend the grain fill period and make up for some of the slow growing conditions? Is anyone willing to find out? The general consensus is that corn prices haven't been high enough this year to convince too many growers to spend any more inputs. On the other hand, the fungicide question continues to be a hot topic and we'll never have any firm answers if we don't keep trying. So, why not do a couple of side-by-sides to help the province build some firm numbers? And tell somebody the results, even if they're inconclusive.

Word from south of the border is that soybean rust - you remember the big, bad disease that was going to sweep in and devastate our crops - won't likely be an issue again this year. The weather has been too hot down south, no storms to bring the spores northward yada...yada...yada. Is it me or is this quickly becoming the bird flu of the soybean world - lots of hype, little actual impact? On the positive side, it has helped us get some much-needed fungicides into the marketplace, we're much more conscientious about scouting for disease in the crop and, if it ever does come north, we're certainly going to ready.

Quality wheat and smart corn

2009-07-25T09:03:00.001-04:00

There has been lots of doom and gloom surrounding this year’s Ontario winter wheat crop, especially considering the shape of the crop coming out of the winter. Perhaps reality will set in as harvest moves further across the province but the earliest results are encouraging. Word from Essex and Kent counties is that yields are ranging from 70 bushels on the tough ground to 115 in the best fields, with the average around 80-90 bushels. Even more importantly, quality and test weight are excellent. If it stays that way through the rest of Ontario I’m sure growers won’t argue too much.
Word from south of Lake Erie is that Ohio may be poised for a record winter wheat crop. They’re crediting the cooler summer with putting less stress on the crop and allowing it to fill to its potential. Of course, their yield standards aren’t quite as high as ours. The highest average yield ever recorded in Ohio was 72 bushels back in 2000.

It looks like Ontario corn growers will get a chance to try out the new SmartStax hybrids next year. Both the EP and Canadian regulators have given the go-ahead to the technology that combines a whole bunch of traits from different companies in a single hybrid – Roundup and Liberty tolerance as well as protection against corn borer, rootworm, armyworm, black cutworm and western bean cutworm thanks to a number of different Bt events from Dow and Monsanto. Seed companies like DeKalb and Pioneer, as well as few others who are licensing the technology, are planning a huge push of these hybrids into the marketplace for next season.
The most interesting part of the new technology is that, because it combines so many different modes of action against insect pests, regulators have agreed to reduce the refugia requirement from 20 per cent down to just five per cent. I know a few researchers will view that decision with some trepidation but it’s a definite convenience as well as a yield boost for growers. Will the technology do what it promises without adding to the risk of insect resistance? We’ll see in a few years.

I’m also getting reports of some really good fertilizer deals in the countryside. Apparently you can now get 28% for August payment and delivery from many of the major dealers at $212 a tonne. Compare that to $475-575 in the spring.
The main drawback is that you need good storage to avoid having the stuff end up on the ground, causing an environmental issue and an economic loss. But at those prices it’s worth it.

Soybean yield drag - too many demands

2009-07-09T15:28:00.001-04:00

There's been a lot of griping in recent years about the lack of genetic progress made by soybeans in relation to corn. And it's true, since the 1970s, the average annual yield gain from genetics alone has been just 0.3 bushels per year, just a fraction of the increase found in corn hybrids. But Dr. Gary Ablett, a soybean breeder at the University of Guelph's Ridgetown campus has a perfectly logical explanation for the apparent lag. It all has to do with the huge number of traits, beyond yield, that we require in our soybean varieties. He explains it this way: Find a large group of people. Now separate out just the ones that fall into a 10-year age category. From them, pull out only the ones with black hair. Now eliminate all those whose shoe size is smaller or larger than 11. Of the few that remain, look for one that can run a five-minute mile. Your chances of finding a few such individuals would have been much better if you could have picked from the larger group with which you began. It's the same with soybeans. By the time we select for desirable hilum colour, protein, oil profile, disease resistance etc. etc. the chances of finding one that satisfies all these requirements and still yields high are pretty slim. Hence yield progress is slower than it would be if that was the only factor on our wish list.

On the crop front, this is the time for scouting fields. And there are a lot of things to look for: soybean aphids (so far they're sporadic and not numerous enough in most fields to warrant spraying...but that can change quickly), armyworms in spring cereals (just one field reported as of this week), leafhoppers and anthracnose in dry beans (weather conditions are ripe for the latter), and downy mildew in cucurbits (reported from Kent County).
Speaking of downy mildew, OMAFRA vegetable specialist Elaine Roddy says the disease often gets a foothold in fields because of areas that missed a fungicide spray application - part of the headland or rows at the edge of the field if the sprayer width didn't match the number of rows. That's where the disease will strike first. It's kind of like missing your feet when you apply sun screen, with one notable difference: this sunburn will spread from the feet to the rest of your body.

To spray or not to spray

2009-06-23T16:39:00.000-04:00

Although our growing conditions are often a lot different it’s still a good idea to keep an eye on what’s happening south of the border – if only as an early warning of what might happen here. Take soybean aphids for example. Yes, they’ve started to show up across much of the province last week, but not in particularly huge numbers. OMAFRA issued a heads-up in last week’s Crop-Pest newsletter but a couple of agronomists that I spoke to this week didn’t seem too concerned - yet.
It’s a different story on the other side of Lake Erie. Ohio State University entomologists found the critters on early planted beans – as many as 100 per plant. That’s well below the threshold established for later infestations but experts readily admit they have no idea what the spray trigger should be when the plants are still small.
So, should you go in and spray this early – just to be safe? It’s a tough call. There’s no guarantee you’ll get a yield benefit. In fact, some will tell you that in a year with lots of moisture the impact of aphids, even on smaller plants, is not nearly as big a deal. If it had been hot and dry all along, the risk would be much greater. And, according to people like OMAFRA’s Tracey Baute, the last thing you want to do is knock back the beneficial insects that may be able to keep the aphids at acceptable levels and save you a lot of money on insecticides. Once they’re gone and the aphids start to build up again – and boy can they do it quickly when the weather turns warm - you’re on your own.
But she’d like to know if you do happen to find aphids on about half of the bean plants in your scouting pattern. She’s doing some trials on early season aphid pressure and your information could help everyone in the future. She’s at 519-674-1696.
One thing on which everyone seems to agree: this is a good year to have Cruiser-treated beans. The seed treatment protects beans against several insect pests but, when the aphids come out early, there’s the extra bonus of not having to make that spray decision for the first 60 days at least.

Blowing in the wind

2009-06-11T10:17:00.001-04:00

I'm hearing a lot of warnings about spray drift potential this spring. The crops are late, time is at a premium, and the weather has been pretty windy a lot of days. Not the kind of conditions that are conducive to spraying glyphosate. But what if it just can't wait? I've heard suggestions ranging from using a conventional herbicide when spraying an RR field next to a conventional one or just spraying a couple of the outside rows with something other than glyphosate. Sure, it's a pain but so is a crop damage complaint, especially if the complainant has a high value hort crop. In some ways we created these problems for ourselves by taking out fencerows and windbreaks all over the place. They did a great job of creating a buffer between adjacent fields. Yes, GPS may keep your equipment on your own row but it won't keep the spray from wandering.

A heads-up from OMAFRA plant pathologist Albert Tenuta: soybean rust has spread further north and done so earlier than ever before. It doesn't mean it'll get to us but it's probably a good idea to keep an eye on the rust monitoring web sites. Soybean rust is a little bit like bird flu or swine flu: there's the initial burst of excitement and panic then, when nothing materializes, everyone stops paying attention.

Cargill agronomist Pat Lynch is telling growers to check their fields for suspicious weed escapes. If you're spraying glyphosate or a Group 2 herbicide, caution flags should go up if all except one weed species have been controlled. Of course, there is any number of other factors that can prompt weed escapes but usually those factors will affect more than one species. And don’t think it’s just broadleaves like nightshade and pigweed that can show resistance. Group 2 resistance in foxtail has been documented in western Canada, so escapes of this weed should also be viewed with some suspicion.

Scouting seasons starts again

2009-06-04T14:49:00.000-04:00

No wonder cash croppers never take summer holidays. It seems like every few days there's another bulletin about a pest or disease in one area of the province and you need to be scouting your fields to make sure you're not the next victim.
We've got a whole bunch of these alerts this week:
• There's a lot of physiological fleck showing up in winter wheat in the southwest. It's leaving flag leaves ooking a bit ragged, like they're full of pin pricks, OMAFRA's Peter Johnson advises. It's not septoria or mildew. Those diseases start from the bottom of the plant and move to the top, rust and physiological fleck begin at the top of the plant.
• Speaking of wheat rust - there's been one report already from Essex County. Time to start looking.
• A sweet corn grower in Essex has found armyworm, signalling the beginning of that pest problem. Just thinking back one year should get everyone out there looking. Look for notches in cereal leaves and, if found, return at dusk or dawn to determine caterpillar numbers.
• Soybean growers have been lucky so far - no aphids yet, either here or in Michigan. But, they've been found in Iowa and are probably just waiting to hitch a ride.
• Scouts have found juniper rust near Guelph. Not a big deal? It is if you're an apple grower. That disease can move from junipers to apple orchards and may force some growers to go to a summer spray program.
• Alfalfa weevil numbers are building up in forage fields, in some cases beyond the threshold level. If you're in that boat and you can't take first cut in the next couple of days, consider spraying, the agronomists say.
• The cool weather has kept fleabeetles in check for canola growers but all it will take is a bit of warmth and these critters can build up in a hurry.

Weather issues

2009-05-29T08:38:00.001-04:00

Now that much of the crop is in the ground, farmers can turn to their next favourite activity: worrying about its appearance. Don't knock it. That preoccupation with eveness, colour, height and general health is what creates weather rallies in the commodity makets.
Things get particularly interesting in years like this when soils ar wet, or crusted, or still compacted from last fall. Suddenly the wheat turns various shades of yellow because its underdeveloped root system can't get the magnesium, manganese, or even iron that it needs. We're now getting reports from Lambton County - known for its unforgiving clay - of purple - phosphate-deficient - corn plants. Again, it's mostly a function of the weather. It could be due to cold shock or tight soils that restrict phosphorus uptake, says DeKalb agronomist Bob Thirlwall. Symptoms will show up differently in different hybrids. Fortunately, as the weather warms again corn plants tend to grow out of the problem.
There is one good thing about all this rain and cool conditions: it has kept the insects down. Aphids have been nowhere to be seen, no one has reported bean leaf beetles yet and even leafhoppers aren't a big issue in the alfalfa.
On the other hand, that low risk of fusarium reported in Michigan earlier in the week, has probably changed dramatically by now. I imagine a lot of wheat growers aren't too happy at the prospect o having to spend another $15-25 an acre to protect their 60-bushel crop from fusarium. That decision was a lot easier to make last spring when 100 bushels seemed like a realistic goal. This is the year to do some serious figuring. Use the DonCast model to assess your own risk in your particular area. Weigh the costs and the expected payback. Do you need the extra benefits that Proline provides or get by with the cheaper Folicur? Nobody else can make that decision for you.

Things are getting crusty out there

2009-05-22T09:40:00.000-04:00

Now that we're finally getting the corn crop into the ground, the next concern centers around emergence. DeKalb agronomist Bob Thirlwall was telling me this week that growers have been using all kinds of different methods to break up the crust and help some of these plants out of the ground. The options range from rotary hoes, to cultivators to empty planters with coulter bar set an inch deep to loosen the soil. He is urging growers to check their fields, especially now that the weather has turned warm and some of those soils could be turning into tennis courts. Make sure the population is wht you want it to be. A light tillage pass can sometimes help to thicken up the stand a little.

And here's a piece of advice from Cargill's Pat Lynch. He's reminding growers that some soy herbicides are in pretty short supply this year. So, it's probably a good idea to keep your stock locked up tight since there's enough incentive for would-be thieves to target pesticide storages. Don't leave anything unattended.

Even though planting is on everyone's mind these days, don't take your eyes off the winter wheat. It's been a tough spring for the crop and the last thing we need is an insect infestation to creep in under the radar. Word from the insect experts is to keep scouting for armyworm. They've been reported from south of the border. So far trap catches here are small but that can change quickly. We don't have to think back too far to remember what they can do to a crop.

At least we're not in Illinois

2009-05-14T08:28:00.000-04:00

There’s quite a bit of anxiety around the countryside these days as the calendar moves relentlessly forward, yet a lot of corn and soybean seed remains safe and dry in the bag. The weather hasn’t exactly been cooperating for a lot of people and they’re getting a bit antsy. By the middle of this week the best guess was that Ontario had about 50 per cent of the corn planted but not much more than 10 per cent of the soybeans.
But let’s keep our perspective here. It’s only May 14. Sure, we like to have corn planted before May 1 and get soybeans in not too long after. But we’re still a lot better off than the folks in Illinois and Indiana. As of Monday, the former had just 10 per cent of the corn acreage in the ground. And these people need to be done a lot sooner than us northerners.
So, should we start switching hybrids or go from corn to soys? The general consensus among agronomists is that it’s too early to make a move. Don’t do anything before May 20. Of course, if your field is too wet today, it’s not likely you’ll be doing any planting before then anyway so the debate becomes academic.

Another question this week revolved around the wisdom of planting soybans into a dead winter wheat stand when you've already applied nitrogen to the wheat. There's a commonly held notion that the beans become "lazy" in a high-nitrogen environment. "Poppycock", says Cargill's Pat Lynch. Well, he didn't actually say that but that was the gist of it. The detrimental effect of nitrogen on soybeans is an old wive's tale, he says. In fact, it might actually be beneficial. The bottom line: don't worry if you've already applied nitrogen and it's getting too late for corn. Plant soybeans and don't listen to the folk tales.

Meeting some resistance

2009-05-07T08:09:00.001-04:00

Surprise, surprise. It looks like Ontario has its first case of glyphosate resistance. There’s no final confirmation but all indications are that a patch of giant ragweed in southwestern Ontario is Canada’s first. I can’t see this coming as a big shock, considering the experiences south of the border. Too much glyphosate use – too little rotation. It was only a matter of time.
What’s really amazing is the way that these plants are going about surviving the herbicide. According to Dr. Francois Tardif at the U. of G. these giant ragweeds show leaf burn only 12 hours after application. Normal plants don’t show anything for three days or so. But then the susceptible plants die while the resistant ones start to bounce back. Tardif figures they’re able to isolate the glyphosate in their leaves and preventing it from reaching the growing point, sacrificing some tissue to save the whole plant.
What was that line in Jurassic Park? “Nature will find a way.”

Looks like alfalfa weevils are early this year. Randy Chevalier, an agronomist with Cargill AgHorizons in Essex, has already found the first signs of “pinhole” feeding as well as larvae among the roots in an area alfalfa field. The rest of the province is probably not far behind.
Some western Ontario growers may be biding their time making a decision about the future of their frost-heaved fields. Chances are the plants won’t survive long-term, especially those that heaved as much as six inches out of the ground, says OMAFRA forage specialist Joel Bagg. The sooner you come up with a plan how to deal with the stands, the less chance you’ll be caught short of feed next year, he says.

There’s been some talk already of switching corn hybrids to shorter heat unit varieties but Cargill’s Pat Lynch dismisses that idea off-hand. “Don’t even think about it now,” he said this week. There’s still plenty of time, even in areas like Essex. “Don’t even look back until May 15-20.”

He’s also reminding growers that packers and rollers are not the same thing. While a roller will smooth out rough ground and break up some lumps, allowing you to travel a bit faster across a smoother seedbed, the packer actually compacts the soil. If you get a pouring rain after packing, emergence is often affected. “There’s a big difference between the two. I don’t like to pack the soil but I can go along with rolling it,” he says.

A reminder from the Ontario canola growers that seeding too fast and not watching the seeding depth can be more expensive than delayed planting.
An uneven stand of just four plants/square foot can cost you more than 20 per cent in yield compared to eight plants. On a 200-acre field that translates into $18,000 in lost returns. Ten plants per square foot should be the target.
Make sure you check the depth periodically, keep a seed sample of each variety and seed lot, and check fields seven days after seeding to determine the population.

Wet weather, weeds and planting

2009-04-30T07:52:00.000-04:00

Despite the heavy rains in some areas there’s lots to talk about. At the top of the list is weed control in winter wheat. Peter Johnson tells us the wheat has advanced far enough in the south that the optimum time is “right now”. Ragweed, lamb's-quarters, dandelions, chickweed, you name it, it's there. Areas to the north are further behind, but “not as far as you might think.” Keep the sprayers on stand-by.

Ever wonder just how much time you have to plant? Pat Lynch says he’s kept track over 25 years and figures there’s about 100 hours of good planting time in an average spring. By the middle of last week, eight to 10 of those hours were already gone. That means when the weather is right again “you go as fast as possible.” The only thing on which you can’t skimp is checking planter performance. Keep checking the seed depth. And if you run out of starter? Keep planting and broadcast the rest later, Lynch says.

As the wheat starts to green up, some growers have been eager to apply a fungicide. Johnson isn’t sold on the economics. Ontario trials have produced an average payback of two bushels, although some years the payback is better. Johnson says he’s not opposed to the idea but with this year’s lower yield potential an average payback may be all you’ll get. If that’s good enough, go for it, he says.

You have to feel sorry for those guys who had the field just nicely worked before that three-inch rainfall hit last week. The problem is, these fields tend to stay wet longer than ones that weren’t worked. So, if you’re waiting to plant corn on one of those fields, Johnson says you may be better off planting no-till soybeans in an unworked field first and come back to the corn ground a day or two later.

And the latest update on the split nitrogen on canola idea: John Heard in Manitoba advises against it. They don’t have any problem with soil moisture in his part of the province so the best advice is to fertilize up front to the crop’s full yield potential. Growers in Saskatchewan, where it’s notoriously dry, will use a split application because some years there is so little moisture that the crop will never be able to utilize the additional N. I guess the trick is to figure which of those two scenarios best fits the typical Ontario growing season.

heaved alfalfa and volunteer wheat

2009-04-23T14:33:00.000-04:00

This week the gloom and doom talk shifted from winter wheat to alfalfa. It looks like there will be a lot of older stands making way for corn or soybeans this spring. And this time it’s not just the traditional winterkill areas that are affected. A lot of fields in the southwest are having their lifespan cut short by heaving. Agronomists are telling me that growers need to look ahead at 2010 and what their forage needs will be. There may be lots of feed in the province right now but those that don’t plan ahead this spring could be finding themselves short down the road.

Some interesting research coming out of Clarence Swanton's lab at the University of Guelph. Graduats student Greg Wilson has found that as few as five volunteer wheat plants in a young cornfield - at the three-leaf stage - can reduce yields by 10 per cent. That's surprisingly competitive for a grass weed and suggests farmers need to ensure that there are no volunteer wheat plants left in the field when the corn emerges.

Split nitrogen is a pretty common concept in wheat production. Now some researchers in Manitoba are trying to see if it has a fit for canola growers. It’s all in the interest of using nitrogen more efficiently. The idea is to put down an initial base rate – maybe 50 to 60 lbs – then make a visual assessment later on to see if the crop will benefit from some additional N. You can just look at the crop as a whole or leave a few small plots – they call them “ramp strips” which get base rates ranging from zero to 100 lbs. By comparing those strips with the base rate applied to the rest of the field you’ll get an idea if additional N is likely to pay. Apparently there are a few folks in Ontario willing to give it a try. I’ll be talking to John Heard at the Manitoba ag ministry next week and have a more detailed account of his work in the May 5 Ontario Farmer.

I understand that white bean dealers are once again offering contract prices for navy beans. The price I’m hearing is $33-34. That should be enough to keep the crop competitive with IP soybeans and attract some growers, especially those who have experience with the crop. We used to grow white beans in the 80s – it was all “pull and windrow” in those days - and some years you were ready to pack it in because it was a real struggle getting a quality sample. But somehow you always did it again the next year. There’s a lot of machinery and a lot of buildings in Ontario that have been paid for thanks to a couple of good white bean years. Let’s not lose that niche.

Wheat crop tests patience

2009-04-16T14:08:00.001-04:00

It looks like there will be some wheat acres moving into other crops this year. No real surprise. Some wheat didn’t get planted in the fall, especially in the southwest, the economics have definitely changed, and now it looks like some of the crop may not have come through winter in great shape. While Ontario’s number one wheat booster, Peter Johnson, figures a stretch of warm weather will cure everything, some farmers are already filling up the sprayer with glyphosate – just in case. Don’t jump the gun, advises agronomist Pat Lynch, who’s seen these types of years before. “I wouldn’t write these fields off just yet,” he says.
But what about all the extra acres? Where will they go? DeKalb agronomist Bob Thirlwall is betting on corn. New crop futures in Chicago are fairly solid and a lot of Ontario growers still have last year’s visions of 200 bushels dancing in their heads. Sure, soys did okay as well…but 200 bushels?
We’d like to hear your thoughts on this and other subjects. In time we’ll make this blog more interactive but, for now, you can just post your responses in the comment section and we'll try and compile them in an informal survey.
The topics:
#1 - How does the wheat look and are you planning to keep it?
#2 - Are you changing your acreage mix this year? What makes the most sense – corn, beans, wheat, another crop, or sticking to the rotation?
#3 – How close is your area to getting the planters rolling?

Talked to Carrie James, general manager of the Ontario Canola Growers last week. She’s quite upbeat about the coming season. Seed sales have stayed strong – not as strong as last year when prices hit $600/tonne – but better than expected. There’s also a lot of optimism surrounding the arrival of a new crusher just across the border in Quebec and what that will mean to the local basis.

There was also an email from Martin Kiefer regarding last week’s blog entry on Contans. Seems it came out on the web site as Contains. Darn self-correcting spell checkers. Anyway, that’s my story. The correct spelling is CONTANS.

2009-04-09T08:52:00.000-04:00

April 9 - It can be interesting to look beyond North America for machinery innovations. This one comes from Holland, from a company called Clean Light. It’s an alternative to spraying fungicides on crop. This machine emits ultraviolet light that kills fungi, viruses and molds but doesn’t harm crops. It’s been tried in Europe on potatoes, onions and grapes but there are wider models available that would be suitable for edible beans, soybeans or wheat, according to company chief technology officer Arne Aiking.
The machine is likely to cost more than a standard sprayer but your application costs are small - $1 to $1.50 an acre to generate the electricity. But since it only kills what’s on the surface, you probably have to go through the crop more than once, Aiking says.
The idea could make its debut in Ontario, providing that Clean Light can find an equipment manufacturer to build the machines. Clean Light holds the patent and licenses the technology to manufacturers. But Aiking, who’s spent much of his life in Ontario, says his company would be very interested in setting up an office in Guelph. There’s more information on the company website at www.cleanlight.nl
Just got a heads-up for growers from Cargill agronomist Pat Lynch. He says the wet weather, coupled with some solid frosts has caused a considerable amount of heaving in winter wheat and alfalfa stands. If we get some good rains it could wash up enough soil to re-anchor the plants, he says. But if it turns hot and dry, they’ll dessicate. A few alfalfa growers have had success pushing the plants back down into the ground with a packer.
There’s been a fair bit of talk this winter about new corn heat unit ratings for Ontario hybrids. OMAFRA corn lead Greg Stewart is reluctant to give out a lot of details because he doesn’t want to confuse growers this close to planting season. Look for an in-depth article on the changes once the corn is in the ground.

White Mould Frustrations

2009-04-07T08:04:00.005-04:00

Keeping white mould from infecting a field of soybeans can be frustrating. There are the usual motherhood cures – a good rotation, planting tolerant varieties – and you can always hope for a dry year. But if the disease ever gets a hold you’re basically out of luck. Unlike edible bean growers, you don’t have the luxury of an effective foliar fungicide.
Well, this year there is something new you can try. It’s called Contains WG and it’s a biological product developed in Germany and marketed in eastern Canada by Plant Products Co. Ltd.
According to the company, it’s a natural fungus that does its thing by infecting those little black “rat turds” or sclerotia – the fruiting body of the white mould fungus - and kills them before they can infect the plant.
But you can’t wait until you see white mould or even have an idea of the weather during the growing season. This stuff has to be sprayed on early – either before or at planting. It spreads through the top two to four inches of soil and sits there waiting for the white mould fungus to become active.
You can work it in – the preferred method if the weather is going to be hot and dry – or you can wait for a good rain to wash it into the soil. It’s a living organism, so its susceptible to heat. Keep it cool, spray it within a week of purchase and get it into the soil as quickly as possible.
It’s not cheap insurance. The recommended rate for soys, edible beans or canola is 2 kg/ha. That’ll cost you about $37/acre if you place a field-sized order. At $9 bushel you’ll need better than four bushels of yield response to break even. If white mould hits, that’s probably not hard to get.
Ministry experts like plant pathologist Albert Tenuta are keeping an open mind about the product. He says we’re likely to see a lot more of these biological pest, weed and disease controls in the coming years and he thinks it’s worth a try.
The best approach? Pick a field that’s had a history of white mould and is going into soys, edibles or canola. Try it. Do half a field or leave a sizable test strip so you’ll at least know how it performed.
If you’re in a white mould area, your ag supplier will probably have a supply of Contains this year.