Reading Time: 3 minutes Soybean inoculants have undergone considerable change in the past 30 years, evolving from non-sterile to sterile formulations in the 1990s and then to an almost complete reliance on the Bradyrhizobium japonicum bacterial species, with other strains added during the first decade of the 2000s, although primarily as nodulating triggers or plant growth-promoting rhizobacterium (PGPR). Now, […] Read more
Soybean inoculant a rare find
This innovative inoculant begins with a new bacterial species, then stacks it with another
The return of farm diversification
On this farm, widening the base of operations helps achieve crucial management goals
Reading Time: 6 minutes When Anthony Nabuurs talks about agriculture, he looks beyond growing crops and selling what he harvests. Expanding his operation beyond planting, spraying and combining has become a necessity for his farm and for those who work with him, partly because of economics, and also because it helps overcome some of the challenges of farming on […] Read more
A change in mindset on soil
We’ve always talked of soil productivity. Hmmm… what if we talked soil profitability instead?
Reading Time: 5 minutes Ordinarily, rebranding is an exercise that involves a change in marketing direction in a changing marketplace or inside a changing company. We see it so often in agriculture. A product gets rebranded because of new use patterns or new tank mixes, or just because of corporate restructuring. Occasionally, though, a concept gets rebranded because of […] Read more
Focus on the ear leaf in corn production
Keeping the corn plant weed and stress free early allows the plant to form a larger cob, up to its genetic potential
Reading Time: 6 minutes It seems every growing season brings something new for growers to manage. Sometimes it’s a new disease or its anticipated arrival. Other years, it’s learning to cope with the impact of weather conditions, or a sudden weed flare-up. It’s a testament to modern agricultural science that the more we learn, the more questions we ask. […] Read more
A new era of agronomics and genetics for corn
The “how” and the “why” of growing corn are attracting a lot of fresh thinking
Reading Time: 7 minutes Corn production has risen to a new level of importance, both for growers and for the industry that supports them. In spite of market pressures and uncertainty in global trade, growers, particularly those in Ontario, are firmly committed to planting row after row of the crop, basically as much as they can. Yet the reality […] Read more
High-speed planting zooms ahead
But is it because of the time savings, or the yield increase?
Reading Time: 6 minutes Hard to believe it’s already been eight years since high-speed planters were introduced in North America. The vanguard consisted largely of European manufacturers like Horsch, Amazone and Väderstad, with additions from John Deere, Precision Planting and, more recently, AgLeader. In that time, more growers have been adopting and adjusting their spring operations to use the […] Read more
Dig deeper to understand soils
Challenging what we’ve always thought can be enlightening, not disruptive
Reading Time: 7 minutes Traditions and routines can provide stability, familiarity and perhaps a sense of purpose. Yet when they keep us from exploring new possibilities — for whatever reason — there’s less room for meaningful change. Earlier in 2020, Greg Patterson was a presenter at the Certified Crop Advisor (CCA)-Ontario chapter annual meeting in London, Ont., and created […] Read more
Strip till goes mainstream
Improvements in guidance and a focus on soil health are the primary drivers
Reading Time: 7 minutes The concept is simple. With just one pass, run a tillage implement through the field that clears a strip of residue and builds a small ridge that will get the crop off to a fast start next spring because you can plant straight into it, and it will warm faster than the rest of the […] Read more
The struggle for longer crop rotations
Growers know the benefits, but often the economics seem just too steep
Reading Time: 7 minutes Modern agronomic science is clear. Longer rotations are better. Three crops are better than two, four are better than three. Yet commodity prices and weather conditions often confound the search for an ideal rotation. In 2019, corn had two knocks against it. The planting season turned wet. Plus, the market was weighed down by heavy […] Read more
Winter canola could be your next ‘third crop’
Winter canola opens the door to late-summer planting, double cropping and longer rotations
Reading Time: 5 minutes Growers across much of southern Ontario have long been on the lookout for another “third crop.” The standard is winter wheat, but in the past few years, more growers have felt pinched by everything from its crop prices to poor planting conditions in the fall. If they don’t have another option, it isn’t for lack […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
