Reading Time: 3 minutes With vomitoxin (DON) levels so prevalent in this year’s corn crop, the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association (OSCIA) says a new DON testing cost-sharing initiative will help producers strategically market their grain. Why it matters: OSCIA says cost-sharing will help farmers know how severe their deoxynivalenol (DON) issues are, and how to market their […] Read more
How Ontario’s new DON testing cost-share program works
Phosphorus program aims to reduce Lake Erie nutrients
Reading Time: 3 minutes Chatham, Ont. — Henry Denotter’s farms near Kingsville, Ont. are close to the Wigle Creek, which flows into Lake Erie and takes with it any residues it pulls from nature and farmers’ fields. The Wigle Creek subwatershed, west of Leamington, has turned into ground zero in long-term research on how farmers can reduce phosphorus running […] Read more
Soil health sensor project largest in North America
Reading Time: 3 minutes A new $2-million soil health research project aims to figure out the impact of different cropping systems on the environment. Research will also be conducted on crop productivity relating to soil health. The result should be new knowledge on productivity of traditional cropping systems versus those with cover crops. The project, at the new Soil […] Read more
Pearce: Ontario’s EFP program takes next step
Reading Time: 2 minutes Next year it will have been 25 years since Ontario introduced the Environmental Farm Plan (EFP) for farms, and leading up to that anniversary, it’s worth noting more than 38,000 farm families have participated. In spite of some growing pains in the late 1990s, the EFP has grown to provide the Ontario agri-food industry with […] Read more
Cover crops can be key to healthy soil
Starting out small and being flexible will improve your chance of success
Reading Time: < 1 minute The popularity of cover crops is growing and some farmers are discovering benefits of moisture retention, improved filtration, and increased organic matter for their efforts. But choosing the right cover crop and having the proper knowledge before you begin is important. We met with crop consultant Dan Towery at the recent OSCIA to hear his thoughts […] Read more
Protecting pollinators in 2014
Ontario best-management trials include using fungicide-only seed
Reading Time: < 1 minute Country Guide recently had a chance to sit down with Tracey Baute, Field Crop Entomologist, during the 75th annual AGM for the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association (OSCIA). Baute’s presentation focused on protecting pollinators and how a new partnership with OSCIA using “fungicide only” seed and insecticide treated seed in comparison trials will help […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
