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Tag Archives University of Guelph

Figure 1. Hairy galinsoga seedling.
Crops

Pest Patrol: More and more hairy galinsoga

#PestPatrol with Mike Cowbrough, OMAFRA

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Reading Time: 3 minutes Q: I’m seeing more of a weed called hairy galinsoga, and I’m struggling to control it. Any suggestions? A: Historically, we have found this annual plant mainly in horticultural crops throughout the southern portion of the province, but in the last five years, there have been more inquiries on managing hairy galinsoga in field crops. […] Read more
A survey found that the mistrust the general public has of agriculture is often a source of stress for farmers.
Guide Business

Is your farm way of life under attack?

Personal online attacks against farmers are heating up, and a farm psychologist warns it’s only going to get worse

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Reading Time: 3 minutes It’s not just weather woes, trade issues and government inaction that’s keeping farmers up at night these days. A sense of being scrutinized by the public is taking a toll too, especially when accompanied by the online jeering, baiting and vilification that are getting flamed at the farmers too. That won’t be news to anyone […] Read more
FHB infection in barley. The Brewing and Malting Barley Research Institute and the Canadian Grain Commission are testing an innovative post-harvest treatment from a Scandinavian company called ThermoSeed. It has potential to eliminate the pathogen during malting and brewing.
Cereals, Crops

Careful grain sampling key when looking for mycotoxins

Ontario’s worst-ever year for DON infection in corn may provide some guidance for managing the problem in Western Canada

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Reading Time: 5 minutes For Ontario corn growers dealing with an outbreak of deoxynivalenol (DON), 2018 was a year to forget. “It was a really major, widespread issue,” says Art Schaafsma, a professor in field crop pest management for the University of Guelph’s Ridgetown Campus. He says the last time the industry saw widespread issues with DON was in […] Read more
Yield remains the primary focus in breeding, but other quality parameters, like standability, are also important.
Cereals, Crops

Public cereal crop breeding rebounds

With eight public breeders at work in Eastern Canada, look for more cereals in your future

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Reading Time: 5 minutes There’s so much to like about cereals in Eastern Canada, whether you’re talking winter or spring wheat, oats, barley or even rye. They’re great for the soil, with stubble and roots that help improve soil organic matter levels and boost yields in subsequent corn and soybean crops (especially winter wheat), and there are benefits for […] Read more
Farmers are using online platforms such as social media to do what they do best: i.e. capitalize on the latest tools and technologies to promote and sell Canadian agriculture.
Guide Business

Is it time to rethink your consumer approach?

Science is telling us it’s time for a fresh look at how we approach public engagement, especially when it’s online

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Reading Time: 6 minutes Once upon a time, the standard advice was that if farmers want to connect with consumers, they should share the fascinating science and facts that make up the world of agriculture. Wouldn’t consumers be enthralled by the behind-the-scenes mechanics and science of how their food is made? Actually, most people don’t care about the mechanics […] Read more
Features, Guide Business

When college grads come home to the farm

If your kids come back from college and just end up behind the wheel of a tractor, you're missing some serious opportunities

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Reading Time: 9 minutes On a sun-dappled morning in mid-September, 80 young men and women assemble in a large auditorium at the University of Manitoba’s campus. They’re here for a day of orientation as they begin two years of study towards their agricultural diplomas. Among them is 18-year-old George Meggison. He’s following in the footsteps of two sisters, as […] Read more
The trouble with identifying waterhemp in the field is that growers often dismiss it as one of the other pigweed species.
Crops

The latest on waterhemp

Incredibly, the weed is already resistant to four modes of action in Ontario, with more in danger

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Reading Time: 6 minutes In U.S. farm media circles, it seems that every week there’s another report, another bulletin, another research paper about waterhemp. Often it’s a confirmation of another find in a midwest county or state. More recently, reports indicate the weed is resistant to seven different modes of action with the latest — Group 15 herbicides — […] Read more
Corn, Crops

Ontario farmers grow corn acres, and a successful livelihood

Amos family in Ontario’s extreme northwest a good example of the pioneering spirit

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Reading Time: 6 minutes In 1990, nearly 30 years ago, Amos Brielmann moved his family from Germany to the Rainy River District between Fort Frances and the Manitoba border. They settled on a farm near Pinewood, first working on a beef cattle operation just north of the village. Slowly, they began buying the farm and maintaining the herd and […] Read more
A researcher and soon-to-be author wanted to know what’s getting in the way of healthier soil. What she heard from farmers, industry and academia is it’s not a lack of technology but a lack of political will and financial support.
Crops

Where Ontario’s soil health strategy falls short

Farmers understand the crucial role of soil health for feeding the world. So why is it such a struggle to get support for that goal?

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Reading Time: 6 minutes Last fall, Dr. Sarah Rotz, then working at the University of Guelph, wrote an article with Guelph crop scientist Dr. Ralph Martin and York University agri-food policy researcher Dr. Rod MacRae to draw attention to what they perceive as shortcomings in the Ontario government’s Soil Health Strategy. It’s a topic Rotz had been studying for […] Read more
Efforts to improve soil health are set back by long-standing and destructive soil management regimens.
Crops

Real work on soil health needs to be done

Fine speeches about our soil make us all feel good, but there's an increasing urgency for wider adoption

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Reading Time: 5 minutes Soil health has received considerable attention in recent decades. There have been many champions who have promoted the benefits of good soil, farm organizations that have mounted campaigns to encourage its development and even Senate committees trying to help government recognize the urgency surrounding it. Yet reluctance to raise the bar on the subject remains. […] Read more

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AGCanadaTV: In Case You Missed It – Your National Ag News Recap for the week ending January 24, 2020.

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