Inputs - by Top Crop Manager – Details, episodes & analysis

Winter cereals see all four seasons in Ontario, which means a wide variety of environmental conditions can affect their growth and yield. What can growers expect after a cooler fall for planting in parts of the province and an unusually warm winter? Do typical considerations like nitrogen and sulphur application timings and pest management strategies changed in a year like this one?

In this episode of Inputs, Joanna Follings, cereals specialist with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA), gives an overview of fall 2023 planting conditions for winter cereals, including what effects the warmer than average winter might have, an update on spring cereals planting, and some tips for nutrient applications and pest and disease management.

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• Field Crop News for in-season updates agronomic information
• Wheat Ag Pest Monitor for stripe rust tracking and more

Support for this episode provided by Gowan Canada.

In March, during the first installment of our two-part series on managing drought, we chatted about what growers need to be doing right now to ensure their soil and crops have the best opportunity to thrive this coming summer.

In this episode of Inputs, we expand on this topic, tapping into some of the measures farmers need to take over the course of the growing season to maintain healthy soil and crops. Dustin Farr is an instructor in the ag management program at Olds College of Agriculture and Technology, and he shares some of his insights into improving soil health and water retention, as well as how farmers can conserve a healthy growing environment during dry conditions.

In mid-September, thousands of Ontario aggies descend on Woodstock, Ont., annually for Canada's Outdoor Farm Show (COFS) to see the latest (and biggest) equipment and machinery, innovations and technology. One of the elements that the pandemic put into perspective was the value of conversations held at events like this – whether at a booth, watching a demonstration, or in the beer tent, having a casual chat is a great way to learn what other people in agriculture are thinking, considering, or trying.

In this episode of Inputs, Top Crop Manager East editor Alex Barnard spoke with:

• Peggy Brekveld, president of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) and Influential Women in Canadian Agriculture alumni, about how the conversations and concerns brought up at a show can influence future policy discussions;
• Ian Virtue, marketing and communications co-ordinator with the Ontario Soil Network and Innovative Farmers Association of Ontario (IFAO), about his recent switch from the world of finance to agriculture, what motivated his decision, and what he's learned so far; and
• Dean Anderson, strategic advisor, agriculture, with Workplace Safety and Prevention Services, about tips on how to stay safe – and keep those around you safe – during the hectic harvest season.

 Never miss an episode of Inputs by subscribing to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Support for this episode provided by Gowan Canada.

With harvest on the horizon, the performance of this year’s crop will set the stage for what’s required next year. Robert Mullen, director of agronomy sales for Nutrien, joins us on this episode of Inputs: the podcast by Top Crop Manager, to discuss post harvest best practices, from soil sampling to nutrient management.

Ontario saw poor winter wheat survival in 2019, in part because of wet weather in the fall and spring. To avoid a repeat season, growers are exploring how to ensure their crop gets off to a good start. In this episode, Joanna Follings discusses some of the risks of planting early, ideal seeding rate and depth, along with some input considerations for a good winter wheat crop.

Busy harvesting and planning for next season, September is a hectic time for farmers in Western Canada. This past year proved to be a challenging one for growers in the Prairies – whether it was dealing with fluctuating weather patterns, trying to maintain soil health for next spring or keeping machinery clean and working efficiently, growers have a lot on their plate right now.

In this episode of Inputs, Carmen Prang, an agronomy extension specialist with the Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission, talks about some best practices when it comes to harvesting wheat in Western Canada, as well as some tips on how set yourself up for success next spring.

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According to surveys conducted between 2015 and 2017, 48 to 99 per cent of lentil and pea fields in Saskatchewan had moderate to severe root rot; heavily infested fields in Saskatchewan and Alberta reported complete yield losses. There are few tools to combat root rots available – long crop rotations or lowering the pathogen load in a field through control options applied to other crops in rotation are the most common ones to combat Aphanomyces euteiches and Fusarium avenaceum – two soil-borne root rots found across the Prairies – respectively.

In January, Sabine Banniza, a professor in the University of Saskatchewan's College of Agriculture and Bioresources, received funding from Saskatchewan's Agriculture Development Fund (ADF) and the Saskatchewan Pulse Growers Association for a four-year project to develop a multi-parent advanced generation intercross (MAGIC) lentil population that aims to have resistance to A. euteiches and F. avenaceum.

In this episode of Inputs, Banniza speaks with Top Crop Manager East editor Alex Barnard about the goals and intended methods of the MAGIC lentil project, lentil breeding and resistance genes in general, and the particular challenges created by A. euteiches and F. avenaceum.

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Support for this episode provided by Gowan Canada.

Keeping nitrogen where you want it is most beneficial for your crop, the environment and your wallet. Enhanced efficiency nitrogen fertilizers, or EENFs, are meant to do exactly that. But the different functions and varieties available can make it daunting to know what's the right choice.

Cheyne Ogilvie, an agrologist who recently completed her graduate studies at the University of Saskatchewan, spoke with Inputs co-host Dylan Sjølie about EENFs and her research on them. In this episode, she discusses what EENFs are and how the different varieties function, 4R nutrient management, and her graduate research on whether EENFs could reduce nitrous oxide emissions – specifically, in irrigated spring wheat in central Saskatchewan.

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• You can find Cheyne on Twitter at @cheyne_ogilvie
• Her thesis can be found here.

Support for this episode provided by Gowan Canada.

They may be hard to see, but don’t make the mistake of neglecting these tiny, green pests until it’s too late! Aphids can cause damage to several crops, particularly when high numbers descend on your field, as can lygus bugs, which can wreak havoc even in lower quantities.

In this episode of Inputs, John Gavloski, an entomologist with Manitoba Agriculture, and Rachel Evans, technical sales manager for the eastern Prairies with FMC Canada, talk about how to control aphids and lygus bugs, as well as what growers can expect this coming season.

Corn can be susceptible to several different pests throughout the growing season, and for farmers, understanding which BT traits they are using in their fields is vital for a successful control management strategy.

In this episode of Inputs, research scientist for field crop pest management at the University of Guelph’s Ridgetown campus Jocelyn Smith discusses the various pests that can impact corn growers in Ontario and Eastern Canada, as well as what farmers can do to mitigate the threat and help advance ongoing research.

Never miss an episode of Inputs by subscribing to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Support for this episode provided by FMC Canada.