Behind the Lines - October 2013

Monday, October 7, 2013

When publishing recent corn yield data, the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food lumps Norfolk and Haldimand together with a so-so average of 150 bushels an acre. On notoriously tough soils, what is a farmer to do?

So why is the championship of a province-wide corn-growing contest traded back and forth between farmers from those two counties?

That's because a grower in each county is innovating to get the best possible yield from the acres there. In each case, scientists are keenly interested in what makes these crops grow so well, not only from a yield point of view but also in terms of environmental concerns. As Senior Staff Editor Don Stoneman found out in his research, an agronomy professor located in the corn belt south of the border is intrigued as well.

There is a commonality between both the Haldimand and Norfolk cases. First, both growers are willing to share information that will benefit the industry as a whole. A second commonality is that both Dean Glenney in Haldimand and Randy Vanden Heede and the Judge Family Farm with which he is associated in Norfolk have experienced growing high-value crops that require hands-on management throughout the season. Corn-growing inputs are getting more expensive rather than less. Is hands-on management of corn part of the recipe for successful growing in the future? Stoneman's story starts on page 12.

While food enthusiasts, food shortages and high prices are making the food headlines these days, agriculture and environmental issues continue to simmer in the background. In this issue, we look at conservation authority efforts in Huron County to reduce soil erosion and farm runoff into smaller rivers and streams. It's an expensive process that begins with best management practices on the farms at the headwaters. Conservation authorities acknowledge that those farmers don't necessarily benefit from what they are doing. Our environmental section starts on page 28.

Also, farmers tell us our annual report on municipal sewage bypasses and spills continues to be important. Our story on recent events is on page 42. Our summary of bypasses and spills is on our website at www.betterfarming.com.  

With this issue, we would also like to welcome weather columnist Phil "the Forecaster" Chadwick. Phil has served as program manager at the Ontario Storm Prediction Centre of the Meteorological Service of Canada and as severe weather meteorologist at Environment Canada. Phil is the author of Weather of Ontario with Bill Hume and author of The Passion of Phil the Forecaster.  He currently serves as liaison meteorologist with UCAR The Comet Program, a Boulder, Colo.-based organization which provides worldwide education and training in environmental science. BF

ROBERT IRWIN & DON STONEMAN