Corn growers concerned about nitrogen loss Tuesday, June 7, 2011 by BETTER FARMING STAFFIt has been a challenging start to the growing season but most growers across Ontario have likely finished planting corn, says the province’s corn expert.Greg Stewart, the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs corn industry lead, estimated Monday that about 85 per cent of the province’s corn crop had been planted.Farmers east of Toronto intent to get that final 30 per cent into the ground “certainly could have,” says Stewart. In areas where heavy clay soil predominates, such as in the Niagara region and Southwestern Ontario, “I’m thinking they’re still going today (Monday).”He says farmers have been calling the province’s CropLine with some concerns about corn planted mid-May or earlier that didn’t come up very well after sitting in saturated conditions.The level of the residual nitrogen supply for crops planted around May 9 is another frequent question: How much of the nitrogen applied around that date might have disappeared? Stewart says he’s not concerned about the disappearance of the nitrogen supply so much in lighter soils, ranging from loam to sand, as he is in really heavy soils that sat in saturated conditions.That’s because in Ontario, “a lot of our nitrogen gets lost from saturated conditions where it goes through denitrification and goes off as N2 gas.”To estimate the loss, he recommends taking soil nitrate samples once the field has dried out “and try to get a feel for, Are we low, medium or high in terms of the amount of nitrate that we’re seeing in the profile?”At least the sampling will “gives you some sort of a place to start,” he says. BF Soybeans are 75 per cent planted Study finds Canada's food sector 'remarkably adaptive'
Ontario crops respond to summer heat Wednesday, July 2, 2025 According to the OMAFA Field Crop News team, Ontario field crops are showing rapid development as summer-like temperatures have dominated late June early July. The warm spell has accelerated growth and helped reduce the heat unit deficit from a cool spring. Corn fields have seen a burst... Read this article online
Canada’s Place in Global Food System Resilience Wednesday, July 2, 2025 Canada’s food system is facing serious pressure due to global supply chain issues, climate change, and rising food prices. According to a KPMG report, bold and united action is needed now to make Canada’s agriculture sector more resilient and self-reliant. With the global population... Read this article online
Calf Auction Raises Funds for Youth Monday, June 30, 2025 Wyatt Westman-Frijters from Milverton won a heifer calf named Ingrid through a World Milk Day promotion by Maplevue Farms and a local Perth, Ontario radio station. Instead of keeping the calf, 22-year-old Westman-Frijters chose to give back to the community. The calf was sent to the... Read this article online
Cattle Stress Tool May Boost Fertility Friday, June 27, 2025 Kansas State University researchers have developed a cool tool that may help reduce cattle stress and improve artificial insemination (AI) results. The idea came from animal science experts Nicholas Wege Dias and Sandy Johnson, who observed that cattle accustomed to their environment... Read this article online
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