Y-Drop system places nitrogen close to the roots of the corn crop
An Ontario crop business is the first in Canada to adopt a unique system for late-season applications of nitrogen for corn and soybeans.
By using the GreenSeeker technology and the Y-Drop system, which is attached to a high-clearance sprayer, Good Crop Services Ltd. of New Hamburg is finding a way to apply fertilizer at the right time and in the right place.
“It’s the placement of the product that makes it far superior to what’s on the market,” says company owner Don Good of the Y-Drop system.
Developed in Iowa, the Y-Drop is a tool that can place any liquid product within two or three inches of a crop row. Good adopted the Y-Drop to complement the GreenSeeker for variable rate applications.
Dan Muff, CEO of Y-Drop LLC in Iowa, says the system can fertilize any row crop at various stages of the plant’s development. In corn, it can fertilize from knee-high to tassel. For soybeans, it can be used at V2, V3 or higher, up to R2 ½.
The system originated from research in sweet corn production when Muff and other researchers were seeking ways to increase sweet corn yields and studying fertilizer placement.
“We did some fertilization along the row and from that we’ve seen the results were huge, and we spent a lot of years studying agronomy knowledge and taking this agronomic knowledge to the field,” says Muff.
“The story is fertilizing a plant in its late production stages – before it sets its fruit – has a huge benefit, and that’s how Y-Drop developed.”
For more, see the article in the October 2012 edition of Top Crop Manager.
Corn growing after being planted into 30 per cent soybean residue (Source: OMAFRA)
A shift in the landscape is occurring as farmers are increasing tillage in the wake of high commodity prices. With the view that reduced tillage practices carry a yield drag, some producers are reverting to more aggressive methods to capture as many bushels per acre as possible.
The move, which increases the risk of soil erosion, is raising concerns and renewing calls to strike a balance between finding an adequate level of tillage to benefit the crops and leaving enough residues to protect the soil.
While tillage practices aren’t extensively tracked across the province, Greg Stewart, corn specialist with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, says most people in the agriculture business would agree that there has been a significant shift to more tillage, especially when planting soybeans after corn.
“We have quite a range of tillage options,” notes Stewart. “In some areas, the mouldboard plough is back into those corn stalks in a big way and, in some cases, what used to be known as no-till, is vertical till or some other type of till.”
In addition to the shift to more tillage, instances of soil erosion, caused by rain or high winds, are becoming more noticeable, too. With dry conditions and high winds in the spring of 2012, Peter Johnson, OMAFRA cereals specialist, says wind storms were causing “brownouts” that were as dangerous as whiteouts in winter snowstorms.
“There were more stretches of highway where people nearly had to pull off the road than we’ve seen since the 1980s, and that is not a good-news scenario for agriculture,” says Johnson.
In an effort to strike the balance between the shift to increased tillage and the need for soil conservation, Stewart and his OMAFRA colleagues are recommending a compromise: Leaving a ground cover of at least 30% residue. “Whether those plants are dead or alive, you can do something significant in terms of reducing erosion potential,” says Stewart.
The full version of this story is available in the October 2012 edition of Top Crop Manager (East).
Innovative lighting helps Kingsville greenhouse produce tomatoes year-round
In an effort to keep pace with fierce competition from producers in sunnier, southern climates, an innovative greenhouse operation in Ontario has made a big move to grow tomatoes all year round.
Great Northern Hydroponics in Kingsville built a new 14-acre greenhouse that uses high density light fixtures to extend the growing season and significantly increase its production.
Completed in 2011, the greenhouse uses approximately 7,000 light fixtures equipped with high-pressure sodium light bulbs.
Guido van het Hof, president and general manager, says expanding to year-round production from the conventional timeframe of nine months was a logical next step for the company.
“If we stand still, then we move backwards,” says van het Hof, referring to the intensifying competition from greenhouse tomato producers in the southern U.S. and Mexico. “And producers there have natural advantages over us in terms of climate, lower energy dependency and high natural light concentrations, resulting in an extended growing season.”
Great Northern borrowed a page from producers in northwestern Europe who faced a similar situation ten years ago. They installed lighting technology to compete with growers in Spain, Morocco and the Canary Islands. “We took that technology and we emulated it here to our circumstances and our climate zone,” says van het Hof.
The story is in the March-April edition of Greenhouse Canada. Click here for the online version.
A little more rain in Chatham-Kent overnight (July 27) to go along with the deluge some farms have received this growing season. In a story I wrote a couple of weeks ago for the Chatham Voice, I talked to Dale Cowan and Janice LeBoeuf to get a handle on how all the rain affected some of the major crops in the area. The true extent of the damage won’t known until harvest.
The unrelenting rain in parts of Chatham-Kent have left many farmers shaking their heads in frustration and raised concerns about the quality of this year’s major crops.
In his 32 years in the farming business, Dale Cowan, the senior agronomist at Agris Co-op, has never seen such a drenching in terms of amount and intensity.
“We’re getting storms of four to five inches in an hour and a half or less,” said Cowan. “I have seen four-inch rains, but I haven’t seen three in the same week.”
Cowan said an area from north of Chatham and south of Wallaceburg to Tupperville appears to be the hardest hit.
“If you look at the last 15 days, on average, you had an inch of rain a day. So we’re just not drying out. It’s really starting to play havoc on the crops,” he said.
The problems include sugar beet fields that have been washed out, farmers not being able to get into the tomato fields to apply crop protection products and conditions that are ripe for a devastating disease in the wheat crop.
Here’s how Cowan said the heavy rainfall affects the major field crops:
Corn
In saturated soils, the roots are suffocating and growth is starting to be limited as the crop moves into the critical stage of tassel emergence.
“We don’t want a whole lot of stress at that point; it’s going to start impacting on yield.
With saturated soils, there is also the risk of losing the nitrogen that was previously applied. The nitrogen is needed to help feed the crop before harvest. “We’re going to see some yield impacts from the excessive water, limiting nutrient uptake and growth and just putting general stress on the plant at a critical time.”
Soybeans
The water-logged fields are causing root rot in the plants. Also, the nodules that normally fix nitrogen are dying off because there isn’t air in the soil from which to draw the nitrogen. The result is the affected soybeans are turning yellow. “That is just going to start impacting on yield heading into the reproductive phase of flowering.”
Cowan said the plants are struggling from receiving too much rain and can’t resume growth. Another problem is that the root rot can cause fields to lose several soybean plants, which will ultimately impact on the final yield.
Wheat
Disease is the main concern, particularly fusarium head blight. It thrives in warm, moist, humid weather. Crops with certain levels are downgraded by the buyers. The disease can also produce a toxin (vomitoxin) that renders the crop unfit for animal and human consumption.
The wet fields are also a concern for harvesting the crop.
“We’re waiting for ground conditions to improve so we can get equipment in there and harvest. But basically, (the problem) is an impact on the crop with fusarium head blight…yield and quality are going to suffer.”
Sugar beets and tomatoes
Janice LeBoeuf, vegetable crop specialist with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food in Ridgetown, explains the impact on sugar beets and processing tomatoes.
Some of the sugar beets have been flooded, killing the crop in the field. The surviving crop will be at risk for diseases that affect the roots.
Tomatoes are also at risk for root diseases in some fields but conditions are also ideal for the development of bacterial diseases on the foliage and fruit.
“I anticipate that we are going to see some yield reductions due to disease, even beyond what we have seen in flooded-out sections,” said LeBoeuf.
Crop management options for diseases and weeds have also been limited because wet fields are making it a challenge to apply crop protection products.
Morris Sagriff
When to start the planter, how to operate it properly, and corn stalk rot top the list of concerns for DuPont Pioneer senior agronomist Morris Sagriff as harvest approaches.
At the company’s agronomy information day on Aug. 27 in Chatham, Sagriff shared what he thinks are the most relevant issues that have caused growers to lose a significant amount of corn and soybean yield this year.
1. Soil fitness
Referring to it as the “art of farming,” Sagriff says deciding when to start planting is one of the most critical decisions farmers will make every year.
“I’ll tell you the earliest planted fields aren’t always the highest yielding fields,” notes Sagriff. “It gets down to you knowing the fitness of your land.”
Calling soil compaction the number one enemy to agriculture, he says the soils need to be suitably fit to ensure productive crops.
Before planting, he recommends that farmers dig two-to-four inches deep to check if the soil has a crumbly texture. If it’s too tacky or pasty, then it’s not ready.
See the full story in the September issue of Farmers Forum, western edition.
Story first published in November 2013 edition of Ontario Grain Farmer
By Blair Andrews
Thompsons is taking precision agriculture to new heights with an aerial scouting drone that was launched this year. E.A.R.L. – an acronym for Enhanced Aerial Reconnaissance Land-surveyor – is an unmanned aircraft that the company can use to fly over a farmer’s field.
Mike Wilson of Thompsons says the areas affected from the early water damage and the sand hills affected from the dry weather later in the season show up in red areas, and the higher growth or good areas are darkest green.
“It’s got a camera mounted on the bottom of it and we can fly it over the field to take some pictures to see the severity of damage, the growth of the crop or whatever the customer is asking us to take a look at,” says Mike Wilson, Assistant Manager of the Kent Bridge branch of Thompsons.
Aerial imagery has several practical uses such as scouting areas that have been stressed from weeds, insects, disease or nutrient deficiency. It can also help identify areas that need drainage improvement, monitor the performance of fungicide or fertilizer applications, and create zones for soil testing.
“Precision farming is all about data collection and the more layers you can get to answer specific problems, the clearer it becomes,” says Wilson of the aerial imagery. “So this tool fits in perfectly with the goals of our customers and where we want to take our production levels. It gives them the data they need on the crops that don’t have yield potential.”
By combining a normal picture with an infrared image, the software creates an NDVI – Normalized Difference Vegetation Index – to measure the greenness of the plants, indicating the condition of the crops. Dark green images represent good crop health, whereas red images show problem areas.
Wilson says Thompsons chose the compact Aeryon Scout Micro-UAV(unmanned aerial vehicle) for its rugged four-rotor design. “This one has four helicopter blades and we can fly it in stronger winds,” he notes. “The camera is on a gyroscope and compensates for some shifts.”
Equipped with GPS navigation, the UAV is controlled by a touch-screen tablet after a flight plan has been set. Thompsons charges a fee of about $5.00 an acre per flight.
Wilson says the opportunity to see a field from above at 1,000 feet offers a different perspective. It can show patterns and issues that people may not realize are in the field. In addition, he says it adds an important piece of information.
“With all the new technology that comes with the new monitors and data collection, whether it’s in a planter, combine or the fertilizer truck that’s coming to spread your variable rate fertilizer, it can only do as good a job as the information you put into it,” advises Wilson. “If you don’t have the right data layer for the truck to read that matches the customer’s goals, then it’s not going to do the job he’s looking for.”
Frank Furlan, who farms in the Kent Bridge area, uses the aerial imagery to enhance the soil sampling of his fields and fine-tune his variable-rate program for applying phosphorous, potash and micro-nutrients.
Furlan says the images make it easier for people taking soil samples to find the problem spots in the field and get more accurate readings. “Compared to when we used to simply just grid-sample, I think this technology is one leg up from that,” notes Furlan. “This is a little more accurate for variable-rate fertilization. I’m trying to get each acre to be more efficient; that’s what the goal is.”
With images of the field taken in late July or early August, Furlan uses the photos to locate the weaker spots and investigate them for potential problems for the next crop. “Let’s see why and take samples from that and see if it’s missing anything,” says Furlan. “Then those areas are picked up with the variable-rate truck and spread according to soil samples. I want to know what’s out there and ahead of me, especially on variable-type soils.”
While Furlan says it is too early to judge the payback on aerial imagery, he adds that it has been a welcome addition to his precision ag system. “I just assume it has to work. It is definitely applying the fertilizer where it needs it the most,” says Furlan.
Story published in November, 2013 Top Crop Manager East
By Blair Andrews
The growth of precision agriculture with its array of new electronic devices has given farmers some powerful tools to get more out of every acre on their farm.
With big investments required, questions are being raised over how quickly these electronic guidance devices for gathering data and controlling equipment will pay off.
For Tim Norris, a 17-year veteran of precision agriculture from Ohio, crop sensors for variable rate nitrogen and individual row clutches for seeding top his list of technologies with the best payback for corn growers.
The CEO of Ag Info Tech LLC., recently shared his experiences with a Canadian audience at a precision cropping workshop near Hamilton that was organized by the Innovative Farmers Association of Ontario.
He highlighted how a $US21,500-system that uses infrared crop sensors for variable rate nitrogen applications can have a payback in one to 2.5 years.
The sensors send infrared light down to the crop in real time. The healthy plants will absorb more of the light. The sensors measure the amount of light that is reflected back and assign a number.
The sensors also send out a different form of infrared light that measures the bio-mass of the plant. The combination of the numbers produces an NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index ) reading. The system then compares this reading to an NDVI reading of corn in an N-rich strip.
Using algorithms from land grant universities and guidelines set up by the operator, a nitrogen recommendation is made.
“We’re assuming that the best corn is equal to the corn in the N-rich strip and does not need any additional N, so we’re not putting it on there,” says Norris.
In on-farm tests that compared a side-dressing strategy using crop sensors with straight rate applications, the average return showed the system with the sensors had an average advantage of $49.62 per acre in 2010 and 2011.
Norris is quick to point out that these were wet springs and denitrification was present. In 2012, it was so dry that some crops did not receive rain after the nitrogen was applied for the N-rich strip. As a result, the N rich strip appeared similar to the non-rich strip.
“We had to lie to the sensors to get them to work,” says Norris.
Although they used more N than applying a straight rate, the average payback was $28.19. With 500 acres of corn (@$6.00/bu) and an advantage of $49.62, the $24,810 total more than pays for the $21,500 system in one year.
With a $20 advantage, or $10,000, the payback is 2.5 years. It should be noted that a high clearance sprayer was used for the side-dressing applications because Norris found the sensors work better after the V7 stage of corn. It also gives a farmer a wider window to apply the N.
As a result, costs for using a high clearance sprayer, if a farmer doesn’t have one, should be deducted from Norris’ numbers.
Row clutches
Individual row clutches give farmers the ability to shut off individual rows on the planter. The display will shut off the appropriate rows when the planter is in an area that has already been planted or is in a “no-apply zone” such as a waterway.
According to Norris, individual row clutches offer several benefits including seed savings, a yield increase in corn from not double planting, and saving time by efficiently moving through the headlands.
“It speeds up the planter operation by being able to plant the headland at pretty much the normal speed,” says Norris.
He developed a payback calculator using data from growers to demonstrate the savings of a high-end precision ag system for planting alone.
For example, on a 500-acre farm of corn, the system saved $25.33 per acre, with the biggest saving of $17.85 an acre coming from the yield increase from not double planting.
Norris was figuring a 20% yield reduction in areas that would have been double planted. The resulting savings, based on $5.00/bu corn, was $12,665.
With that figure, the return on investment for a $31,400 system that includes display, auto steer, auto swath, a GPS accuracy upgrade, clutch control and row clutches for the planter would be 2.48 years.
Variable rate potash
When looking at precision cropping for corn, Greg Stewart, corn specialist for the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food, says input controls for varying the rates of potash, nitrogen and seeds are drawing the most interest.
While farmers have adopted the idea of using yield mapping and doing soil sampling to identify areas of variability in their fields, there is some hesitation to take the data to the next level.
“Instead of applying a targeted rate of potash for every field or for every spot in a field, many producers are still broadcasting an average rate of K across much of their operation,” says Stewart. “In some ways, we need to have the needle move first towards fields being tested and treated individually based on soil K test levels and then move to precision ag approaches for site-specific applications within management zones.”
Stewart says research in Ontario suggests that variable rate potash has a much higher chance of being successful than variable rate phosphorous. “Our variable rate P data would say the odds of making variable rate P do much for you are pretty slim because we can’t get broadcast P to do much for us,” notes Stewart. “So variable rate K is still something we’re chasing.”
Variable rate seeding
Jason Van Maanen, an agronomy specialist with Veritas Farm Management in Chatham, has been crunching numbers to demonstrate the payback of variable rate seeding for corn. The concept is to push the populations higher in the high yielding areas and back off in lower areas such as sandy knolls.
Van Maanen’s work involves comparing a variable rate strip to high, medium and low populations.
“Any one of those can do well, but the variable rate strip tends to either be the most profitable or a close second,” says Van Maanen of his field trials.
While it is not always the winner, the variable rate seeding comes out on top when averaging the fields.
In the average of three fields, the variable rate seeding produced a net revenue that was $72 per acre more than the low population (32,000); $18 more than the medium (34,000); and $61.46 than the high (36,000).
Van Maanen’s advice to growers is to try variable seeding in their own situations to see if it works, especially if they already have the equipment. Some have hesitated because they’re worried it won’t work or it will slow them down.
“If you set it up right, it won’t take any more time than what you’re already doing,” he says.
As precision ag continues to grow, people are already investing in the equipment as the new machinery is equipped with monitors and the technology to perform variable rate applications.
Van Maanen says it’s not matter of getting one item to pay, but using several precision ag tools together to see the return. He cited crop imagery, yield maps, variable rate nutrients and variable rate seeding as examples.
“What variable rate technology allows you to do is to understand variability, point-by-point in a field, and then manage each of those areas specific to their properties,” he says. “To really max out your return on your precision ag investment – the equipment and technology are there – you just need to utilize it.”
First published in The Chatham Voice, December 2013
By Blair Andrews
Bill and Earl Elgie have teamed up to earn the Outstanding Farmer of the Year Award from the Kent Soil and Crop Improvement Association. The honour was presented during the association’s annual meeting at the Links of Kent (Dec.4,2013).
The Elgies, who farm near Dresden, were recognized for their lifelong commitment to conserving soil and improving the environment around their farm.
“They’re great recipients,” said association president Jeremy Segeren. “They have been (association) past-presidents and national champions of soil awards. They have been followed over the years as cover crop specialists, and people to go to for local expertise.”
The Elgies have a diversified farm business that includes field crops, processing vegetable crops, some tobacco, pigs, beef cattle and 50 woodlot acres, which they maintain for firewood and maple syrup.
In recent years, cover crops, such as red clover, have been attracting more interest because of their benefits. These include reducing soil erosion, improving the soil quality and providing important nutrients for the next crop.
“It builds soil organic matter so it holds more moisture, holds more nutrients, holds more air, everything,” said Bill Elgie.
“Any of our farms that border a municipal ditch or stream have grass buffer strips,” said Earl Elgie, of the many environmental improvements they have made over the years, which also include minimal tillage of the fields and planting windbreaks.
This was the first year the association presented an award for “Outstanding Farmer of the Year.”
Previously, the honour was presented for the local Conservation Farm of the Year award.
“What we we’re running into was everybody in the farming industry was doing a good job, so we changed it,” said Segeren, adding the new award broadens the criteria.
The local association nominated the Elgies for a regional lifetime achievement award as part of the celebrations to mark the 75th anniversary of the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association.
“Unfortunately they didn’t win for the region, but we wanted to give them the recognition, and it’s just fitting,” said Segeren of the choice to have the Elgies receive the first Outstanding Farmer of the Year award.
Soybeans are planted into wheat stubble immediately after harvest.
Photo submitted by Horst Bohner, OMAF
Story published in December 2013 Top Crop Manager East
By Blair Andrews
An empty field after the winter cereal harvest can be a terrible thing to waste. With earlier harvests taking place in Ontario in recent years, some farmers have been putting those fields to good use by planting a “double crop” of soybeans in early July.
“Our growers are always looking at ways that they can generate extra revenue,” says Eric Richter, Syngenta agronomic sales, and a long-time proponent of double crop soybeans.
“To see a field harvested in early July and lay idle for the rest of the season just baffles me. There is an opportunity to plant a crop and generate some additional income.”
Given that planting in July is a risky proposition, research into management practices for double cropping soybeans has been limited.
That scenario is starting to change as Richter and the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food, as well as the University of Guelph, are doing separate projects.
While it is still early, particularly for the OMAF and Guelph trials that started in 2012, the research suggests that higher seed populations and using short-season varieties are key factors for helping the late-planted beans reach maturity.
However, much still depends on the time of planting and the weather conditions
. “When you’re seeding, it is often quite dry so establishment is the first problem,” says Horst Bohner, OMAF soybean specialist.
“The second problem is fall frost. Can you get them finished before it freezes? It’s a high-risk scenario and that’s why you can’t get crop insurance for it. It’s also why we don’t, as a general recommendation, just say, ‘go out and do it.’”
With the ability to plant in a more timely fashion in recent years, growers of double-crop soybeans have been tweaking their management practices.
OMAF tested these ideas in its research to determine optimum seeding rates (100,000, 200,000 and 300,000 seeds per acre) and to test the appropriate maturity (variety) to seed. In 2012, trials were planted at three locations: two in PerthCounty near Mitchell, and one in MiddlesexCounty, near Lucan.
One site in Perth, near Bornholm, was planted after winter barley on July 11. The other two sites were planted on July 23 and 24 after winter wheat.
There was a slight delay at the two later planted sites because of the need to remove straw.
As a result, only the early-planted Bornholm site made it to yield and was harvested November 23. The other two sites did not yield enough to warrant combining due to an early October frost.
The U of Guelph also established one trial at the Ridgetown Research Station which yielded about 35 bu/ac.
A yield increase of 2.6 bushels per acre was realized when the seeding rate was increased to 200,000 seeds per acre from 100,000 (20.6 bu/ac vs. 18 bu/ac).
At 300,000 seeds per acre, the yield was 23.4 bu/ac, a 5.4-bu/ac increase over the rate of 100,000 seeds per acre.
At the Perth site that was harvested, two varieties were planted. One had a CHU rating of 2,650, which was about 100 CHU shorter than an adapted variety for the planting area.
There was little yield difference between the two varieties. “What we’re seeing so far from our research is that increasing the seeding rate helps a number of things including the most important, which is yield,” says Bohner.
He suggests seeding 250,000 in narrow rows but he cautions that it could get costly given a mediocre chance at success.
“Location is another key factor in trying to make it work,” adds Bohner.
Richter says the 250,000 to 300,000 seeding rate is important for getting as much canopy closure as quickly as possible.
“That canopy closure is very critical because we really only have 90 days to a maximum 100-day growing season in Ontario,” says Richter, noting that 50% of the heat units and 45% of the sunlight, on average, are available between July 15 and the first “true” killing frost.
Creating competition is another key factor of increasing the seeding rates. It’s one of the reasons why Ian Matheson, who farms near Woodstock, Ont., plants 300,000 seeds per acre.
Matheson is one of several growers who have worked with Richter on his project.
“From what we have learned, that is definitely necessary to get the height and get the competition in there to make those beans elongate up,” says Matheson, who plants soybeans after winter barley.
As for finding the appropriate maturity for double crop beans, it was thought that full-season varieties were required to provide the additional height at harvest.
Brent Pilkington, who plants double crop soybeans after the pea harvest on his farm near MountBrydges, says the longer-season theory seemed to have merit.
“The longer-season will get more growth on them but you usually end up with junk beans if they don’t make the frost date,” says Pilkington. “With the earlier ones, if you bump up the population, you still get some height and the plant just physically matures.”
While cautioning that he only has one year of data, Richter says “downshifting” maturity is critical to improving the overall double-crop soybean system.
He suggests moving down by about 200-300 heat units from what would be considered a full season bean.
“The double crop system really only works in the areas that have about 2,900 to 3,000-heat unit seasonal rating and more,” says Richter.
“The longer season variety is not actually helping the growers who are doing double crop; it puts them at higher risk of the system not working.”
Richter adds that even with abundant heat in 2012, the longer-season varieties did not yield any higher than the shorter-season varieties.
Matheson, who opts for a more conservative approach of dialing back by 50 to 100 units, agrees that last year was tough on the longer-season varieties.
“On some of the longest day beans, it was an ugly sample of beans; a lot of black beans and rotten beans because they got frosted and they were no where near ripe,” recalls Matheson.
While determining the best seeding rates and varieties is helping to improve the double-crop system, the most critical factor continues to be timing. It’s imperative to plant the crop as quickly as possible after the cereal harvest.
“Literally the minute that the combine is through, and if you’re baling straw, get it baled and plant the beans or chop the straw, spread it wide and get the beans planted right away,” says Richter.
He has always believed that double-cropping is a real “crap shoot” after July 15, noting the odds against it working increase significantly each day after that date. By the 20th, Richter says it likely won’t work.
“We run out of physical days, heat units and sunshine. But between July 1 and 15 in most years in those 3,000-heat unit areas, we have half a season left and there is an opportunity for double crops to work really well,” he adds.
Whereas Bohner remains cautious over the high risk prospect of double-crop soybeans, he says it can be worth a try in the right year.
“There have been guys who have yielded over 40 bushels and it’s hard to argue with that,” says Bohner. “Plant as early as you can and choose the best variety possible that’s shorter than your adapted variety, and keep your fingers crossed.”
In Ian Matheson’s case, his advice for those considering the idea is to keep the expectations low.
“Don’t count on harvesting them; hope to harvest them,” notes Matheson.
“Look at the money people are spending on cover crops. Beans are a little bit more expensive to plant but you have a chance to harvest a fairly valuable crop.”
With the weather (finally) warming up, the Ottawa Citizen has published a timely story on the Crop Heat Unit system that was developed in Ontario 50 years ago by Dr.Murray Brown. It’s good to see the anniversary was picked up by a general news publication.
It was great to talk to Dr. Brown for the story I wrote for the February issue of the Ontario Grain Farmer:
THE MAN WHO came up with Ontario’s renowned Crop Heat Unit (CHU) system admits a little luck along with ten years of research led to its development. Considered the gold standard for helping farmers choose corn hybrids that are most suited for their area, the CHU system developed by Dr. Murray Brown was first adopted 50 years ago in 1964.
“At that time, corn hybrids were expanding in numbers that you wouldn’t believe but there were very few hybrids on the recommended list in 1963,” recalls Brown, a retired Professor from the University of Guelph’s School of Environmental Sciences.
Prior to the CHU system, a map with five zones was used for corn recommendations. Long-season varieties were recommended for Zone 1 in the southwest with shortest-season hybrids suggested in Zone 5.
“It was general, and farmers had to kind of guess what hybrids should go into each of the zones,” says Brown, who was a Research Fellow at the Ontario Research Foundation in Toronto at the time he recommended the CHU system to the Ontario Corn Committee.
The rest of the story is posted on the Ontario Grain Farmer website.
