CNS Canada — Ontario wheat producers are having a great start to the season, with healthy crops doubling in acreage from last year, according to a provincial cereals specialist. “Winter wheat crop this year is looking excellent,” said Joanna Follings, who works for the Ontario ministry of agriculture in Guelph. “We have some disease pressures […] Read more
Wheat crops excel in Ontario
Pearce: Stripe rust in winter wheat is Ontario’s biggest threat
Normally, stripe rust in winter wheat isn’t a huge problem for growers in Eastern Canada, and particularly in Ontario — at least, not at this stage of the growing season — but the 2016 growing season isn’t shaping up to be “normal” either. For now, the immediate challenge before growers is to get out and […] Read more
Gay Lea buys Ontario artisanal cheesemaker
Another storied eastern Ontario artisanal cheesemaker is set to go co-op. Gay Lea Foods, billed as Ontario’s biggest and Canada’s second-biggest dairy co-operative, announced a deal Wednesday to buy Black River Cheese Co. effective June 1 for an undisclosed sum. Based in Prince Edward County at Milford, about 45 km southeast of Belleville, Black River […] Read more
Pearce: Ontario crop conditions a tale of two scenarios
When it comes to getting a handle on current crop conditions in Ontario, it really depends on who you ask. Conditions and progress in the southern portion of the province vary — some considerably — compared to those in eastern Ontario, particularly where it comes to planting corn and soybeans. If there’s one common theme […] Read more
Ontario court rejects grower appeal on neonic rules
The group representing Ontario’s corn and soybean growers, seeking a stay on the province’s new restrictions for use of neonicotinoid seed treatments, won’t get its wish from the provincial Court of Appeal. The appeal court on Wednesday dismissed a March 9 application from Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO) seeking an interpretation of the province’s new […] Read more
Court to hear growers’ appeal of Ontario neonic rules
Ontario’s soybean and corn growers have been granted an appeal hearing in their bid to delay the province’s new limits on neonicotinoid seed treatments. Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO), the body for the province’s corn, soy, wheat, barley and oat growers, said Tuesday the Ontario Court of Appeal has agreed to hear its case on March […] Read more
Late is not great when it comes to seeding wheat
Wheat growers need to get their crop in the ground as early as possible if they want to maximize yields
Reading Time: 3 minutes It’s time to start treating wheat like it’s a “real crop,” says Ontario agronomist ‘Wheat Pete’ Johnson. “Wheat is the most responsive crop to management we grow, and yet it’s the crop that we manage the least,” Peter Johnson said at the Farming Smarter conference last month. “You just put it in the ground and […] Read more
Thunder Bay ag research station gets stay
More time has been bought for a northern Ontario agricultural research station on the brink of closing to come up with a new operating plan. The Ontario government on Monday announced $350,000 in bridge funding for the not-for-profit Thunder Bay Agricultural Research Association, operator of the Thunder Bay Agricultural Research Station (TBARS), to “develop a […] Read more
Province backs new Hamilton bulk flour mill
With public funds in hand, Winnipeg agrifood firm Parrish and Heimbecker is set to build Ontario’s first new flour mill in three-quarters of a century, near the company’s grain terminal in Hamilton. The provincial government on Monday pledged a $5 million investment from the Food and Beverage Growth Fund arm of its $2.5 billion Jobs […] Read more
Pearce: Winter wheat’s challenges go beyond just the seeding
For the past five growing seasons, winter wheat has taken it on the chin in terms of its status as one of the Big Three crops in Eastern Canada. Compared to soybeans, which have seen a steady climb to the three million-acre mark in those five seasons, wheat has suffered from poor seeding conditions with […] Read more
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