15 Ate Today? Thank a Farmer. Better Farming | October 2024 Growing crops can be so emotional. Mother Nature throws us curveballs all year long. The 2024 spring Season had its challenges with late planting dates and excess moisture in most locales. Here are some issues that occurred across a wide geography this spring. Planting date does not trump yield data. Even emergence, especially in corn, outweighs mudding crops in. Research data would show we can gain two to five per cent more yield with earlier planting dates. Even emergence can gain us five to nine per cent more yield. This winter, explore equipment sizing and how long it takes you to plant your crops. Upgrading the equipment fleet size or hiring a neighbour may be feasible, especially if these wet spring weather patterns continue. Winter wheat survival in 2024 was almost perfect across much of Ontario. The only time we experienced replant issues was with poor drainage areas and in fields where planting depths were too shallow. Shallow planting depths in wheat means the crown is not firmly anchored in the soil and is more exposed to frost heaving in the spring. Keep an eye on planting depth for high-yielding stands. There is nothing worse than completing planting, having the crop come through evenly, and then having Look back at spring Replanting issues happened where planting depths were too shallow. Paul Hermans photo
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