Corn has been discounted across much of Ontario because of high levels of DON. There are challenges in marketing especially high infection level corn. (John Greig photo)

How Ontario’s new DON testing cost-share program works

With vomitoxin (DON) levels so prevalent in this year’s corn crop, the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association (OSCIA) says a new DON testing cost-sharing initiative will help producers strategically market their grain. Why it matters: OSCIA says cost-sharing will help farmers know how severe their deoxynivalenol (DON) issues are, and how to market their

Chris Snip of Agris Co-operative works with farmers to check soil health and fertilizer practices of farmers near Lake Erie as part of the Great Lakes Agricultural Stewardship Initiative. (John Greig photo)

Phosphorus program aims to reduce Lake Erie nutrients

Chatham, Ont. — Henry Denotter’s farms near Kingsville, Ont. are close to the Wigle Creek, which flows into Lake Erie and takes with it any residues it pulls from nature and farmers’ fields. The Wigle Creek subwatershed, west of Leamington, has turned into ground zero in long-term research on how farmers can reduce phosphorus running


The project may look simple from above ground, but underground many sensors and scales take complex soil measures.

Soil health sensor project largest in North America

A new $2-million soil health research project aims to figure out the impact of different cropping systems on the environment. Research will also be conducted on crop productivity relating to soil health. The result should be new knowledge on productivity of traditional cropping systems versus those with cover crops. The project, at the new Soil

Speakers at the Farm, Food and Beyond press conference (r to l): Alan Kruszel, OSCIA; Dr. Gord Surgeoner, Sustainable Farm Coalition; John Maaskant, Farm and Food Care Ontario; Robert Cash, the Provision Coalition; Don McCabe, OFA; Scott Graham, Presidents’ Council; and Lorne Small, CFFO. (Ralph Pearce photo)

Pearce: Ontario’s EFP program takes next step

Next year it will have been 25 years since Ontario introduced the Environmental Farm Plan (EFP) for farms, and leading up to that anniversary, it’s worth noting more than 38,000 farm families have participated. In spite of some growing pains in the late 1990s, the EFP has grown to provide the Ontario agri-food industry with