Ontario Grain Farmer Magazine is the flagship publication of Grain Farmers of Ontario and a source of information for our province’s grain farmers.

Grain Farmers of Ontario

November 2021

In this issue:

Bringing robots to field crops

EXPLORING THE POTENTIAL

November 2021 - THE LATEST IN cutting-edge robotics is coming to a field near you — sooner than you think. A new team of in-field innovation enthusiasts have been working diligently over the past year to test, demonstrate,…
Turning ideas into action

FROM THE CEO'S DESK

November 2021 - GRAIN FARMERS OF ONTARIO is an organization that was founded to serve the collective needs of our farmer-members. Since our inception, feedback from the grassroots level has been our way of understanding what matters most…
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Cybersecurity on the farm

CONVERSATIONS WITH BUSINESS EXPERTS

November 2021 - (J.M.) WHAT IS CYBERSECURITY AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO FARM BUSINESSES? (R.D.) Cybersecurity is used to describe the protection of data, systems, devices, and networks from damage, attacks, and unauthorized access. In other words,…
Soil health

TESTING AND BUILDING PRODUCTION SYNERGIES

November 2021 - AT THIS POINT, we are all familiar with the term ‘soil health’ and its direct impact on the productivity of our crops. Soil health is a concept that was first recognized in the late 1970s…
Precision planter attachments

ACHIEVING EVEN EMERGENCE

November 2021 - EVEN EMERGENCE — THAT is the goal of precision planters, and each of the add-ons now available are making reaching this goal easier than ever. It can, however, be intimidating to start investigating which attachments…
What makes a good digital tool?

RAPID, RELIABLE, AND REPEATABLE DATA

November 2021 - THERE ARE A lot of digital farm tools on the market. Some feature visually appealing pictures, others might promise actionable insights in the field. Which one is worth investing in? Based in part on persistent…
Filling the gap

TECH START-UP ANALYSING AG DATA

November 2021 - A NEW HAMILTON-based tech start-up aims to help farmers fill the gap between collected data and performance in the field by providing solid analysis of that data. Realizing there was very little data analysis being…
GrainTALK for October 2021

AN UPDATE ON GRAIN FARMERS OF ONTARIO NEWS AND EVENTS

November 2021 - FARMER-MEMBER SURVEY Grain Farmers of Ontario is conducting a farmer-member survey. Your confidential feedback will help our planning and make our organization more responsive to your needs. All farmer-members were mailed a copy of the…
Grain monitoring in a digital world

CURRENT AND FUTURE TOOLS

November 2021 - GRAIN MONITORING CAPABILITY is keeping pace with the digital age with more in-depth sensor networks and the capacity for automation; however, that does not mean old school methods have no role. Manually inspecting grain inside…
Tar spot

AGRONOMIC INFORMATION FROM ONTARIO'S CROP SPECIALISTS

November 2021 - A NETWORK OF Ontario crop specialists and U.S. extension specialists monitored the real-time movement of tar spot in 2021. In September, the disease spread significantly east and north from the original infections confirmed in southwestern…
Seed development: corn

BREEDING NEW LINES, TESTING NEW HYBRID CROSSES

November 2021 - FARMERS KNOW WHAT is going on in their fields during the growing season, but are we all aware of what goes on prior to the seed arriving in our sheds? This article is the first…
Improving government policy

ENSURING GRAIN INDUSTRY COMPETITIVENESS

November 2021 - NEW GUIDANCE FROM the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) about innovative plant breeding may put grain farmers at a competitive disadvantage and drive innovation out of the country if it is not improved, according to…
Marketing to Mexico

A GROWING DEMAND FOR ONTARIO WHEAT

November 2021 - MEXICO HAS BEEN an important export destination for Canadian grain for many years. While the country has traditionally demanded western wheat classes exclusively, it ranked as the top export market for eastern wheat in the…
Agricultural labour issues persist

HELP IS ON THE WAY

November 2021 - LABOUR SHORTAGES CONTINUE to plague the agri-food industry, and while COVID-19 amplified their effect, organizations are battling on a number of fronts to relieve the pressure. Recent research by the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council…
Growing a network

2022 ASA CORTEVA YOUNG LEADER PROGRAM

November 2021 - FAITH AND FAMILY have shaped Kevin Vander Spek’s perspective on life and farming. “It humbles you when you grab a seed and put it in a planter and into the ground, no matter what you…