ONTARIO GRAIN FARMER AGRONOMY 12 LEAD THE WAY Increase your performance field by field with Maizex Seeds. 100% Canadian-farmer owned and focused. Contact your local Maizex representative today. FIELD by FIELD maizex.com Maizex_OGF_7.125 x 4.875 7_25.indd 1 7/17/25 12:10 PM In corn, Homick encourages growers to ensure their management of tar spot is top-notch. While it’s not generally tested for, Homick cautions that this disease can have a big impact on yield and test weight, which is caught at the elevator. Moving on to wheat, Homick’s top tip is to harvest as soon as possible. “Farmers generally want the crop to dry down to 14 per cent, and I understand the urge, but we’ve seen time and time again, the first dry down is when the yield, test weight, falling numbers are at their best,” he explains. “We’d rather see the stems and straws are a touch green; you have the grain fill at that point, and you can trust me that if you go beyond that, you lose quality. I understand there’s a reluctance to pay the drying, as there are many years it’s dry when it comes off the field and during years when it’s not, paying for drying is not a welcome thought. But at the end of the day, the cost of drying will definitely be paid for in avoiding discounts down the road. I do think many more farmers are heeding this sound advice, and for the ones who aren’t, please think about it.” • continued from page 11
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