Ontario Agriculture

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Paul Smith's Blog (16)

Learn From The Cash Crop Farmers – Yield Monitors are a High Return on Investment for Veggies

Carrot/Onion/Potato and Sugar Beet growers can learn from their cash crop growing neighbours and gain the knowledge they have been seeing for years.

Yield monitors have long been only available for conventional cash crop growers, until now.  Innovative technology from Northern Equipment Solutions supplier Greentronics, now allows veggie growers to monitor/map and obtain vital yield data.

Growers can now visualize and gain the knowledge about problem areas, and about high…

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Added by Paul Smith on July 2, 2013 at 4:11pm — No Comments

Weed Control Solutions Explained - Advantages & Dis-Advantages

The recent trend toward restricting herbicide use has produced interest in alternative and integrated weed control strategies that include cultivation. As a result, newly developed implements are now available to vegetable growers from Northern Equipment Solutions, but the potential uses of these tools for numerous vegetable crops can be confusing. This describes some of these tools and their advantages and disadvantages.

 

Flex-tine harrows

Flex-tine harrows are…

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Added by Paul Smith on April 3, 2013 at 2:30pm — No Comments

Leading Technology Will Increase Your Yield and Decrease Your Labor Costs

Transplanting has long been re­served for leafy crops, tomatoes, and bare root onions. Automated planting technology now provides a cost ef­fective way to transplant produce from plugs grown in greenhouses for up to 30 percent increased yields and up to 50 percent lower labor costs.

 

Benefits of automated…

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Added by Paul Smith on April 3, 2013 at 7:31am — No Comments

What are the benefits of a automatic sprayer boom height control system

With 4 major manufacturers the automatic sprayer boom height control system, can provide you with a more uniform/effective application of your inputs, increase your productivity and remove the stresses of spraying.  High quality systems are available from Greentronics, Norac, Trimble and Raven.  Information is available at www.northernequipment.ca regarding Greentronics Riteheight, Norac and Trimble boom height…

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Added by Paul Smith on February 6, 2013 at 1:48pm — 1 Comment

Benefits of Tile Drainage

With an accurately designed and installed tile drainage system, you can bring your crop management to a whole new level. Improve yields, improve your soil, and improve the environment around you. It's a good deal for everyone.  You can hire in a professional, or you can do it yourself with great benefits.

Benefits of Tile Drainage

Installing tile drains on your farm will bring you numerous benefits.

Better Yields.

Tile drainage has been proven over…

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Added by Paul Smith on January 9, 2013 at 2:30am — No Comments

Implement steering keeps pulled implements on the right track

                       

It's all very well setting up virtual guidelines for a tractor's visual guidance or automatic steering system to follow, but what if the implement being used doesn't run true?

After all, a large part of the justification for GPS autosteer is its ability to maximise implement output by minimising overlaps and allowing…

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Added by Paul Smith on January 4, 2013 at 6:46pm — No Comments

How to Maximize Potato Planting Stands and Yields

Numerous studies have shown that an average potato field, contains 7% missing or misplaced seed placement causing a total loose of production.  These errors are more commonly referred to as misses and doubles.  This is just the in-row misplacements of skips and doubles, not the row to row errors that are present within the fields from guess row areas.  Guess rows can be corrected easily with the addition of assisted GPS steering systems.

What does this mean to you, would you be…

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Added by Paul Smith on January 3, 2013 at 5:24pm — No Comments

Camera’s and their uses around the farm

With the ever rising costs of equipment, inputs and pretty much everything on the farm, protecting your investment is becoming very critical.  Stolen tractors, implements, tools and anything else a thief can sell quickly, or overseas, is becoming common place in our rural communities.  Cameras are an excellent deterrent to stop would be thieves from violating your business and life.  With many farmers living at their place of business, thefts can feel violating to your entire…

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Added by Paul Smith on December 28, 2012 at 3:30am — No Comments

Forgotten Points Of Vegetable Harvest Efficiency

With harvest finally over for most producers throughout Ontario, many farmers will reflect on how to improve on the results of last year.  These points are often over looked ways to improve harvest efficiency.  I have listed what my experience shows as the most overlooked, but still very important.

  • Pre-Season Inspections- Ensure your equipment uptime is maximized, downtime is very costly during the short harvest season.
  • Evenflows ensure a constant flow of product for…
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Added by Paul Smith on December 21, 2012 at 1:30am — No Comments

GPS Corrections and Their General Uses

After many years of precision agricultural use, many questions still exist of what is the correct correction for each operation.  I have listed the corrections available and a brief description of their uses.

Wide Area Augmentation Signal (WAAS) –

Accuracy: < 6-8”

Initialization/Convergence: Standard*

This free service provides performance suitable for agriculture applications in which accuracy and repeatability are not of the highest…

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Added by Paul Smith on December 19, 2012 at 5:30am — 3 Comments

Camera’s and their uses around the farm

With the ever rising costs of equipment, inputs and pretty much everything on the farm, protecting your investment is becoming very critical.  Stolen tractors, implements, tools and anything else a thief can sell quickly, or overseas, is becoming common place in our rural communities.  Cameras are an excellent deterrent to stop would be thieves from violating your business and life.  With many farmers living at their place of business, thefts can feel violating to your entire…

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Added by Paul Smith on December 19, 2012 at 2:30am — 4 Comments

High Quality Soil Is The Beginning To High Quality Crops

Imagine harvesting a bumper crop, in perfect loose soil with no trash, clods or rocks.  Many would say that this will never be possible here in North America.  Northern Equipment Solutions is now offering the equipment and knowledge needed to take advantage of this tried and proven technology from Europe.  Improved shape, quality, size uniformity and yield are all now possible.

Many Farms within Europe have seen the benefits of soil conditioning and quad planting, with its…

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Added by Paul Smith on December 17, 2012 at 2:46pm — No Comments

Tips To Lowering Bruise Rates – It’s A Full Season Process

Before Planting

• Select fields that are best suited for growing potatoes and are free from excessive rocks.  Investigate the soil conditioning technics presently adopted throughout Europe, if unavoidable.

• Avoid tillage practices that create clods that will not break down during the growing season.  Rotary tillage methods prevent clods in clod prone soils.

 

During the Growing Season

• Use a balanced fertility program to keep vines green…

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Added by Paul Smith on December 17, 2012 at 3:00am — 15 Comments

Variable Rate Technology – What Is It, Can I Do It?

Inputs prices are high and so are crop prices. Managing costs and yields is critical to success on your farm. With commodity prices high you cannot settle for average yields. The use of variable rate precision ag products and services helps farmers to do just that. Placing the inputs in the intended prescribed areas has become very popular and makes a tremendous amount of sense for many producers. With the use of satellite imagery, plant health data, soil testing and harvest data, some very…

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Added by Paul Smith on December 14, 2012 at 2:00am — No Comments

The Future of Agricultural Technology, Today

Veris Technologies has become a name known as the go to tool for advanced soil information.  Offering 3 different sensing systems Veris Technologies can provide information on Soil Type, Organic Matter and PH levels individually or in any combination of the 3.  Here is the 3 types of soil sampling systems available and how you can benefit from knowedge gained.

Soil EC Sensing- Is soil electrical conductivity, a measurement of how much current your soil…

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Added by Paul Smith on December 12, 2012 at 3:00am — No Comments

How To Choose A Precision Ag Dealer or Brand- And The Misconceptions Involved in Your Purchasing Decision

As a precision GPS specialist, I am amazed when my initial conversation with a new customer starts with a few common comments about precision GPS systems and the brands that represent them. My return to all of these comments is the exact same statement, but I have decided to list what someone with years of precision knowledge has to say about these mis-conceptions and not the canned my product is better that many…

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Added by Paul Smith on December 7, 2012 at 9:15pm — No Comments

Agriculture Headlines from Farms.com Canada East News - click on title for full story

SS400+ Road Show Update – Strong Momentum After Week Four

First few weeks into the SS400+ road show, interest keeps rising across every stop. Dealers and growers in Ontario, Michigan, and Indiana shared strong feedback. More regions now request field demos ahead of the tour schedule. Momentum keeps building as more people hear about the performance of the SS400+ Chassis Mounted Spinner Spreader. Numbers from the first three weeks show strong output. ·         Acres covered reached 3867.6 ·         Average rate reached 177.8 lb per acre ·         Total product applied reached 606,763 lb ·         Field time reached 16 hours 44 minutes ·         Ground speed held near 17 miles per hour ·         Hourly productivity reached 231.6 acres Michigan runs reached ranges between 183 and 300 acres per hour. Indiana stops reached steady output between 250 and 275 acres per hour. Every region reported consistent pattern quality, strong control across wide swaths, and smooth operation at higher speeds. Key SS400+ features drive this level of perfo

Market Trends Report – November & December 2025

US and the World It is that time of year when farmers reach the proverbial finish line, of getting that crop in the bin. The harvest of 2025 has been abundant, and it is also taking place in a very timely fashion with very good weather across the North American corn belt. At the same time there’s been a bit of a dearth of market information as the US government shutdown has meant very little in terms of information coming out from USDA. However, this all changed on November the 14th when despite the continuing governing shutdown, the USDA released their latest WASDE report. For market watchers it was a long two months without USDA numbers. Many were expecting much lower numbers in this November report. However, it seems like big supply is still winning. The USDA actually lowered corn yield .7 bushels per acre to 186 bushels per acre. This was much lower than pre report expectations. This put US domestic production at 16.752 billion bushels above the previous record of 15.34 billion b

Grain Farmers of Ontario 2025 Legacy Scholarship Recipients Awarded

Grain Farmers of Ontario, the province’s largest commodity organization, representing Ontario’s 28,000 barley, corn, oat, soybean, and wheat farmers, is pleased to announce the nine recipients of the 2025 Grain Farmers of Ontario Legacy Scholarship. Each student will receive $5,000 to support their studies at accredited post-secondary institutions. Now in its fourth year, the Legacy Scholarship encourages the pursuit of higher education, supporting students in areas of study that will benefit the Ontario grain sector or agri-food industry. Past recipients have studied in a variety of programs across the country, including Communications, Engineering, Sciences, Equipment Repair, Economics, and Agriculture. “Grain Farmers of Ontario is dedicated to championing the success of our agricultural community members, extending our support to students looking to make a difference in Ontario’s agriculture and agri-food industries,” says Jeff Harrison, chair, Grain Farmers of Ontario. “We were a

A New Window into Canada’s Pulse Quality

We've recently launched the Pulse Quality Dashboard — a new resource that makes Canada’s investment in pulse quality research accessible and interactive. The dashboard brings together years of data showing how genetics and environment influence the quality and nutritional attributes of Canadian peas, lentils, and faba beans. Designed for food industry professionals, researchers, and stakeholders across the value chain, this tool provides a clear view into what makes Canadian pulses a leader in global markets. With the Pulse Quality Dashboard, you can: Explore detailed datasets from 2019–2023 across peas, lentils, and faba beans Understand typical ranges for key compositional and functional attributes Track variety acreage over time, nationally and by province Canada’s continued investment in pulse research keeps our industry at the forefront of quality, innovation, and transparency. The Pulse Quality Dashboard represents another step forward in making Canada’s pulse quality data op

Statement On The Launch Of The Canada – India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement

Today, Pulse Canada issued the following statement on behalf of President Greg Cherewyk regarding the launch of negotiations toward a Canada–India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA): “Pulse Canada welcomes the launch of negotiations toward an ambitious Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between Canada and India. In 2024, pulses were Canada’s largest export to India. Canadian growers and exporters have built decades-long relationships across India, and renewed engagement is an important step toward greater market stability, lower barriers, and new opportunities for both countries. “A strong and predictable trading relationship is essential to achieving our shared vision of nutritional security. Pulses contribute to food security as an affordable, reliable staple, and to nutrition security by providing high-quality plant-based protein, fibre, and essential nutrients. “Pulse Canada supports a CEPA focused on tariff reduction, clear import policies, and a fram

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