Wheat Pete's Word

Welcome to the first Wheat Pete’s Word of 2021! To kick off the year, host Peter Johnson has some key reminders (check those bins!) and answers to some of the top agronomy questions from the last growing season. He also shares about a successful “extra 15 minutes” and drops a “call your friends” challenge. Listen... Read More

As the Year of the Pandemic comes to a close, it’s time to take some time to rest, reflect, and ready ourselves for the year ahead. The holidays can be a tough time for many, and as Kara Oosterhuis wrote in a recent article here on RealAgriculture, it’s OK to not be OK. Peter “Wheat... Read More

In the pursuit of continuous learning, you’ve got to change things up every now and then. For this episode of Wheat Pete’s Word, host Peter Johnson applies that concept to weed control and fertilizer rates and placement. There’s also plenty of discussion on the tried-and-true things we know too, like the danger of apply manure... Read More

When it comes to gauging the success of management decisions, it’s important to run more than one replication in a trial — observing differences is a great way to decide on what might deserve a closer look next year. In this week’s Wheat Pete’s Word, host Peter Johnson shares some of the plot results that... Read More

In this week’s Wheat Pete’s Word, host Peter Johnson talks wheat physiology — it might be cold, but it’ll still photosynthesize — oats, changing the language around “recreational” tillage, controlled traffic, and so much more. Also, catch Pete on the most recent episode of The Agronomists, where he’s a guest alongside Jeremy Boychyn from Alberta’s... Read More

Nothing good happens after midnight, or when corn is left out in the field. Some farmers are learning that DON levels in corn can really spike if the crop has been left out to let that gibberella grow. In this week’s Wheat Pete’s Word, host Peter Johnson has that caution, plus a discussion on being... Read More

This week’s Wheat Pete’s Word features a lot of corn talk. But wait a minute Pete, isn’t your favourite crop wheat? Don’t worry, host Peter Johnson has quite a few corn questions, some chat about fall vs spring fertilizer applications, and eventually talks wheat. Have a question you’d like Johnson to address or some yield... Read More

If your wheat looks tough but the neighbour’s doesn’t, it’s time to sit down and try and figure out what impact your own management is having on your fields. That’s just one take-home message from this week’s Wheat Pete’s Word. Host Peter Johnson explains what the likely culprits are of purple, red, and yellow wheat,... Read More

Planting early isn’t just the mantra for wheat in the fall, it usually applies to corn in the spring, too. But as farmers submit data on final yields vs planting date, the full story of planting into cold or cold, wet soils is told. In this week’s Wheat Pete’s Word, host Peter Johnson shares some... Read More

Yield results are trickling in, and regional differences sure do tell the tale of spring conditions and summer rain (or lack thereof) for the 2020 growing season. In this week’s Wheat Pete’s Word, we take a look at crop yields across Ontario, but also into Quebec, and as far as the east coast. Also in... Read More

Corn in Ontario is finally drying down, just as the cold, wet, fall weather kicks into gear this week. But, hey, it’s not snow (sorry, Western Canada). In this week’s Wheat Pete’s Word, host Peter Johnson is answering plenty of your questions on soil fertility, fertilizer rates, and residue management considerations in conjunction with fertility... Read More

When the combine is running through those soybeans, how good of job is it doing at spreading the residue? Getting the wheat in right after the beans isn’t always just about timing — excellent field conditions and residue management matter too, says Peter Johnson, host of Wheat Pete’s Word. In this week’s episode, Johnson shares... Read More

Did September feel a little cool? Well, that’s because it was. Not that the month was that cold, but it was cool enough, and cool enough on consecutive days that the Ontario corn crop is taking for-ev-er to dry down. In this week’s Wheat Pete’s Word, host Peter Johnson tackles some recent questions, offers encouragement,... Read More

It might be very dry in Ontario, but that means the crop can come off quickly and we can get the 2021 wheat crop locked and loaded. In this week’s Wheat Pete’s Word, host Peter Johnson has answers to seeding pinch points on meeting soil fertility needs, a few scouting tips on new and old... Read More

The last week hasn’t been kind to the Ontario grain crop as a light frost caused heavy damage to many edible beans, some soybeans, and corn. More than that, we’re in the heart of optimal winter wheat planting timing and conditions are dry — what’s a farmer to do? To answer that question, plus so... Read More

Peter “Wheat Pete” Johnson talks a mile a minute in this one folks, buckle up! In this week’s episode of Wheat Pete’s Word, host Peter Johnson answers all the agronomy questions about wheat seeding, cover crops, and weed control, in a Farmer Rapid Fire style. We see what you did there, Johnson, trying to be... Read More

They don’t call him Wheat Pete for nothing. It’s September and that means it’s time to talk about wheat, wheat, wheat. In this week’s episode of Wheat Pete’s Word, host Peter Johnson is answering the most timely questions regarding the winter wheat crop, choosing seeding rates, the importance of seed treatments, and so much more.... Read More

In agronomy — as with most things in life — it can be important to put things into perspective and to always ask if you’re not sure of the answer. In this week’s Wheat Pete’s Word, RealAgriculture’s resident agronomist Peter Johnson gives us an overview of Ontario’s precipitation, some wheat problem solving (of course), and... Read More

In agronomy, sometimes it’s what you don’t do that adds value. At this time of year, that could mean not going in too early with a pre-harvest burn-down product, or parking the plow. In this week’s Wheat Pete’s Word, host Peter Johnson tallies up the early results on the Ontario wheat crop, why edible bean... Read More

When there’s good wheat in abundance, those loads with sub-250 falling number are going to get dinged — and so begins some of the tougher lessons of this harvest season, says Peter “Wheat Pete” Johnson. On this week’s Wheat Pete’s Word, you’ll get a harvest season update, more on the cover crop survey for Ontario,... Read More