Too much rain, too little rain or will it be just right?

Great Ontario Yield Tour Experts are Pleasantly Surprised by the Corn Crop

The Great Ontario Yield Tour is in its second week of corn and soybean counting to predict 2019 yields.  There are 21 Scouting Teams assessing the health of corn and soybean crops across Ontario. The Tour began on August 12^th and will conclude on August 26^th. 

The first day of the tour started in Oxford Country. “It’s early” says Farms.com Chief Commodity Strategist Moe Agostino, “so it’s hard to assess some of the late planted corn and soybeans, but good yield potential is out there if Mother Nature will give the crops the long finish they need to reach maturity as the summer comes to a close in Ontario.” 

“Late planted beans are highly dependent on favorable August conditions to increase pod number and yield,” says Maizex Agronomy Lead Greg Stewart.  “Many parts of the province experienced rain this past weekend (August 17 & 18), which will help in increasing pod numbers at the top of the plants.” 

“Given the difficult corn planting conditions this year, plant stand and kernel count are surprisingly good,” continues Stewart.  “As expected, maturity is significantly delayed and final yields will hinge strongly on kernel weight, but I am pleasantly surprised by the potential of the corn crop!”

Up to 30% of acres in Haldimand county went unseeded because of the wet cool spring.  Port Dover Farms, owned by Farms.com, planted soybeans as late as July 2^nd. The IP soybeans that were planted have not yet seen many pods; but earlier planted crush soybeans have shown strong pods per plant. 

Agostino and Stewart’s corn and soybean yield range of estimates, based on region, will be released at the Great Ontario Yield Tour final events held on August 22^nd at Jaquemet Farms in Winchester and  August 29^th on the grounds of Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show.   Register to attend at https://riskmanagement.farms.com/events/ontario-yield-tour-2019.

Follow the tour on Twitter @Farmsmarketing, or using hashtag #ONyield19 to see all of the posts from Great Ontario Yield Tour scouts.