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Corn and soybeans struggling after dry summer

Sept. 14, 2016 - At a critical stage of development this growing season, corn and soybean plants didn’t get one essential ingredient for growth – moisture.

The dry, hot summer, with drought-like conditions that persisted well into August, will reduce yields for both crops, says Henry Van Ankum, chair of the board of the Grain Farmers of Ontario.

He has a large-scale corn, soybean, and wheat farm of his own near Alma, north of Guelph.

While it is the case that certain pockets of land in the Guelph area will yield better than others, and that conditions in the fields are variable, it is safe to say that this will not be a banner year for growers, Van Ankum indicated.

“It’s really variable, depending on your soil type,” he said. “But certainly on your gravely soils around Guelph, it was definitely too dry at a critical period, when the corn was tasseling and the cob was pollinating. There won’t be a fully formed cob on some of that corn.” | READ MORE.

September 14, 2016  By GuelphToday.com


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