A weekly report prepared by the staff of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food (OMAF) and the Ministry of Rural Affairs (MRA). If you require further information, regarding this report, call the Elora Resource Centre at 519-846-0941. Office hours: 8:30am to 5pm.
SPECIAL ON-FARM CORN TRIALS – FARM COOPERATORS WANTED!
Neil Moore, OSCIA
OSCIA, in cooperation with OMAF and the University of Guelph (Ridgetown Campus) is looking for farm cooperators across Ontario willing to plant field-scale corn comparisons of Neonicotinoid (eg. Poncho, Cruiser or Stress Shield) versus non-neonicotinoids.
A combine width treated plot with neonics and a combine width of (non-neonics) fungicide only of the same corn variety will be required. Contact your corn dealer to obtain a bag of each, one treated with a neonic product and the other bag non-treated (fungicide only).
The objectives of these plots are:
– to determine key early season pests in Ontario corn and develop risk maps; and
– to measure the economic impact of neonicotinoid seed treatments for early season pest control.
The target is to establish 100 on-farm, field scale plots across Ontario. The variety you select doesn’t matter as long as it is suited to your heat unit area and the same variety is used for both treated and non-treated.
Full details and a specific plot layout with protocols are required and this information is available at www.ontariosoilcrop.org/docs/OSCIA_Member_Study_2014-CORN_ONLY.pdf.
OSCIA is making available a Project Grant of $500 (based on the Project Grant guidelines) for each local association, which organizes a field day related to one of these plots. Jocelyn Smith at Ridgetown is the lead for this project. For further questions, contact her at jocelyn.smith@uoguelph.ca or 519-674-1500 ext. 63551. Please note: email is the best contact.
GENOMICS AND FETAL PROGRAMMING OF BEEF CATTLE
Tom Hamilton, Beef Program Lead – Production Systems, (Virtual Beef, Oct. 2013) OMAF and MRA
Beef improvement programs have traditionally focused on genetic selection using the performance records of animals and their relatives.
While this approach has been successful, the pace of genetic improvement has been relatively slow. High accuracy progeny proofs for bulls can take many years to develop, especially for traits of low heritability. Despite these drawbacks, modern genetic evaluations such as EPDs (Expected Progeny Differences) have given beef producer’s very useful tools to select breeding stock. Recent advances in genomics have accelerated selection by allowing us to identify key differences in the DNA molecules of an individual animal’s genetic material – this is the field of genomics.
So instead of just relying on the performance of animals, we can also look at the genetic blueprint on which the animal’s performance is based. For more information on genomics, visit http://bit.ly/1hc1MJT and http://bit.ly/1kBVF1U.
Another recent advance in understanding cattle genetics is the concept of fetal programming. The basic idea is that factors that impact the fetus early in its development can affect how the animal performs much later in its life. To learn about some new research trials that have identified specific fetal programming effects in beef cattle, visit http://bit.ly/1iP3gXC.
FACT SHEETS AND PUBLICATIONS
To order OMAF and MRA publications and factsheets:
– visit any OMAF and MRA Resource Centre / Northern Ontario Regional Office or Service Ontario location: http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/offices/rural_ont_ad.htm;
– visit the Service Ontario website at www.serviceontario.ca/publications or call 1-800-668-9938; or
– visit the OMAF and MRA website at: http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/products/index.html; or contact the Agricultural Information Contact Centre at 1-877-424-1300.
COMING EVENTS:
March 21 and 28 – Environmental Farm Plan Workshop, OMAF and MRA Boardroom, Elora. To register, contact Lois Sinclair at 519-955-3139.
April 4 – Grower Pesticide Course, OMAF and MRA Boardroom, Elora. To register, call the Ontario Pesticide Education Program at 1-800-652-8573 or visit www.opep.ca or email: opep@opep.ca.
