Ontario 2012 Soybean Crop Facing Disease Battle

Aug 07, 2012

Diseases Thriving in Ontario Soybean Crop Due to Drought Conditions

The 2012 Ontario soybean crop is being plagued with a variety of diseases due to the combination of hot and dry weather conditions. According to Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Pathologist Albert Tenuta, the diseases that are most prevalent in this year’s crop are stem canker fusarium wilt and charcoal rot.

These diseases should be a cause for concern as they put a significant amount of stress on soybeans, allowing the crop to be more susceptible to other soil based pathogens. The ministry is encouraging farmers to scout their fields on a regular basis to catch diseases at their early stages and re-examine best management practices to mitigate the damage. Sometimes the damages are irreversible and all farmers can do is start planning for next year, selecting resistant varieties for the following planting year.

The ministry also reminds growers that regular crop rotation will be vital in order to help combat soybean infested residue from remaining in the soils surface. Utilizing a combination of good management practices including crop rotation and spraying fungicide are important tools that should be utilized.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.