WESTERN ONTARIO: Winter wheat harvested early, decent yield despite weather

BRIGDEN — Winter wheat harvest in Western Ontario was worse than growers had hoped but likely better than they feared.

A promising fall set up high expectations said Dale Cowan, senior agronomist with Agris Co-op. Winter wheat went into the ground ahead of schedule and in good conditions.

But 2020 didn’t play ball. Hot dry weather through flowering and grain fill likely took the top-end off of yields, he said. Through a shortened, roughly three-week grain fill period, Western Ontario got plenty of 30 C+ days. “Wheat doesn’t need any days over 30 C.” The heat also sped up the harvest window, and most growers were finished in July.

Lambton County cash cropper and veal farmer Brad Langstaff was one. He wrapped up wheat harvest midway through July with yields coming in between 90 and 100 bushels/acre. “The dryness definitely took the top-end off it. If we could’ve hit a rain or two, we would’ve hit 120 bushel wheat,” he said.

Nevertheless most growers’ yields were above average and good quality, Cowan said, with virtually no disease issues. What low yields were to be found were in fields with poor rotation and drainage.

But by September producers were thinking about winter wheat again, although this time about putting it in the ground. With soybeans likely to be coming out of the ground before the end of the month, there should be a good window to plant winter wheat early, he said.