Early predictions from Great Ontario Yield Tour suggest a good year

Promising potential for bean crop

The 2024 Great Ontario Yield Tour is well under way in Ontario. The tour sees Farms.com Risk Management Chief Commodity Strategist Moe Agostino and Maizex Market Development Agronomist – Western Ontario South & Eastern Ontario Henry Prinzen visiting farms across Ontario to check on potential corn and soybean yields.

In addition to Agostino and Prinzen, several scouts from the following companies are also assessing the current crops: Corteva Agriscience, Farms.com Risk Management, Greenfield Global, Hensall District Co-op, Maizex, Nutriag, Taurus Ag, and TerraNova UAV.

Agostino spoke with Prinzen in a corn field on the fourth day of the tour to get his thoughts about the potential for corn and soybean yields in Ontario for 2024. “I believe it is one of the better crops in Ontario's history,” began Agostino “Is it going to be the best?”

Prinzen responded by saying that he was not yet ready to say that it was going to be the best crop ever.

“The corn crop is pretty clean,” Prinzen continued. “There is some tar spot in areas. There is definitely more tip back this year than we have seen before, but we're also seeing really strong populations. So that's holding the yield really strong.”

Prinzen explained that Southeastern Ontario is probably showing the best yields so far. He says the Niagara region and the southwest are pretty respectable. South Central Ontario, Elgin, Middlesex, Lambton are counties which are struggling, including Northern Oxford which has seen a great deal of moisture.

Prinzen continued, “Overall, it's going to turn out to be one heck of a crop for Ontario.”

Agostino then asked Prinzen what surprised him about this year’s crop. Prinzen responded, “I would say beans are the most surprising. There's a lot of yield potential on the bean crop.”

Prinzen predicts the Ontario corn crop will likely rank in the top 5 crops for yields and beans may rank in the top 3.

Those producers who would like to learn first hand about the yields in their area and across Ontario are invited to attend the two Great Ontario Yield Tour Final events.

“These events are held to bring farmers up to speed on the tour findings and to learn more about how to better their yields by providing demos on new technology, farm management practices, and agronomy,” shares Agostino.

The first wrap up event will be held Thursday, August 22 at Derks Elevator in Chesterville. In addition to seven agronomy demonstrations the event will feature a keynote presentation by Shaun Casteel, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Agronomy, Soybean Specialist in West Lafayette, IN.

The second and final event will be held Thursday, August 29, in Woodstock, Ontario at Discovery Farm Woodstock. In addition to 7 agronomy demonstrations the event will feature a keynote presentation by Daniel Quinn, Ph.D., Assistant Professor and Extension Corn Specialist with Purdue University, Central Michigan.

There is no fee to attend either event, but producers must pre-register https://riskmanagement.farms.com/events/ontario-yield-tour-2024/tour-events/registration.