As wheat harvest gears up in the province a veteran agronomist says farmers should treat it as seriously as they do corn or soybeans.
Peter Johnson says farmers work hard to get corn and soybeans planted at just the right time, but tend to be less concerned about planting dates in September when it is time to plant wheat.
He says part of that may be because wheat isn't as profitable as other crops, but it is important for soil health and should be taken seriously.
But he says the crop is variable in yield because it often isn't planted early enough.
He says this year's crop is the best he has ever seen because it was planted early.
"You put wheat in the equation you get 5.5 to six bushels more soybeans, you get more corn, it just all works," he says. "It's not only economically it is so much better in terms of soil health and all those things, we have to get over that and realize that wheat has to be in the rotation."
Johnson says Ontario farmers grow two to three times as many acres of soybeans as they do wheat, and since wheat typically follows soybeans in the rotation there is room to grow a lot more of it.
He says they would actually be better off in the long run growing shorter term soybeans so they could be harvested by mid-September, giving time to plant more wheat.
