For livestock producers, getting top quality corn silage into the bunker or silo is key to milk yield and weight gain for the rest of the year. But as every grower knows, and a lot of growers are facing in 2025, Mother Nature can create unique challenges. Drought is a big one for many in 2025. In a recent webinar, Nelson Lobos the Senior Nutritionist at Corteva, spoke at length about the good and bad of making droughted corn into silage as well as what all growers can do to ensure they put away the best possible feed for the year ahead.
While it may seem early to start thinking about the 2026 growing season, this time of year can actually offer the best indication of some of the things you may want to change, particularly when it comes to planter and seeder mechanics. Whether it is seeding depth, fertilizer targeting, stand counts, or a range of other issues, Andrew finds out what growers should be scouting for with a goal of making sure the crop gets the best potential start every year. Helping find those answers are Ben Rosser, corn specialist for the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness; Jenna Gregoire, Pioneer Area Agronomist in Northwest and Central West Saskatchewan along with Holly Loucas, Pioneer Area Agronomist in the Southern Ontario region of Norfolk to Niagara.
When you hear a corn yield over 400 bushels per acre, or a soybean yield over 200, it can feel hard to imagine how a grower can reach such incredible numbers consistently. But for David Hula and Alex Harrell, the corn and soybean yield champions in the US, it's all about the details. Both David and Alex won the competition in previous years, and both won again in 2024 thanks to their relentless passion for trying to solve the limiting factors of yield potential. In this episode of the podcast, Andrew talks with David and Alex about seed selection, fertility, soil and tissue sampling and everything else that these champions find is critical to their success.
When it comes to technology, the options that you can invest in for your farm are almost endless. It can even be hard to know where to start. One of the education sessions from the 2025 Commodity Classic asked the question, “How can I be sure technology investments are profitable?” Joining Andrew on the podcast is Assistant Professor from Purdue University Chad Fiechter as well as Emeritus Professor, also from Purdue, James Mintert. Also joining in on the discussion is Trenton Brisby, Corteva's Agronomy Innovation Marketing Manager.
Pioneer's Yield Hero contest continues to evolve in Canada, which includes a grand prize trip for two to the Commodity Classic. From the 2025 show, Andrew Campbell speaks with growers Maggie McDonnell & Dallas Dau as well as Area Agronomists Greg Stopps and Colleen Redlick about how growers can get involved in the contest, what they are doing to push yield on their farms, and how growers from across Canada can take part and try to win a trip to Commodity Classic themselves.
With the growing season just around the corner, the Enlist E3 soybeans are taking a big leap in 2025 with Pioneer growers across the country moving to Enlist traited beans. On this episode, Andrew Campbell looks to the lessons from the past couple of years as growers have transitioned to the Enlist system about what works and what to watch out for. Joining him is Pioneer Area Agronomist Chris Robson, Pioneer Sales Rep Aaron Bowman and Jevin Vyn, a farmer from Southwestern Ontario.
The number of growers who have to consider the impacts of Tar Spot in corn continues to grow, with the 2024 growing season being one of the most obvious that if you don't manage it properly, the yield hit can be catastrophic. On this episode of the podcast, Andrew speaks with Pioneer Area Agronomists Greg Stopps and John Seliga about what their experiences in tar spot were in 2024 and more importantly what can be done to manage it in 2025 as the disease shows no signs of slowing down its spread across Central Canada.
Whether it's a beef or dairy operation, making sure the best forages are harvested is one of the most important steps to profitability. For corn silage that starts with the right hybrids. In this episode, Andrew talks with Greg Frank, a Pioneer Rep in Southern Alberta, Ashley Knapton, an Associate Pioneer Rep in Eastern Ontario, and Dr Bill Mahanna, Global Nutritional Services Manager based in Iowa about what you should consider when choosing a hybrids, what labels are important to look for, and how to manage that crop throughout the growing season to ensure you've set yourself up for success on your livestock operation.
No matter what the crop, it always seems like there is a disease that needs your attention in order to make sure you can get as close to a hybrid's yield potential as possible. In Alberta, while Clubroot and Sclerotinia weren't as prevalent in the 2024 canola crop, Blackleg and Verticillium were. In fact, when it came to verticillium in particular, Pioneer Sale Rep Shawna Hogg saw more incidences of verticillium this year than she's seen before. In this episode, Andrew talks with Shawna about Pioneer Senior Research Association Tom Ernst about what the impact was from canola diseases in 2024 and what some of the management strategies can be to try to lessen canola disease impact.
When it comes to growing seasons for soybeans, 2024 provided plenty of challenges for Ontario grower Chris Bell. Rain was the biggest one, as it never really stopped; but that also brought others challenges like white mould and the need for a very flexible weed control system. In this Brew with an Agronomist episode, Andrew talks with Chris and Pioneer Agronomist Rebecca-Jo Cellini about what he faced with a field of the new Z-Series genetics, and what all growers are looking for when it comes to beans that can reach their yield potential.
When it comes to leaf diseases in corn, growers are working hard to learn the best ways to manage Gibberella Ear Rot and Tar Spot, given the devastating impact they can have on yield and grain quality. The good news is the strategies to combat both diseases are similar. On today's episode, Andrew Campbell learns about those management strategies which include hybrid selection and fungicide timing from Albert Tenuta, a plant pathologist from Ontario's Ministry of Agriculture, Food and AgriBusiness as well as two Pioneer Area Agronomists that see these diseases regularly - John Seliga and Greg Stopps.
When it comes to the start of growing seasons, Area Agronomist Chris Olbach may have had one of the most variable in Ontario. From growers that saw a strong start to their soybean crops, to growers that struggled to even get soybeans in the ground, he's seen it all this year. Talking with Andrew, Chris not only describes the growing season, but also how soybean genetics can help overcome those challenges, along with how drone technology is assisting Pioneer agronomists and Pioneer customers get the best information on stand counts and overall field health.
Whether it is sclerotinia in canola or white mould in soybeans, the impact can be equally severe. After all, the impact is usually greatest when yields are looking most promising and that foliage is trapping moisture in under the plant to help the sclerotia spores thrive. The good news though - there are solutions! In this episode, Andrew finds out what those solutions look like, from choosing the right genetics all the way to fungicide applications with Eastern Ontario Area Agronomist Paul Hermans, Northeastern Alberta Area Agronomist Doug Moisey and Edmonton area Pioneer Sales Rep Taylor Chumalka.
Getting the most from the Enlist herbicide system on E3 soybeans is the key to maximizing soybean yields in 2024. To help with that, Andrew talks with Grace Jones, a Territory Manager from Corteva as well as Pioneer Area Agronomist Holly Loucas about what lessons they've learned as growers have adopted the Enlist system. Whether it's spray timing, modes of action, tank mixing or what to watch for when the weather doesn't cooperate - this conversation covers everything you need to know to make sure you too are getting the most from your Enlist E3 soybeans.
When it comes to producing the best yields possible, having the top hybrids can only go so far. Soil fertility is a key metric to producing and maintaining the high yields that today's corn and canola hybrids are able to reach. What's the best way to manage that fertility? Pioneer Sales Rep and former Area Agronomist Lindsay Alberts of Yorkton, Saskatchewan joins Ontario Ministry of Agriculture Soil Specialist Colin Elgie to discuss the best approach for managing fertility levels, particularly as market prices drop and weather conditions remain unpredictable. Then, Bob Gunzenhauser from Corteva's Digital Solutions Team joins Andrew for a discussion on what they are finding from fertility levels across North America, and what it will take to ensure growers continue to see yield gains year after year.
With spring of 2024 approaching quickly, one of the challenges that every grain grower is looking at facing is commodity prices that are lower than the last several years. Then the question to answer is 'What do you do about it?'. With the help of Pioneer Area Agronomist Jenna Gregoire and Pioneer Sales Rep Scott Fife, Andrew asks whether seeding intentions should change, whether fertility should be cut back or what other mechanisms do some of Canada's top growers do in order to make sure they will still be profitable heading into the growing season.
When it comes to growing soybeans, growers are looking for every advantage they can find. That may come in the form of disease tolerance, flexibility in spray timing and of course in yield potential. But when all of those options become available in one bean, it's worth taking a close look. That's what the new Z-Series soybeans offer from Pioneer® brand seed. In this episode, Andrew talks with Corteva Agriscience soybean breeder Evelyn Valera-Rojas, Pioneer's Portfolio Marketing Manager Chad Garrod, and he even pulled Pioneer Agronomist Dave Harwood out of retirement to learn what the possibilities are and learn how growers can see the soybeans for themselves in 2024.
With drought conditions on the top of many minds in Western Canada, how to handle conditions is what this episode is all about. Joining Andrew is Independent Agronomist Jenny Seward from Cronkite Ag Consulting in Foremost Alberta and Manitoba Area Agronomist for Pioneer Derwyn Hammond. From seed selection to fertility plans and setting the drill to spray programs, Andrew finds out where a grower might be able to cut costs and where trying to cut too much could cost you.
Tis the season to be - optimistic! In our annual Year in Review episode that's exactly what Andrew is thinking as he checks with Pioneer Area Agronomists Paul Hermans and Greg Stopps. After all, farmers know there are always ways to improve in order to have a more successful year in the next growing season, and heading into 2024 is no different. In this episode the three talk about what growers in Ontario took away from planting conditions in the spring, wet conditions that brought significant disease pressure in the summer, and how surprised some growers were with yields in the fall. It's all about learning from past experiences to be even better moving forward.
Seven years ago, Alberta Pioneer Sales Rep Greg Reesor was told he'd need to sell corn with his new dealership. He wondered how, but seven years later there's 10,000 acres in his area with many more on the way. Growing more corn and soybean acres in Western Canada is something that's been discussed for years - but with new hybrids, better equipment and real profit on the table, Greg along with Manitoba Pioneer Sales Rep Jake Ayre discuss with Andrew Campbell why growers are choosing corn and soybeans today and how to get even more acres planted in the coming years.