Ontario Corn Producer On-Line

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FEATURE STORY
Getting Better All the Time
By Owen Roberts

No one knows better than the corn industry that it takes time to change public perception. The stigma from the 1970s that corn is the environment’s enemy sticks like burrs to a border collie. But things have changed. Chemicals once applied in pounds per acre are now measured in grams instead. Farmers have increased their stewardship knowledge and role. And the industry is getting much better at telling its side of the story. In fact, that story suggests corn is not only becoming environmentally benign...in many cases and for many reasons, corn is providing significant environmental benefits.

Corn’s traditionally poor environmental image has roots in the days of unbridled nitrogen application. “Because corn is so responsive to nitrogen there was a tendency to over apply it,” says soil fertility specialist Keith Reid of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA), Walkerton. Back then, farmers didn’t know excessive applications were contaminating water supplies, their own and their urban neighbours. When they found out, they turned to researchers for some answers. (Full Story)

Features in the May/June 1999 Ontario Corn Producer

The Pre-Sidedress Nitrogen Test for Corn
AGCare: Bridging the Communications Gap
Do Late Merging Weed Escapes Risk Future Weed Management
Ethanol and the Environment
Do You Know What a Shortfall Permit Is?



	FEATURE STORY Getting Better All the Time *By Owen Roberts* No one knows better than the corn industry that it takes time to change public perception. The stigma from the 1970s that corn is the environment’s enemy sticks like burrs to a border collie. But things have changed. Chemicals once applied in pounds per acre are now measured in grams instead. Farmers have increased their stewardship knowledge and role. And the industry is getting much better at telling its side of the story. In fact, that story suggests corn is not only becoming environmentally benign...in many cases and for many reasons, corn is providing significant environmental benefits. Corn’s traditionally poor environmental image has roots in the days of unbridled nitrogen application. “Because corn is so responsive to nitrogen there was a tendency to over apply it,” says soil fertility specialist Keith Reid of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA), Walkerton. Back then, farmers didn’t know excessive applications were contaminating water supplies, their own and their urban neighbours. When they found out, they turned to researchers for some answers. (Full Story)
Features in the May/June 1999 Ontario Corn Producer
The Pre-Sidedress Nitrogen Test for Corn AGCare: Bridging the Communications Gap Do Late Merging Weed Escapes Risk Future Weed Management Ethanol and the Environment Do You Know What a Shortfall Permit Is?