As we contemplate the consequences of a second consecutive late, wet spring planting season in much of southern Ontario, and its negative effects on corn acreage and yield, we should consider where this crop is headed. Ontario corn acreage peaked in 1981 at more than 2.8 million acres, following a decade or more when many farmers grew corn as their only crop. The 1990s have seen an Ontario corn crop averaging about 2 million acres. Few project this acreage to grow.
Soybeans have some natural advantages, over corn, in Ontario.
Soybeans do not need nitrogen fertilizer, and need little energy for after-harvest drying. Early May planting is not as important to yield or maturation. Many clay-soil farmers now grow soybeans, almost exclusively, interrupted only by the occasional winter wheat crop. Corn has some natural advantages too. Corn crop residues left on or near the surface with conservation tillage can protect soil from erosion during successive crops, unlike soybean residues which decay rapidly.