Philip Shaw

We live in trying times for sure. I’m sure everybody is very tired of Covid19, but that doesn’t mean you should respect it any less. Social distancing and working together has helped Ontario tame the infection rate down, while keeping the virus at bay. We aren’t out of the woods yet, in fact, won’t be…

This past week saw the last of my wheat engulfed into the feeder house of my combine after another wheat season. I didn’t have any wheat in 2019 and with my heavy soil types, that’s never good. Wheat is a soil conditioner to me, always boosting futures yields thru increased tilth and a whole lot…

Wheat harvest in southwestern Ontario was a welcome diversion for me this past week. It’s been two years since I drove my big green monster of a combine through the amber waves of grain as last year the wheat didn’t make it over winter. Wheat is one of the only crops that we expose to…

During my career you have probably read one strategy I always played out with my banker. I’ve always said it’s good to go into the banker and look nervous across the counter once in a while. That stems back to the 1980s when servicing debt was so much harder than it is today. In fact,…

The weather has turned hot and dry in southwestern Ontario with heat advisories issued by Environment Canada. It reminds me of the days hoeing beans as a youngster. The days were hot and the weed population ever so plentiful, it seemed like such a hopeless endeavour. It’s a world of difference in 2020, where I…

I have yet to put my no-till drill away. With Canada Day staring me down next week, you’d think it would be time. Every year, it seems I have to replant some soybean acres and this year was no different. However, flash rain showers, which dump rain in 15 minutes continued to inundate me over…

There are always a myriad of challenges in agriculture and 2020 isn’t 2019, but it has had had its share. In my neighbourhood in south western Ontario, we are miles ahead of 2019, but sporadic heavy rains have caused quite a few issues. Crops are looking tough, like they have been through a wrestling match….

Rains came to southwestern Ontario overnight, which hopefully will help some of my entombed soybeans break through the inevitable crust which is always their curse. It seems that has been the mantra of the 2020 growing season in my area. Rain has come along at inopportune times to damage both corn and soybean crops. It…

I like to think I can plant soybeans pretty fast, but realistically, I plant them a lot faster than I used to years ago. So that makes me feel good sometimes, especially after a long day when I’ve planted 100 acres by myself amid all the other tasks that go along with that. Back in…

Earlier in May, I had a double-edged challenge, how to I plant soybeans and replant corn all at the same time? Sometimes things happen that way. I know there are many of you who plant corn and soybeans at the same time, but I farm alone, so that paradigm is a bit of a challenge….