Horseracing in North America is facing tough times, a result of years of decreased attendance and betting. In Canada, tightening of government budgets in at least three provinces, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, has put heavy pressure on tracks to either evolve, find new business partners or face extinction. Ontario is far and away the largest… Read More
Year: 2013
If you cannot see the above embedded audio player, click here We have discussed retro-fitting older farm equipment with the latest in precision farming technology in the past, but we think that we have found maybe the most significant retro fit ever. Middlesex Soil and Crop has invested in a 1977 JD6600 combine to change it into a… Read More
Do you value safety on your farm? Of course! Do you have a simple, straight-forward health and safety plan for your farm? Likely not. Each year in mid-March, the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association, the Canadian Federation of Agriculture and Farm Credit Canada team up to promote and celebrate Canadian Agricultural Safety Week. This year’s push… Read More
A WTO ruling from late in 2011 sided with Canada, among other countries, that U.S. Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) regulation was “inconsistent with its WTO trade obligations.” But instead of amending the labeling requirements in time for the late may deadline, the US has seemingly upped the ante, and will now being to add… Read More
Planters can offer significant advantages over seeders — precise depth placement, seed singulation and gentle handling of seed, to name a few — but the machines are also best suited for large-seeded, tall-growth crops like corn and sunflowers, not canola. Recent interest in planters for canola has encouraged at least one company, Monosem, to begin… Read More
There are few things that get a farmer’s blood pumping like a field ready for the seeder and shiny new iron to drag across it. With the growing corn and soybean acres in the west, more farmers have adopted row crop planters, and, inevitably, wondered how good a job they would do on other crops…. Read More
There is definitely a market for connecting farm renters and land owners. Retiring farmers are tending to hold onto the land asset and cash rent it to other farmers. Another trend is that farm renters are willing to farm across greater distances and not just from neighbors that they have known for 30 years. All of this… Read More
Editor’s note: This is Owen Roberts’ Real Talk, Real Action column. Each week, Owen will offer his insight into how farmers and the agricultural industry can participate in the rural- and ag-related discussions going on around them. Contact Owen at [email protected] or on Twitter at @TheUrbanCowboy. What’s spreading faster in Canada — herbicide-resistant weeds, or growers… Read More
BASF Canada and Monsanto Canada believe in the power of tank-mixing so much, the companies are willing to reward farmers to do it. The two companies, in conjunction with retailers in Eastern Canada, are offering farmers a $1-per-acre rebate when RoundupWeatherMax is purchased with matching acres of Integrity, Eragon, Marksman or Armezon herbicides. These tank-mix… Read More
It sure is pretty when it flowers and the health benefits of the seed is hard to match, but growing flax can be a tough slog for farmers. It’s not terribly competitive, markets are volatile and the resulting straw is more of a waste product than second income due to limited options in the west…. Read More
Think double cropping soybeans after wheat is an outlandish idea? In reality, there are just as many or more accumulated heat units from July onward as the entire growing season in Western Canada, and that area is expanding acres at an incredible rate. The key to making it work is meticulous variety selection (shorter season,… Read More
In a story that has been developing for months, One Earth Farms has been told that it will not be able to farm on the Blood Reserve in 2013 or into the future. A One Earth Farms employee confirmed to RealAgriculture.com last week that the Lethbridge Farm Manager has been released and the Lethbridge office… Read More
The Western Grains Research Foundation is reminding farmers that the federal government annually provides a Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) tax credit to producers offering them a tax credit on their check-off investments. The tax credit percentage for producers who contributed to the Wheat and Barley Check-off, administered by the Western Grains Research Foundation… Read More
The Edmonton area of Alberta has the unwanted title of “clubroot hotspot,” as this is where the disease first took hold. The incidence map has grown each year since clubroot was confirmed in canola in 2003. Then, not long ago, viable spores were detected in Saskatchewan soils. Last week, the Manitoba government confirmed viable spores… Read More
It’s positively refreshing to see a discussion on the plight of threatened grasslands, world hunger and political unrest have a tangible, though only partial, solution. What’s more, livestock production has been criticized by environmentalists as too water intensive and hard on delicate ecosystems to be sustainable. A recent presentation, however, is turning this notion on… Read More