I ventured out to the University of Saskatchewan for a nice change of pace this week, meeting up with Eric Micheels, assistant professor, and Eduardo Pina, graduate student. Pina had just returned from a trip to Mexico, where he was interviewing dairy farmers for his masters project (and made it back to Canada just in… Read More
Month: February 2014
How did your ag education shape your career choices? Your interests in other areas of agriculture? Your willingness to continue to learn and keep learning? Watch more: Check out our corn production video series, the Corn School, here In this video, RealAgriculture’s Ontario field editor, Bern Tobin, speaks to Dave Hooker, professor at the University… Read More
In photography, depth of field is a term used to describe the zone within a shot that appears acceptably sharp. It is one of the most powerful tools a photographer has to draw attention towards (or away from) a particular subject. It also happens to be the title I chose for a new series. “Depth… Read More
As crop prices fall and margins tighten, every farmer is looking for an edge — whether a bump in production or more efficient use of inputs. The increased pressure to scratch out a profit takes extra time and effort on planning and management. Deciding on where to focus that extra time and effort is the… Read More
It’s stated twice, in 2007 and 2012: the $58-million research partnership between the University of Guelph and what is now the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food and the Ministry of Rural Affairs has an annual economic impact of more than $1.1 billion on the province. That’s a $58-million annual investment, and a $1.1-billion return. Anyone… Read More
Is planting accurately while running 10 mph possible? John Deere says yes, if you’re using its new seed delivery system ExactEmerge row unit. Unveiled at the 2014 National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville, Kentucky, the ExactEmerge promises precise seed placement and spacing— 10% better at traditional speeds — but boasts the ability to travel at… Read More
Should you stick with silage specific hybrids or include a few (or more) dual purpose lines for good measure? Both strategies can work, says Aaron Stevanus, market agronomist for PRIDE Seeds, it simply depends on your management system. Leafy, highly digestible silage-specific lines are a great choice, especially near the barn on highly fertile ground,… Read More
If you’ve been on Twitter this week and happen to follow Gary Stanford (@senatrstanford), you’ll note that this newly minted president of the Grain Growers of Canada was in our nation’s capital meeting with the ag minister et al. to tackle a number of subjects that matter to Canadian farmers. Click here for all RealAgriculture’s… Read More
If it’s late May and your winter wheat crop is awake and starting to look good so you figure it’s time to top up the nitrogen, you’ve already missed the ideal window for a spring application. Plus, if you didn’t take care of winter annuals last fall, those tiny seedlings that over wintered took off… Read More
With over 100 years of breeding new varieties at public institutions Drs. Keith Downey (Saskatoon AAFC Research Centre) and Bryan Harvey (University of Saskatchewan) are pleased to see the recently tabled Agricultural Growth Act (Bill C-18). It enshrines a farmer’s ability to save seed for his or her own use and protects against the capture… Read More
The role of genomics continues to expand in the beef industry, with the technology becoming increasingly cost effective. Besides determining parentage, genomics have the potential to assess feed efficiency, fertility and susceptibility to disease. To many producers, this may eventually mean genetic testing most animals, most years. To others, it may simply mean genome sequencing for breeding… Read More
This year at FarmTech, one of the sessions dealt with the Harrington Seed Destructor (HSD), a machine developed in Australia to process chaff at harvest, in an attempt to destroy weed seeds. The HSD was inspired by incredible herbicide-resistance issues. This year, Canada will receive its first HSD for research purposes. Find out more from our… Read More
When it comes to meat, poultry is continuing to see big demand across the country, largely because of our appetite for chicken. The Canadian Meat Council says that in 2010 the average Canadian ate almost 16 kilograms of poultry compared to 13 kg of beef and 12 kg of pork. Moving forward, poultry demand will… Read More
Could something as simple as a gate be driving down the average number of lactations per cow in your herd? Some would say, yes. Ontario field editor Bernard Tobin was on hand at this year’s Canadian Dairy Xpo at Stratford, Ont., and sat down to talk barn design, herd health and more with Joep Driessen, of… Read More
In farming, we want two very opposite things from seed — we want a seed that stores well, perhaps even long term, but also a seed that, the moment conditions are right, it speedily germinates and becomes a hardy seedling. You can’t always have it both ways, of course, and the inner workings of a… Read More