An Austrian-made combine header with an adjustable cutterbar for reducing shatter losses at harvest was recognized in the Innovation Showcase at Canada’s Farm Progress Show last month. The Biso Ultralight 800, with its lightweight aluminum design and movable floor, received a Sterling Award at the show in Regina. The 800mm (~32 inch) variable cutterbar is valuable when straight-cutting… Read More
Month: July 2015
Canadian honeybee overwintering numbers are in for the 2014/15 season, and the results show a strong start to the 2015 year. Representing over 360,000 honey colonies (over half of all colonies in the country), the Canadian Association of Professional Apiculturists (CAPA) says that its survey of 443 beekeepers pegs the Canadian average of overwintering loss… Read More
Grain markets this week were about 2-3% lower on the front-month contracts as weather/growing conditions have improved, slowing down the running of the grain bulls (especially since there aren’t any demand headlines for them to chase after). And it’s no wonder the bulls need a breather. Between abundant rains in the Midwest, dry weather in… Read More
On May 21, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency warned consumers of a possible food tampering situation where needles and nails appeared to be showing up in potatoes, primarily in our Atlantic provinces. And this week, the growing concern of food and farm tampering was on the agenda, as federal, provincial and territorial agriculture ministers converged… Read More
A farmer from Niverville, Manitoba, has designed a product that can give older seeding equipment some of the seed placement precision of newer seeding technology. John Gehrer, who together with his wife Angelika also designed and sell the “Never Spill Spout” bin alarm, is now making what he calls the “Orange Shank.” It was one… Read More
What makes a fair marketplace? Whether you are here on the farm or catching a city cab, marketplace dynamics are a hot topic these days. Taxi drivers in Toronto are at their wits end as the popular ride-sharing site UberX is sucking up business. Unlike two taxi companies competing for business, UberX and cab companies… Read More
It’s crop tour season in most areas, and as part of this week’s update, Bruce Burnett of CWB joins Kelvin Heppner to recap his tour looking at crop conditions across the Canadian prairies. The ag ministers’ meeting in PEI, a new canola crush plant at Camrose and fusarium issues in wheat are also highlighted in the… Read More
Ontario’s government announced this week that it has established a working group to “explore the feasibility of new models for delivering learning, training and instruction at the Kemptville campus in Eastern Ontario.” The Kemptville campus land base and facilities are currently operated and maintained by the University of Guelph. This management agreement terminates in 2018…. Read More
What does every farmer want out of a crop? Yield and profitability. From variety selection, to fertilizer rates, and crop protection products, farmers are always looking for new ways to stack the deck in their favour. Of course, the best laid plans can be thwarted by a cold, wet spring, or dry weather and drought…. Read More
To its peril, Canada’s agri-food industry – and indeed, all of Canada — has chugged along for more than a century without a comprehensive agri-food strategy. You’d think whoever is running Ottawa would have made it a priority, given we are active internationally exporting food and so dependent on imports. Consider the consequences if the… Read More
Whether it’s growing demand for protein or pressure to reduce carbon footprints in the food chain, pulses appear well-positioned to benefit from global food trends. As the largest pea and lentil exporter in the world, Western Canada stands to become the “protein basket of the world,” says Murad Al Katib, president and CEO of Regina-based AGT… Read More
Front-mount self-propelled sprayers have become more common over the last decade, but the majority of sprayer manufacturers still exclusively build rear boom sprayers. For years, Miller-St. Nazianz and Hagie Mfg were the two main brands with front-mount booms. In 2010, New Holland entered the sprayer market with both front and rear boom sprayers after signing a manufacturing… Read More
Wheat should be moving off the field and into the bin by now, but the ’15 wheat crop just seems to be grinding through maturity and not finishing up. As @WheatPete explains in this week’s edition of the Word, this complicates things on a few fronts, as grain fill is likely to be improved (yay!),… Read More
Parkland County Council unanimously voted today to declare the area in a state of agricultural disaster, as farmers in the area have been battling extremely dry conditions, and now, grasshoppers. “These extreme drought conditions are devastating crops across Parkland County,” said Mayor Rod Shiagec. “Council wants to make it clear to our agricultural community that… Read More
A day after National French Fry Day, federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz announced a $1.4 million investment in potato yield research through Potatoes New Brunswick on Tuesday. The AgriInnovation Program funding will be used to identify factors that limit potato yields as part of a national effort to boost “the export competitiveness of Canadian French fries.” “The stakes for… Read More