Winnipeg-based Farmers Edge has announced the addition of Osmington Inc. to its team of investors. Osmington is a private commercial real estate company, owned and controlled by David Thomson, chairman of Thomson Reuters. The company’s past investments include the retail redevelopment of Toronto’s Union Station and the purchase and relocation of NHL’s Atlanta Thrashers to… Read More
Month: August 2015
It’s taken 20 episodes, but Peter Johnson, a.k.a. @WheatPete, finally gets to dedicate an entire version of the Word to his favourite crop — wheat. But hold on there, Johnson knows he can’t ONLY talk about wheat, and so the format of this week’s Word is somewhat reversed, where Johnson answers questions first, then delves… Read More
The Beef Cattle Research Council (BCRC) announced its second group of Beef Researcher Mentorship Program participants this week. The program was designed in an effort to align research interests with those beneficial to the beef industry, as well as promote and facilitate collaborations between researchers and producers. Four researchers have been selected as mentees in… Read More
By now you’ve watched our video on determining when to desiccate faba beans, and perhaps you’re gearing up to go ahead. Now the all-important next question: what to spray? Well, according to Robyne Bowness, pulse research scientist with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry, there are currently only two options for drying-down faba beans: diquat (a desiccant) and glyphosate (a… Read More
There are sound reasons to incorporate the farm — significant financial reasons, operation benefits and very real long-term business planning implications. But if incorporating is so beneficial, why aren’t most farms carrying the Inc. behind the business name? In this episode of Mind Your Farm Business, Shaun Haney asks veteran farm management advisor Merle Good… Read More
If you hadn’t heard of Ashley Madison before a couple weeks ago, it probably means you’re a decent person — the match-making website’s sole purpose was to connect married people looking to have an affair. The website made headlines recently after a hacking group stole then shared user account names and details for all the… Read More
It’s been a tough few years for winter wheat in Ontario, not necessarily because of the summer season, but because of the late and wet falls farmers have struggled with for the last two seasons. The fallout from a rough harvest is two-fold when it comes to winter wheat — the crop gets put in… Read More
According to speakers at last week’s Canola Galla in Penhold, AB, a single gram of soil (roughly the size of a Smartie) can contain hundreds — if not thousands or even millions — of resting clubroot spores. And, those resting spores can survive up to 20 years in the soil, spreading by catching rides on wind, water,… Read More
The closure of two packing plants in Ontario last year has forced producers to look for hook space at processors outside the province. The uncertainty in demand is hurting confidence in the industry, suggests Guelph-based livestock and meat market analyst Kevin Grier. At the start of 2014, Ontario’s federally-inspected slaughter capacity stood at around 95,000 head… Read More
As summer begins its last hurrah and ranchers anticipate the fall run, the underlying factors of supply and demand are still supporting cattle prices. But very large, global shifts in markets and economic stability are causing all sorts of fallout for grain and oil markets — how long before those macro trends pressure cattle prices?… Read More
While you’re in the field checking canola to see if it’s ready to be cut, or perhaps already swathing or harvesting it, it’s also a good time to assess the toll disease took on your crop. Sclerotinia, blackleg and clubroot can all cause premature ripening, as disease symptoms become more obvious at the end of the season,… Read More
The grains complex continues to deal with decent growing conditions, better than expected yields, and a tougher global markets environment. This week we saw the market volatility index spike to levels not seen since last year when Russia was invading Ukraine (translation: market participants are pulling dollars out and parking it in cash positions as… Read More
If you’re looking out over your faba bean crop and can’t help but scratch your head over whether or not it’s ready to desiccate, you’re not alone. Desiccant timing for all pulse crops is tricky — too early and you risk destroying yield potential; too late and you’ve lost time, leaving the crop open to… Read More
There will be less wheat and slightly less canola grown in Canada this year than what analysts were expecting, if the first production estimates from Statistics Canada are to be believed. Prior to the report’s release on Friday morning, trade guesses for total wheat production ranged from 24.8 to 27.1 million metric tonnes. StatsCan pegged all-wheat at 24.6MMT, down 15.9 percent from last year…. Read More
The Canadian Total Excellence in Agricultural Management (CTEAM) course offered by Agri-Food Management Excellence (AME) is open for fall registration until October 30, 2015. CTEAM is a national farm management training program for farmers and ranchers, that uses participants’ own farm data to create a strategy and develop a plan specifically for their farm or ranch. Coaching… Read More