With the 2014-15 crop year coming to an end on July 31st, the Ag Transport Coalition has released its year-end report on rail performance in Western Canada. The data shows how despite not having a bumper crop on the prairies last fall, timeliness was still a challenge for railways servicing grain shippers. CN Rail and CP… Read More
Month: August 2015
There’s an incredible amount of demand for quality forage both within Canada and in international markets. Even still, the forage and grassland industry hasn’t always been a top priority for research, extension or market development in Canada. A few years ago, the Canadian Forage and Grassland Association was created to help remedy that problem. Cedric… Read More
This week’s ag news podcast, including harvest progress, federal party policies on GMOS, the first StatsCan production estimates and a discussion about to what length farmland should be protected for farming: Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down — Should Farmland Status be Made Permanent? Subscribe: iTunes | Android | RSS
Believe it or not, the tail end of this growing season is rapidly approaching, and while there aren’t many action items to get done this week in the field, the one that MUST happen is a major one — scouting! Peter Johnson, RealAgriculture agronomist and host of Wheat Pete’s Word, kicks off this weekly crop… Read More
A guest column by Frayne Olson, Crops Economist at North Dakota State University A farmer recently asked a very simple but extremely relevant question at a market outlook meeting: “Will I ever see high grain prices again in my lifetime?” The farmer asking this question started his farming career in the early 1980s and remembers the low commodity prices… Read More
The 2015 soybean crop has had its share of issues. From a late May frost that had many farmers replanting, to wet conditions that prevented replanting or late planting, and some zero-till beans that really struggled to get through heavy residue, it’s no wonder this crop is variable at best. While the window for most… Read More
Now that we’re several weeks into the federal election campaign, it’s clear the words “agriculture” and “farming” have been left out of the main messages repeated by most candidates. It’s disappointing, but given the precedent set in politics over the last few decades, it’s not at all surprising. Rather than preaching to the choir at the coffee shop… Read More
In an effort to raise awareness around feed testing, Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture, Central Testing Laboratories and Saskatchewan Peavey Mart has kicked off a province wide Hay Harvest Challenge for forage producers. “We essentially wanted to have kind of a fun and great way for forage producers to become more aware of the importance of feed… Read More
The Grain Farmers of Ontario have received a court date regarding its case requesting a stay of the Ontario government’s new regulations limiting access to neonicotinoid-treated corn and soybean seed. The regulations came into force as of July 1, 2015. The case will be heard September 28th, 2015, says GFO. If a stay is granted,… Read More
A new seeder design that first caught farmers’ attention in Western Canada several years ago is moving from the prototype stage into production. Vancouver-based Clean Seed Capital Group says it has started manufacturing and assembling its CX-6 SMART Seeder at WS Steel Manufacturing in Steinbach, Manitoba. “This is a major step forward for Clean Seed,” said Graeme Lempriere,… Read More
Manitoba’s largest John Deere dealer is expanding its presence in the southwest corner of the province. Enns Brothers Ltd. and D.B. Murray announced a purchase agreement today that will see Enns Brothers Ltd. acquire 100 percent of the operating assets of D.B. Murray Ltd in Melita. “After 37 years for D.B. Murray Ltd. and over 100 years for the… Read More
We’re into the thick of the corn growing season, where you finally get to start seeing the real result of all the hard work that’s gone into this crop before now. The 2015 season has been a trying one for many Ontario growers as a great planting season gave way to too little, then too… Read More
According to Statistics Canada, over half a million acres of productive (class 1-3) farmland was “settled” between 2000 and 2011. This “settled area” on dependable agricultural land grew by 19 percent in Canada, with the largest increase happening in southern Ontario and Quebec. The loss of farmland isn’t a new phenomenon (the last time people… Read More
Tile drainage in North America has traditionally been installed with a single-leg plow that rips a vertical groove in the soil as it lays the pipe in the ground. Depending on soil type and moisture conditions, the single-shank will disturb the soil and leave a rut or soft spot that can take years to settle. A water management company… Read More
The dean of the University of Guelph’s Ontario Agricultural College is leaving the school to become the vice-president, research, at Wilfred Laurier University in Waterloo. Rob Gordon will begin his appointment at WLU on November 1st. He has been the OAC dean since 2008, coming from the Nova Scotia Agricultural College. Gordon also received a… Read More