Canadian farmers are world leaders in growing pulses, but Canadian consumers are way behind in actually consuming these good-for-you ingredients. As we wrap up the International Year of Pulses, Shaun Haney sat down with Delaney Seiferling to reflect on not just this last year’s spotlight on the crop, but also significant changes over the last… Read More
Month: December 2016
Two inches. That’s deep enough tillage for Dutton, Ontario, farmer Dave Durham. He uses a Great Plains Turbo-Max vertical tillage unit to “tickle” a wide rage of soils on his farm, including muck, sand and clays. In the latest episode of Real Agriculture’s Tillage Talk, agronomists Peter Johnson and Al McCallum quiz Durham about his… Read More
Shaun and Kelvin are both back in-studio for today’s show, discussing the Monsanto shareholder vote on joining Bayer, changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, farm-saved soybean seed, John Deere’s electric tractor prototype and more. Perth County, Ont. farmer Amanda Brodhagen also joins Kelvin to chat about the large response to the recent CBC article… Read More
There’s certainly a growing emphasis on reducing gender-related barriers in Canadian agriculture, whether that’s measured by the success of conferences for women in ag, the launch of the Ag Women’s Network, policy projects being led by the Canadian Ag HR Council, or through less formal means within individual workplaces. The topic has been in the… Read More
2016 will be remembered for all sorts of monumental things — many of them bad. If you were in the polling industry in 2016, you may even call it a very bad year. Brexit wasn’t exactly a shining example of getting the call right. Then, there’s that pesky Hillary Clinton vs. Donald Trump contest that… Read More
Lamb is still considered a niche market in Canada, but unlike some other red meat, consumption is on the rise. Once largely thought of as only a choice for the ‘ethnic’ food market or special holidays, SunGold Specialty Meats out of Alberta is looking to increase lamb consumption by all Canadian consumers. As Kurt Paskal, manager… Read More
The federal government has announced it’s dropping the four-year cumulative duration requirement — also known as the “four-in, four-out” rule — from the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) effectively immediately. It’s welcome news for agricultural employers and farm groups. “The feedback we received from agricultural stakeholders is very supportive of these changes,” noted Portia MacDonald-Dewhirst, executive… Read More
Ontario dairy farmers had their first opportunity to plant low-lignin alfalfa in 2016. In this episode of the Real Agriculture Dairy School we visit with Elmira, Ontario, dairy farmer Dale Martin and PRIDE Seeds market agronomist Aaron Stevanus to get the lowdown on low-lignin alfalfa. Martin harvested his first crop HarvXtra low-lignin alfalfa with Roundup Ready… Read More
Shaun hosts today’s show, with guests including Deb Stark — newly retired deputy minister of agriculture in Ontario, Portia MacDonald-Dewhirst of the Canadian Ag HR Council and Farm Journal Foundation’s Stephanie Mercier. Tune in to RealAg Radio every weekday at 4pm eastern on Rural Radio 147 on SiriusXM! Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts |… Read More
The Saskatchewan Pulse Growers’ board of directors is keeping its levy non-refundable. The board had one year to respond to a resolution passed at the organization’s 2016 annual general meeting requesting the check-off be made refundable. SPG chair Tim Wiens informed members of the decision in a letter distributed December 13 (see below.) SPG is… Read More
Monsanto shareholders approved the company’s sale to Bayer at a meeting in St. Louis on Tuesday. Based on preliminary counts, the company says approximately 99 percent of the votes cast were in favour of the $66 billion deal, which will see Monsanto shareholders receive $128 per share when the merger is finalized. “We are pleased we… Read More
John Deere has unveiled its first electric high-power tractor ahead of the upcoming SIMA agriculture show in France. Built on the chassis of Deere’s 6R tractors, the SESAM (Sustainable Energy Supply for Agricultural Machinery) prototype features a set of 130kW lithium-ion batteries which power two independent 150 kW electric motors, producing the equivalent of roughly… Read More
If it’s done right, deep ripping can help address a compaction problem in the field, but if you’re not careful, it can also make it worse. As with any kind of tillage, you have the potential of breaking up soil aggregates with a deep ripper or subsoiler, but that’s not all, notes Aaron Daigh, soil… Read More
Cavendish Farms has announced plans to spend at least $350 million on a new frozen potato processing facility in Lethbridge. Robert K. Irving, co-CEO of J.D. Irving Limited and president of Cavendish Farms, was in southern Alberta to make the announcement alongside Ag Minister Oneil Carlier, local MLAs Shannon Phillips and Maria Fitzpatrick, and Lethbridge… Read More
The latest ag news, glyphosate resistant palmer amaranth update, soybean lessons from ’16, deep ripping fails, and the latest on the Trump transition and issues that could impact Canadian ag. Guests include Horst Bohner of OMAFRA, Aaron Daigh of NDSU, Kirk Howatt of NDSU and Agri-Pulse’s Sara Wyant. Tune in to RealAg Radio every weekday… Read More