Farmers in Western Canada are struggling to understand the news that two cows and one bull died as a result of consuming treated canola seed that was illegally dumped in a pasture. Bill Laing, a farmer from near Harris, SK, was shocked to find a dead cow on his pasture last week. It’s never easy… Read More
Month: November 2017
Grain prices were generally trending higher this week before seeing a sell-off on Friday to erase a fair amount of gains. Simply put, bears became more competitive than bulls. Wheat and corn prices seem eternally rangebound as in the past few weeks they haven’t moved more than a quarter. Corn and soybeans were virtually unchanged… Read More
Host Shaun Haney starts off the conversation today with a nod to the diversity of consumers, and a head-shake to falling snow. Then: Top Ag News – October job numbers better than expected; Wall Street poll on potential for U.S. to withdraw from North American Free Trade Agreement; new United Conservative Party leader names ag… Read More
SGS announced the acquisition of BioVision Seed Labs on Friday. Founded in 1996, BioVision employs 20 staff between its headquarters in Sherwood Park and facilities in Winnipeg and Grand Prairie. The company offers seed, grain and soil testing across a broad variety of crops. Its labs and experts are accredited under CFIA, CSI and ISO… Read More
Chicken Farmers of Canada says it is welcoming Alberta producers back to the flock after the province withdrew from the national agreement that determines how much production each province is allocated under the national supply management system for chicken. CFC says it has a new federal-provincial agreement “in hand” after the Farm Products Council of… Read More
Canadians’ support for the Trans-Pacific Partnership has nearly doubled since early 2016, according to new survey results from the Angus Reid Institute. 59 percent of Canadians now say they support the TPP, up from 32 percent in Angus Reid’s last survey, conducted in early 2016. (The survey included a representative randomized sample of 1504 Canadian… Read More
How often do you stop and take time to evaluate how well your farm business is performing? And how do you determine whether an area of the business is performing well or needing improvement? The first step in benchmarking a farm’s financial performance is to compare it to itself, to understand historical performance. From there,… Read More
Well, the last inning was played in the World Series, and the snow has fallen in western Canada. Host Shaun Haney reflects on the abrupt changes, after a hasty trip to New York City. Then, in the show: Top Ag News – U.S. President Donald Trump back to talking tough on trade deals; optimism around… Read More
In this episode of The Word, host Peter Johnson takes us through updates on moisture conditions in Ontario and the incredible corn crop (but it’s not all roses). Then: questions around weed control, cereal rye as a cover crop and applying dairy manure now. Have a question you’d like Johnson to address? Or some yield… Read More
Saskatchewan Pulse Growers (SPG) says it has licensed the distribution rights for select newer pea, lentil and chickpea varieties outside of Saskatchewan to SeCan and SeedNet. Since 1997, SPG has funded the pulse breeding program at the University of Saskatchewan’s Crop Development Centre (CDC) in exchange for commercial rights to pulse crop varieties developed at… Read More
For researchers at the University of Guelph, addressing fusarium head blight — one of wheat’s most nagging diseases — is an agronomic time trip through the geography and history of Canada. The researchers, led by Ali Navabi, have gone back to the 1880s through to the present to look at the genetic diversity of 450… Read More
“The silos of agriculture are crumbling, like it or not,” says Eric Fridfinnson, chair of the Manitoba Flax Growers Association — one of five commodity groups in Manitoba that are working toward amalgamating. “It’s a change we’ve all observed over the years,” he continues. “This approach – the approach we’ve been working on – has… Read More
Host Shaun Haney starts off the show with an update from New York City. Then: Top Ag News – Rainfall records; more bad news for Finance Minister Bill Morneau —Canada’s GDP sees a decline; accusations on price fixing in bread; Canada’s largest farmland investor set to double in size; bioterrorism case potential in PEDv. Signal… Read More
With memories of combines getting stuck, high disease levels and all the problems that come with excess moisture fresh in many farmers’ minds, the dry conditions through much of Western Canada in 2017 were a sharp reminder of why moisture conservation is fundamental to farming on the prairies. “One of the key learnings from this… Read More
Montreal-based dairy company Saputo has announced another international acquisition — the largest goat cheese manufacturer in the U.S. Saputo says it has entered an agreement to acquire Betin, Inc., which operates mainly under the Montchevre brand, and employs 319 people at its manufacturing facility in Belmont, Wisconsin. Montchevre generated C$150 million in revenues in the… Read More