Soil moisture reserves from a wet year in 2016 carried the 2017 crop through a very dry summer across the southern Canadian prairies, enabling some better-than-expected yields, but also leaving the moisture bank account depleted heading into the 2018 growing season. The rapid transition from wet to dry has several implications for the upcoming season,… Read more »
Year: 2018
No kidding: small ruminants are coming on big
Ontario’s veterinary community is responding to the rise in goat and sheep production with new education and research initiatives. Jeff Wichtel, dean of the Ontario Veterinary College (OVC), says since September, his school’s curriculum has expanded teaching to include more information on small ruminants, and is conducting several new research projects to build up health… Read more »
Bearishness and bills — This week in the grain markets
Grain markets the first full week of January were highlighted by the first World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report of the calendar year on Friday. The report was generally viewed as bearish, but soybeans were able to catch a bid and rally more than a dime thanks to a smaller American yield estimate…. Read more »
5 takeaways from Crop Production Show and CropSphere
Every year in the second week of January, we get the first peek of the year into what the industry, farmers and government are focused on in Saskatoon. This was a great week at Crop Production Show and CropSphere, as Kelvin and I covered the two events on opposite ends of a very cold city… Read more »
What should a farmer look like?
Whenever I watch television, it doesn’t take very long before a dentist or doctor appears in a commercial, telling you which toothpaste to use or what to buy to live a healthy life. In those ads, the main spokesperson (or actor) is wearing a white coat. That white coat is used as a sign of… Read more »
RealAg Radio, Jan 12: Bearish reports, ag politics and questions on NAFTA
On today’s show: Top Ag News Panelists Corey Loessin (SaskPulse) and Doyle Wiebe (SaskCanola) join Shaun and Kelvin to discuss what got them involved in ag politics and how to get more people involved, as well as what’s on the mind of growers now, trade issues, President Trump on NAFTA, and the mood for 2018…. Read more »
Quiet response as USDA releases bearish corn and wheat estimates
The USDA published some larger-than-expected estimates for corn and wheat in its January reports published on Friday, but the futures market — particularly for corn — showed little response. The January 12th data release included the monthly WASDE report, the annual Crop Production summary, the December 31st quarterly stocks report, and the first Winter Wheat Seedings… Read more »
Ontario Certified Crop Advisor ranks continue to grow
Almost half of Ontario’s certified crop advisors packed a London, ON hotel conference room this week for their organization’s annual meeting and conference. Ontario Certified Crop Advisor (CCA) Association chair Ken Currah says meeting attendance is a strong indication of grower demand for agronomic services and the expertise that CCAs bring to the farm. He… Read more »
Don’t forget about drone battery maintenance over winter
Drones are likely packed away for winter, but now is the time to take them out to perform battery maintenance. The chemistry inside lithium polymer (LiPo) batteries used to power most drones breaks down when kept at full or low charge levels for extended periods of time, reducing battery life and capacity. A battery that… Read more »
Canadian tractor and combine sales were strong in 2017
December ended with very cold weather across Canada, but overall Canadian tractor and combine sales numbers reported by the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) were hot, compared to 2016. The December 2017 the Association of Equipment Manufacturers Canadian Flash Report shows 2WD farm tractors up 15.1%, 4WD farm tractors up 24.5% and self propelled combines… Read more »
RealAg Radio, Jan 11: Virtual reality, lentil meatballs and keyboard warriors
Host Shaun Haney starts off the show asking what you do with your extra time. If we are creating efficiencies in farming and agriculture, is our additional time benefiting the business, or are we giving ourselves much-needed personal time too? When is the last time you went fishing, hiking, hunting, or just sat down to… Read more »
Poll: What’s your bias for wheat, soybeans & corn markets heading into the January USDA report?
The USDA will release one of its most anticipated reports on Friday — the January World Agricultural Supply/Demand Estimates or WASDE. Some analysts have referred to it as the Super Bowl of USDA reports. As in sports, the pregame discussions and speculation can be almost as much fun as analyzing the score(s) after the fact…. Read more »
Corn School: How much corn residue should you remove?
Do your corn fields yield less than 170 bu/ac? If so, you have to be careful when removing corn residue from those fields because you could be depleting the field’s soil organic matter. That was the message USDA research agronomist Shannon Osbourne shared with those attending the recent Southwest Agricultural Conference at the University of… Read more »
Pulse School: What do India’s tariffs mean for pulse markets in 2018?
India’s move to impose prohibitive import tariffs on peas, lentils and chickpeas has left a cloud of uncertainty hanging over the pulse market heading into the 2018 growing season. After back-to-back bumper crops domestically, India implemented a 50 percent tariff on pea imports in November, followed by a 30 percent tariff imposed on lentils and… Read more »
RealAg Radio, Jan 10: Fungicides, bin size and target plant populations
Today’s show is once again coming to us from Saskatoon, SK, where host Shaun Haney is on location for the Western Canadian Crop Production Show. On today’s episode: Tim Gardner, Bayer, talks about some of the company’s research into fungicides in cereal crops, with a focus on application timing, disease management during dry years, and… Read more »