From picking apples to snipping asparagus, harvesting produce requires incredible precision, and a lot of hard work. It’s the type of work that requires the human hand, yet it’s of little interest to Canadian job seekers. That’s why Connery Farms near Portage la Prairie, MB, has hired foreign workers since the 1980s. “It was becoming… Read More
Year: 2019
Dairy, egg, and poultry farmers will be compensated in this year’s budget just revealed by Finance Minister, Bill Morneau. The compensation is for losses stemming from international trade agreements. The Liberal government has proposed up to $3.9 billion in “support” for supply-managed farmers. The funding follows the recent ratifications of the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade… Read More
Alberta Pork has confirmed a fourth case of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv) in the province, while a fifth case was also detected. The highly contagious virus that affects hogs, was first discovered in Alberta back in January. Since then, the province has recorded a case once a month, aside from this recent discovery of… Read More
Canadian National (CN) Railway has announced it will be investing more than $245 million in Saskatchewan, through capital expenditures, hiring more train conductors, and purchasing high horsepower locomotives. CN employs roughly 1,300 people in the province, and its railroad route covers approximately 1,937 miles. “This year, CN is investing $35 million more than last year to… Read More
The countdown to the seventh annual Canadian Dairy XPO is on as the dairy industry showcase readies to open its doors at the Stratford Rotary Complex on April 3rd and 4th. Show attendance topped 16,000 in 2018 and more than 350 exhibitors representing 40 countries will set up this year to feature the latest dairy… Read More
Farmers live and work in the real world, so real world events like weather can make a huge difference to a crop. We all know this, but sometimes we forget that the weather in the year prior to the current growing season also needs to be taken into account. Andrew Reid understands that crops grow… Read More
During TechTourLIVE this year, the audience got a special treat when the tour stopped at Regina, Sask. RCMP Supt. Kevin Kunetzki was a featured guest at the event and on RealAg Radio to talk about rural crime and the new safety network program being piloted in southern Saskatchewan. According to Kunetzki, there has been an increase… Read More
Today’s RealAg Radio show features host, Shaun Haney back at his home base in Picture Butte, Alta., after a long week on the road for TechTourLIVE. Guests on the show include: Jessika Guse with the top ag news stories of the day; Jeremy Boychyn, agronomy research extension specialist for Alberta Barley and Wheat, discusses varietal… Read More
Starting in 2019, Ontario growers will have access to a tiered salvage benefit when dealing with deoxynivalenol (DON) in the corn crop. Announced this week via the provincial government, the new tiered salvage benefit will more “accurately reflect the additional costs associated with harvesting and handling corn affected by DON and help producers trying to find… Read More
Poor internet access and speed in rural Canada is a major hurdle for many business owners, farmers included. To address this infrastructure shortcoming, Xplornet has announced its plan to spend $500 million over the next five years to boost 5G wireless access to those who don’t live in a city. “We have made unprecedented investments… Read More
For anyone that’s ever done an agriculture diploma or degree, there’s likely a course that elicited groans when you’d see it on the schedule. For some it’s likely communications, for others maybe statistics, but for many it’s soil science. That was the case for Marla Riekman, which is ironic, given that she now serves as… Read More
Will strip tillage find a home in Ontario soybean fields? AGRIS Co-operative agronomist Dale Cowan certainly believes there’s a fit. Last June on RealAgriculture Soybean School we visited Cowan in a field of strip tilled soybeans near Mount Brydges, Ont., where Cowan’s brother, Larry and Larry’s son, Chris, of Chimo Farms, had created an integrated strip till program… Read More
Lukáš Jurek’s father came to Canada from the Czech republic in 1996 to look at a new innovative technology – storing cattle feed silage in plastic bags. Jurek Sr. liked what he saw, bought the technology, adapted it to European conditions and, in 1998 Euro Bagging was born. The company has since established itself in… Read More
At a time when farmers are hammering out final crop plans, ranchers and feedlot operators are also looking ahead to ration formulations ahead of the first new-crop harvests. To get a sense of western feed markets, RealAg Radio host Shaun Haney invited Jim Beusekom, president of Market Place Commodities Ltd., on stage at the recent TechTourLIVE… Read More
Grain markets were able to climb off the lows this week as some bullish factors have started to come into play, as well as some technical relief. To start off, after the largest funds’ net short position since January 2018 helped test new contract lows last week, corn prices have picked up their socks a… Read More