Bruce Vandenberg knows all about the challenges and opportunities of milking goats. He got into the business in 1989 and over the past 25 years has built Mariposa Dairy Ltd., the second-largest processor of milk goat cheese in Canada. Speaking at the 2016 Canadian Dairy XPO, Vandenberg explained that his home farm now milks about… Read More
Author: Bernard Tobin
Bernard Tobin is RealAgriculture's Ontario Field Editor. A Ryerson University journalism grad, @AgBern was raised on a dairy farm near St. John's, Newfoundland. For more than two decades, he has specialized in agricultural communications, working for numerous farm media outlets, communications agencies and ag consulting companies. He is based in Georgetown, Ontario.
After losing an Ontario Court of Appeal decision on the province’s new seed treatment regulations, what strategy should Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO) now pursue on the neonic issue? We put the question to GFO chair Mark Brock. We’re also interested in your opinion. It appears the farm organization has three strategic options. Let us… Read More
Monsanto is still confident Canadian farmers will be able to plant Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybeans this spring, but seed dealers and partners are working diligently on Plan B to ensure seed alternatives. The company continues to hold hope that it will receive European Union (EU) approval for the glyphosate and dicamba tolerant soybeans in… Read More
Ask Francisco Rodriquez a question about dairy robots and he’ll tell you about people. With more than 38,000 robots milking cows on 19,000 farms around the globe, the technology is becoming ubiquitous throughout the dairy business. But what does it mean for dairy producers as technology revolutionizes the traditional daily milking grind? “The future in… Read More
Would consumers watch a farming reality TV show? The ‘Incredible’ Dr. Jan Pol thinks so. Since 2012, the 73-year-old veterinarian has starred in the popular series bearing his name on National Geographic’s NATGEO Wild channel, which features him and his family as they make their rounds tending to the needs of farm and companion animals…. Read More
Canadian farmers are still wondering whether they’ll get a chance to plant Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybeans this spring. They’ll likely get their answer in mid-April. In February, Monsanto Canada announced it had received import approval from China for the glyphosate and dicamba tolerant soybeans, giving the company the confidence to ensure Canadian farmers that… Read More
When it comes to busting food myths, the SciBabe has a simple message for farmers: “Don’t let people without the facts control the conversation.” Yvette d’Entremont, known to many as the SciBabe, has emerged as a leading crusader against unproven food claims and pseudoscience in the media. Over the last two years, d’Entremont, who earned… Read More
Ontario Farmers are turning out in force to participate in the Great Lakes Agricultural Stewardship Initiative (GLASI). “We’ve had incredible response to GLASI in the targeted areas,” says Margaret May, regional program lead with Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association, which administers the program. Interest and attendance at program meetings has been strong, she adds…. Read More
Pierceton, Illinois farmer Jamie Scott has been preaching the gospel of cover crops for 10 years. At the recent Innovative Farmers of Ontario annual meeting in London, Scott described how his father was his first and toughest convert. When he told Jim Scott that his idea to plant cover crops on their farm would cost… Read More
Ontario’s 2016 budget made many headlines last week – from free university tuition for low income families to a 4.3 cent climate-change-fighting gas tax, and even a lower-than-expected deficit. But what does it all mean for agriculture, farmers and rural Ontario? With some help from our RealAgriculture twitter followers, we peppered Ontario Agriculture, Food and… Read More
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) announced Thursday it will spend $1.75 million on research to enhance the energy of forage crops and study the impact dairy products like cheese have on human cardio-vascular health. The investment is part of the Canadian government’s Dairy Research Cluster, which was launched in 2013. As part of the Growing… Read More
More than 280 Certified Crop Advisors (CCAs) jammed into a London, Ontario hotel last week to talk agronomy, information and regulation. It was the largest turnout ever for the Ontario Certified Crop Advisors Association annual meeting since the event began 13 years ago. The province currently has 545 active CCAs and the number is expected… Read More
If farmers want to supersize their corn yields, they have to challenge conventional thinking and become students of the crop. That was the main message National Corn Growers Association yield contest champion Randy Dowdy shared with hundreds of farmers at the 2016 SouthWest Agricultural Conference in Ridgetown, Ontario earlier this week. In 2014, Dowdy set… Read More
North America’s first dairy milk robot was installed in 1999, less than 50 kilometres from Jack Rodenburg’s Woodstock, Ontario office. The long-time OMAFRA dairy specialist was sceptical at first, but he quickly realized that robot technology could revolutionize Canadian dairy farms. He says early models had their issues, but he quickly realized the potential for… Read More
If you believe the headlines this week, Canadians will soon not be able to afford to eat. Fruit and vegetables will be beyond an ordinary person’s capacity to pay and consumers wanting to chomp down on a piece of meat will have to order horse, bison or ostrich because beef and pork will break their… Read More