It only takes a split second of inattention, spurred by rushing or fatigue, for a near-miss to become a life-altering event. If that sounds dramatic, so be it. I’m not sure I’ve ever spoken to someone who has been in a farm accident who said they saw it coming. Too often we think we’re fast… Read More
Author: Lyndseysmith 2
The Manitoba Crop Alliance is now four years old, and the amalgamation of five producer groups is moving on from getting itself up and running to charting big things for its next strategic plan. The organization that represents spring and winter wheat, flax, sunflower and barley growers in Manitoba has a focused vision for the… Read More
A dairy worker in Michigan is the second person to test positive for the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus circulating in American dairy cow herds. The first case of human infection associated with this dairy herd infection of HPAI was detected in Texas in March. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says… Read More
Unless you count volcanic eruptions out at sea (and we don’t), every year there are fewer and fewer acres available for growing food, building houses, or setting aside for habitat. The decision of what should be built where or how land should be used is a complicated, complex, and controversial topic. In this episode of… Read More
Canada has finally decided on how crop varieties developed with gene-editing technology will be handled in the registration and approval process. Announced last week, crops developed using the technique will not be considered a GMO or “novel” and therefore will have a more streamlined path to approval. Now that plant breeders and seed companies know… Read More
India is nearly half-way through a six-week election period, and the government there is making sure it stays in the citizens’ good graces. That, in part, may have driven the decision by India to further extend a dropped tariff on imported peas out to October. Chuck Penner, founder of Leftfield Commodity Research, says that India… Read More
In the last eight years plus, Canadians have been asked to consult on several different proposed policy changes by the federal government. Some of these consultations move a policy forward. Others, like the Grain Act review process or the Sustainable Ag Strategy, results in a “What we heard” document and not much more. Then, there’s… Read More
In closing out the first quarter of 2024, Farm Credit Canada has released a report comparing current harvest equipment sales to last year and the five-year average. Not surprisingly, combine sales are way down over the five-year average, but nearly all harvest equipment classes have pulled back significantly from 2023 sales, a strong sales year…. Read More
If current crop prices, input prices, equipment values, and interest rates have you reconsidering a major purchase, you’re not alone. Thinning crop margins and an increasingly more challenging farm financial outlook for the year are showing up in some equipment sales trends and forecasts. Large equipment purchases are rarely snap decisions, however, and many farms need… Read More
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) says it has not detected a case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in cattle in Canada at this time, and is not currently testing for traces of the virus in raw or pasteurized milk. “As with many reportable diseases in animals, testing is being recommended based on suspicion of… Read More