Farmers are sounding the alarm on snow loads and structure integrity this winter, as areas of Ontario have been hard hit by lake-effect snow and large snow events. From southern Ontario, up into the Bruce Peninsula, and even in Eastern Ontario, barns and shelters have collapsed under the incredible weight of snow. Stewart Skinner, hog… Read More
Author: Lyndseysmith 2
What does it look like when rural development is viewed as finding ways to better serve the people that call rural areas home versus developing rural areas into cities? Too often, says Dr. Ashleigh Weeden, rural development policy fails to really consider what rural areas need more of and how to best support these projects,… Read More
Nothing ventured, nothing gained, but how do you manage to tip the chance of gain in your favour? In agriculture there are many variables that are well out of our control — whether it be ranching, farming or anywhere in between, producers deal with volatile input prices, commodity price fluctuations, and, of course, the weather…. Read More
Canada has experienced some economic growth since coming out of COVID, but our pace of growth and productivity is nothing to write home about. J.P. Gervais, chief economist for Farm Credit Canada, says that there is always low hanging fruit when it comes to improving productivity, such as adding efficiency, economies of scale, and producing… Read More
On Tuesday, I headed to downtown Ottawa, just a stone’s throw from our Parliament buildings to take in Farm Credit Canada’s Future of Food event. Held in conjunction with Canada’s Ag Day, the conference is one I always look forward to. It brings together hundreds of people from within and from outside the farm and… Read More
Kent Bacus, executive director, government affairs for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, hasn’t had a dull moment in the last few weeks. He’s not had much sleep either. That’s not surprising, as any time there is a change in government leadership, his department is going to be busy. Add in a change from a Democrat… Read More
A strong cattle market depends on many factors, all of which play a role in ensuring producers’ long-term success. While beef demand in the United States is the highest it has been in the last 40 years, and retail prices have risen 4.6 per cent annually over the last 25 years, producers still face a… Read More
The U.S. and Canadian cow-herds are both at record lows, at a time when cattle prices are reaching record highs. The market signal to build the herd is there; however, the reality of realizing strong income selling at these prices and several years of drought means ranchers have been in sell mode, not build. That… Read More
Members of the cattle industry from Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. met Monday for a trilateral meeting while in San Antonio for the National Cattleman’s Beef Association’s annual CattleCon. Nathan Phinney, president of the Canadian Cattle Association, and Dennis Laycraft, executive vice president sat down with RealAgriculture’s Lyndsey Smith on location following the meeting to unpack… Read More
Manitoba growers will be the first to participate in a canola Yield Enhancement Network (YEN) hosted by the Canola Council of Canada starting this growing season. YENs are peer-to-peer learning groups that use benchmarking as a way to determine what management decisions result in not only the highest overall crop yield, but also achieve the… Read More