When fields are wet or the crop is too tall, applying a fungicide by airplane and even helicopter can be a solution. So why then aren’t farmers clear to spray by drone? It all comes down to Transport Canada rules on piloting and approved label uses by product. Currently, there’s only one herbicide with a… Read More

When it comes to our collective understanding of nitrogen fertilizer losses in Western Canada, much of what we know is due to the decades of work of a few researchers and members of the fertilizer community, including Rigas Karamanos. Karamanos, now retired, says that the process of understanding loss is tied to first recognizing the… Read More

Terry Aberhart and Arthur Ward have joined forces to unite Aberhart Farms, Aberhart Ag Solutions, Growing the Future Podcast, Convergence Growth and Pristine Ingredients, in a new company know as the Aberhart Group. “We are thrilled to announce the formalization of Aberhart Group,” says  Aberhart, chief executive of future growth, Aberhart Group. “We recognize that… Read More

The summer field season is in full swing and that means two things: learning and bug spray. Wait, sunscreen and food trucks. No, it means plot tours and a chin wag. Actually, field days are all of these things and more. Field days — and outdoor farm shows, too — are a chance to see… Read More

It’s grilling season and feed prices are down. Now that we’ve got the two positives out of the way, it’s time to talk tough realities for the hog market. Christine McCracken, executive director animal protein for Rabobank, says cooler weather in the hog-producing areas of the U.S. has meant heavier hogs coming to market. Combine… Read More

The summer of downpours continues for Ontario as another major storm system moved across southern Ontario, leaving rivers and creeks swollen, roads closed, and crops under water. How long can crops survive submerged? That’s a common question this week and one Wheat Pete’s Word host Peter Johnson answers in the podcast. Also up for discussion:… Read More

As a livestock producer, if there’s one thing that someone says that is sure to start a real conversation, it’s calling livestock sentient beings. And I say that because I have watched a sheep unceremoniously step on her dead “friend” to get better feed at the feed rack, with no qualms. If an animal is… Read More

Reports of hay shed fires this week in southern Ontario are a stark reminder to continue to monitor hay and straw after it has gone in to storage. This year’s wheat harvest is proving challenging due to wet conditions, and that was before the tail end of Hurricane Beryl dumped between 4 and 7 inches… Read More

All good things must come to an end, unfortunately. It wasn’t that long ago that crop prices ran up to incredible highs, where it seemed the only wrong selling decision was not hitting the *new* high. But this is not 2022, and those high prices did their job of discouraging demand or sending sales elsewhere…. Read More