It wasn’t that long ago that just about everyone said if you are looking to diversify or get out of cows, you should get into goats. The market for these little milk makers, seemingly, had no where to go but up: major processors were expanding or adding product lines, consumption trends positive, and prices were… Read More
Author: Lyndseysmith 2
I’m worried about the tone of many conversations I’ve had with dairy farmers recently. Following on the heels of the latest trade deal, many farmers are angry, feeling steamrolled, or, quite frankly, are afraid that their very livelihood is being threatened. It’s not just dairy farmers feeling the pinch, of course — farming carries a … Read More
Early indications from the 2018 corn silage crop indicate that mycotoxins, resulting from disease infection, in corn are and will be a concern heading in to the winter feeding season. As silage is sometimes the yellow flag ahead of grain corn harvest, agronomists and livestock nutritionists alike are encouraging farmers to get harvest wrapped up… Read More
If you have a piece of low land, shallow soil, or a stream bank that you’ve thought about taking out of production, the ALUS concept may be of interest to you. ALUS Canada pays farmers to establish and maintain permanent cover on their farms, contributing to cleaner water and air and to wildlife habitat. ALUS… Read More
If your harvest (or seeding or spraying) has ever been shut down because of a piece of equipment throwing an error code, you probably need to know about the building concern over right-to-repair rules and regulations. In case you haven’t heard, there’s a growing rumble out of the U.S. pitting farmers against equipment manufacturers in a… Read More
Give a boy a burdock plant, and he’ll be irritated for a day. Teach a boy to kill said burdock plant, and he just may go on to be a provincial weed control specialist. At least, that’s the path that Clark Brenzil, weed specialist for the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture, took. In this episode of… Read More
There are many who likely bristle at the thought of a foreign country investing in Canada, perhaps because most equate “investment” with “land buying.” But when we’re talking foreign direct investment, in this case, we’re talking about companies investing in Canadian businesses, and vice versa. And, as J.P. Gervais, chief agricultural economist with Farm Credit… Read More
A recent report out of Ontario tells a good news story about the much beleaguered herbicide glyphosate. Put simply, the rumours are true — the massive move to herbicide tolerant (Roundup Ready) genetics in corn and soybeans in Ontario has drastically reduced the total amount of active herbicide ingredients applied per acre, even while corn… Read More
When I am completely overwhelmed with the task at hand (which is often), I sit down, make a to-do list, and break the task down into smaller, more achievable steps. I prioritize the most pressing issue first, or the one that simply must happen before the other pieces can fall into place. My hope, in… Read More
Until now, hemp growers in Canada were allowed only to harvest the grain and/or stalk of the plant. In anticipation of the upcoming Cannabis Act set to be implemented in mid-October, Health Canada recently announced a revision to regulations allowing whole-plant harvest of hemp. Why does this matter? Well, although industrial hemp has low levels… Read More