Author: Owen Roberts

Cleavers is the only loser in the recent approval of a maximum residue limit (MRL) for the active weed-control ingredient quinclorac for use on canola. The resolve by industry to work collaboratively through the international research-based regulatory system means that in 2019, growers will be able to fight cleavers with a new and effective crop… Read More

The Netherlands, with its moderate climate, may seem like an odd place to grow heat-loving soybeans. But just a few decades ago, that’s what people said about Ontario, too – and soybeans have become the province’s major field crop, expected to top three million acres this year. That kind of acreage is not in the… Read More

Questions are being raised about the connection between wild ducks in Ontario, an emerging avian virus, and egg production drop in a turkey breeder flock in the province. A research team, including Ontario Veterinary College pathobiology professor Claire Jardine, found 22 per cent of almost 400 live wild ducks sampled from 23 Ontario lakes tested… Read More

Even though Kentucky’s first-ever agricultural trade mission was eight months in the making, no one would have blamed the state’s trade commission for delaying last week’s five-day trek to Ontario until the air cleared of anti-Canadian rhetoric from U.S. President Donald Trump. After all, not only are trade tensions high, but Kentucky is as pro-Trump… Read More

Food waste has become the poster child for inefficiency in agri-food. But how much are farmers contributing to the problem…or to the solution? That’s what a study led by Second Harvest and Value Chain Management International (VCMI) is trying to find out, in what they say is the world’s first comprehensive look at food loss… Read More

More Canadian farmers believe that the need for improved profitability will prompt them to use field data management software in the future — and nearly one-quarter of non-users and current users say they are likely to adopt new software in the next three years. These are among the findings from Stratus Ag Research, in its… Read More

Production efficiency is said to be one of the biggest limiting factors in dairy production. So to that end, for the past six months, animal nutrition and health company Alltech has been researching and developing a new production efficiency program called Smart Dairy. It combines nutrigenomics (the study of how nutrition affects gene expression) and… Read More

The first benchmark study of the condition of culled dairy cows in Canada shows many animals in less than optimal condition are transported to auction in Ontario, and sold at discounted prices. The study, by a University of Guelph research team, involved 4,460 cows at three Ontario auctions. Over 16 weeks last May through August,… Read More

With the Ontario election campaign in full swing, the drive to arm rural-friendly politicians with substance for strategic policies and talking points has received a huge global boost. The international Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has issued a report called Rural 3.0. – A Framework for Rural Development, saying rural regions will play… Read More

Marketing and farming go hand in hand, says UK communications specialist Simon Haley. In a swing through Ontario that starts later this week, he’ll be urging farmers to use their intrinsic marketing skills to get back in touch with consumers. “Farming is where marketing started,” says Haley. But over the years – as nations became… Read More