Climbing on bins is one of the things that you just have to do if you are a farmer. If you do not have to do it yourself, someone who works for you has to do it. Grain bins have evolved over the years, but the same could not be said for fall protection (safety… Read more »
Category: Ag Business
Competition Bureau puts the brakes on La Coop’s proposed purchase of Cargill assets
In order to preserve competition in southwestern and central Ontario, the Competition Bureau has concluded La Coop fédérée’s (LCF) proposed purchase of Cargill’s Ontario grain business, retail crop inputs business, and 50 per cent equity interest in South West Ag Partners, Inc. may not proceed as presented. LCF announced the deal with Cargill back in March… Read more »
Consumers, farmers, and industry all benefit from a trusted regulatory system
Regulations are often disliked by by both producers and consumers. Producers think there is too much red tape and consumers think regulators are too accommodating to business. But when the regulatory system works – when it trusted and predictable – everyone benefits. The recent Canola Discovery Forum at Banff, Alta., brought together a host of… Read more »
Getting technical with commodity market analysis
When farmers talk about commodity markets, the conversation most often focuses on the fundamentals — everything from supply and demand to crop carryover. Rarely do you stumble upon a conversation where technical market analysis indicators are being hotly contested over coffee. Technical analysis, basically forecasting the direction of prices through the study of past market data,… Read more »
Start-up businesses get leg up through Agropur dairy innovation program
Five businesses in North America will be given the opportunity to reinvent and reinvigorate the dairy sector. Agropur has launched a new accelerator program for the business side of dairy dubbed Inno Accel. The program, which launched last month, will bring together a team of two mentors (one entrepreneur and one Agropur executive) to be… Read more »
Future agriculture leaders learn what provincial wheat and barley commissions do
Sometimes the work of producer commissions isn’t easily visible, even to the farmers that pay the check-off. Certainly, to a group of university students, commissions can seem like an entirely different world. Geoff Backman is the manager of business development and markets with the Alberta Wheat and Barley Commissions (AWBC). He studied at the University… Read more »
What the legalization of cannabis means for your farm
On October 17, 2018 there was a major change to Canadian law which is very slowly starting to ripple its way through workplaces across Canada. Farms are included in this workplace change but the question is are farmers ready for the change that is about to sweep over them? RealAg Radio host Shaun Haney dives… Read more »
Canadian hemp industry ready for new opportunities
Hemp has often been lumped in with its rather contentious relation, cannabis. While related, the two crops are very different, but the recent legalization of cannabis in Canada is also good news for the hemp industry. Shaun Haney, host of RealAg Radio, recently had a chance to talk with Ted Haney, executive director of the… Read more »
How high will interest rates rise?
Ever since the great recession of 2008, interest rates have been ‘abnormally’ low. Although there has been noise about rising interest rates, the economic argument has been weak. But the economy is getting stronger, and along with that the argument to raise interest rates is also getting stronger. In this interview RealAg Radio host Shaun… Read more »
Increasing leadership roles for women helps fuel Cargill’s future
In agriculture, women are under represented in leadership roles. How do we change that? For Cargill, one of the world’s largest agribusinesses, change comes in the form of a commitment to achieve gender parity in management by 2030. The goal is to have women occupy 50 per cent of leadership roles in the organization at that… Read more »
Don’t let unspoken gender rules get in the way
When it comes to communicating in the workplace — men and women don’t typically speak the same language. According to Sherry Waddingham, president of Mindshift, a Toronto-based workplace communications company, men tend to be more assertive, competitive, look to problem solve and are poor listeners. Women on the other hand, are less assertive, look to share… Read more »
Biotech innovator and canola pioneer Wilf Keller on team work, leadership, and sharing science
Some people are a part of an industry when if first starts. Others are a significant part of the establishment of an industry. Still others are able to bring new participants into an industry and mentor them into even higher achievements. Very few people do all of these things and also are able to explain… Read more »
Loss of Class 7 — not access — the larger USMCA problem, says economist
There was a tremendous amount of relief, and some consternation, when the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) was finally struck. Cleary, many industries are simply happy that things did not get worse. The dairy industry, though, feels that things did get worse for them. Dr. Richard Barichello, professor, food and resource economics at the University… Read more »
Canadians take the pulse of World Dairy Expo
Walk around the World Dairy Expo at Madison, Wisconsin, and you’ll find Canadians everywhere – from the show ring, to the cattle barns, and the exhibit halls. In the video below, RealAgriculture’s Bernard Tobin and Jordon Underhill, general manager of the Canadian Dairy XPO (CDX), take the pulse of the attendees at the annual dairy showcase…. Read more »
Livestock and Forage Centre of Excellence aims to deliver world-leading research
This week marks the official opening of theLivestock and Forage Centre of Excellence (LFCE), located southeast of Saskatoon. Leadership of the LFCE say that this isn’t just a world-class facility, but it is designed to be world-leading in forage and beef production research. RealAgriculture’s Dale Leftwich attended the grand opening of the LFCE and met… Read more »