With the recent flooding that’s plagued Alberta, cattle producers understandably have other things on their mind besides new technology. But at some point, when the situation settles down, they’ll find themselves in a delicate position – that is, heading for the front lines of science, promoting irradiation for beef.Irradiation would help kill nasty E-coli bacteria… Read More
In a move that’s sure to make manufacturers of organic pesticides very happy, the Manitoba government has announced its plan to introduce legislation that will ban the use of non-organic pesticides for lawns and common areas of the province. Citing health concerns for pets and children, the government plans to begin to ban the sale… Read More
Bill C-52, the Fair Rail Freight Service Act, received Royal Assent on June 26, fulfilling the Government’s commitment to bring forward legislation aimed at improving rail service for industries that rely on it to transport their product, including agriculture. The canola industry, like many other crop types, relies on rail service to move large quantities… Read More
The University of Guelph is on the hunt for a new winter wheat breeder following a major announcement this week. Grain Farmers of Ontario, SeCan and the university have partnered to create a new tenure-track position to focus on the crop, Ontario’s third largest acreage crop after corn and soy. In this interview, Bern Tobin,… Read More
It’s tough being a small fish in a big pond. In this case, Canada’s beef industry is that minnow in the giant ocean that is the U.S. beef industry. Or perhaps that’s not fair — it would seem the big hiccup with the entire mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) fiasco is that, according to… Read More
Farm Credit Canada launched a massive, industry-wide PR campaign last year not for itself but for the entire agriculture industry. Yes, agriculture — farming, food, the industry, farmers — for everyone. The Agriculture More Than Ever movement has since been joined by several partners, including RealAgriculture.com, with a goal of connecting consumers to agriculture and… Read More
I’m wondering how federal research scientists and agriculture department personnel feel about Ottawa doing a drum roll to officially open the new $10-million state-of-the-art greenhouse facility at the federal Southern Crop Protection and Food Research Centre in London, Ontario.In the big picture, I imagine they feel some sense of pride in the facility. The centre… Read More
As farmers continue to look for ways to capitalize on the local food movement, some new hints were offered up earlier this week from researchers at the University of Florida. In the southeastern U.S., Florida is considered the state with the greatest diversity of what most people would typically call local food, particularly fruit and… Read More
Shaun Haney, founder of RealAgriculture.com, spoke with Willie Van Solkema, president of JBS Canada, at the Saskatchewan Stock Growers’ 100th AGM this week to get an update on JBS’s move into Canada. Up for discussion: JBS Canada’s foray into existing markets for the former-XL Foods products, which markets are still closed to the company and… Read More
Here’s a little tidbit for you: if you’re scouting canola at the 2- to 4-leaf stage and spot blackleg lesions it’s already likely too late to spray. What’s more, a fungicide application later in the season is also likely a waste of money and time, even if symptoms are severe, because the yield loss has… Read More
The XL Foods beef recall over E. coli contamination and its detection was one of the top ag news stories of 2012. It’s unfortunate that bad news is big news, and even worse that once the dust settles we discover that what happened was preventable even within the existing rules and regulations. An independent panel’s… Read More
Editor’s note: This is Owen Roberts’ Real Talk, Real Action column. Each week, Owen will offer his insight into how farmers and the agricultural industry can participate in the rural- and ag-related discussions going on around them. Contact Owen at [email protected] or on Twitter at @TheUrbanCowboy. Score one for agriculture. In Ontario, the province is proposing… Read More
Monsanto Company today hosted a conference call to outline what is known and yet to be determined regarding the reported finding of Roundup Ready wheat plants in an Oregon, U.S., field. The company has published a 13-page presentation, seen here, to outline exactly what is known, what testing has been done and what testing will… Read More
Location has often been the first three things that drives real estate value, but when it comes to farm land, location means something very different. What’s more, while location is very important to land’s intrinsic value, there are several other factors that may trump where farm land is located. It makes sense, as farm land… Read More
It’s great to see farm groups take a public position. Their members want to hear from them, and increasingly, so does the public, especially when these groups are represented by real farmers.Even better yet is when a farm group’s concerns mesh with the public’s understanding of the status quo – such as border crossing into… Read More
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