Both farmers and crop production companies are very focused and interested in increasing plant health through the entire growing season. The industry has set its sights on accomplishing this through the increased use of seed treatments and fungicides. Whether it be canola, wheat or corn, Canadian farmers are very prepared to invest in the health… Read More
Category: audio
After skipping the October update due to the U.S. government shutdown, this morning’s USDA World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report was much anticipated by traders and farmers alike. While bearish news abounded ahead of the report, especially on the corn side, many were hoping that added yield would be balanced by decreased acres… Read More
Below are some of my thoughts about succession planning from this week at Agritrade in Red Deer, Alberta. It is very clear that farmers are not tired of this discussion based on the attendance at the AgriTrend Learning Center. If you cannot see the embedded audio player above, CLICK HERE
It seems whenever a new disease or pest rears its head, the old wives tales and myths follow closely on its heels. Take, for example, the advent of clubroot being found in Alberta about 10 years ago. Never fear, said many in the more eastern parts of the prairies, our high pH western Canadian soils… Read More
Canola seedlings faces a host of enemies before they even see the light of day — seeds can get bashed around in the air seeder, plowed down too deep, hit by root rots or burned by seed-placed fertilizer. There are ways and means of minimizing the impact of each of these threats to your eventual… Read More
If you happen to meet Pat Beaujot these days, you’ll likely get the sense that he’s a pretty happy guy. Not only has the founder of Saskatchewan-based Seed Hawk recently sold his company to Swedish Vaderstad, he also stays on in the product development role. Imagine, for a moment, that you get to choose the… Read More
Who can complain about $1,000 calves, lower feed prices and actual positive feeding margins? Well maybe cash croppers….. It is starting to look like it is the beef producers turn to make some money in this economic tug-of-war. But wait, there are some issues standing in the way of profits and smooth sailing. As Anne… Read More
Changes to the Canadian Grain Commission are in the works, and farmers, grain handlers and industry stakeholders are all encouraged to take a look at the proposed move to an insurance-based model for grain security as a condition of licensing approval. Remi Gosselin, manager of communications for the CGC, says that this change, currently published… Read More
The battle of the new MCOOL rules continue to raise concerns on both sides of the border. Groups like NCBA, AMI, CCA and more are battling the US Government in its quest to make MCOOL a long term reality. Obviously with the US government shut down the last two weeks, nothing is happening. MCOOL seems… Read More
The Young Cattlemen’s Council (YCC) was officially formed on August 12, 2013 with the election of an Interim board at the Inaugural YCC Meeting (and just when you thought you’d finished memorizing acronyms relating to Canadian agriculture). The meeting was held in conjunction with the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) Semi-Annual Meeting in London, Ontario. Development of the… Read More
Cargill has announced that they will be shutting down its Plainview, Texas Cattle slaughter plant. Cargill cited a shrinking cattle supply as one of the reasons for the decision. Is this a big surprise, not really in terms of the excess capacity that is in North America. For Canada, the near term impact is a… Read More
When the media talks about profitability in the cattle business most times we talk about ranchers and feedyard owners. The other part of the beef value chain that cannot be forgotten is the cattle packer. Packers have not had a real great run as of late which has meant four day kill weeks. As we… Read More
The Manitoba Canola Growers are exploring the opportunity for its members to market canola through the Canadian Wheat Board on a voluntary basis. Pick your jaw off the ground and check the calendar to see if this is an extended April fools joke. I’m sure that many of you had the same reaction as me…..HUH????… Read More
Whether you are talking about your car engines or tractor engines, there is a constant push from manufacturers to increase fuel economy and meet new emission requirements without losing performance. This is not an easy task. In the field, in tough situations farmers need performance and that extra horsepower that is going to get you… Read More
Across North America everyone is talking about the bullish tone of corn and soybeans. Is wheat going to be the weaker sister in 2011? How much higher will the wheat price have to go to buy some acres back from corn, soybeans, canola and lentils. Some farmers and analysts are even saying that the attention… Read More