Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) is taking steps to fund research on agriculture’s impact on the environment. According to a news release, the purpose of the research is to, “Help farmers and livestock producers have a beneficial impact on the environment, while continuing to grow the economy.” The announcement was made by Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food,… Read more »
Category: Climate Change
Trade, climate change, and election strategy – just another day for CFA’s Ron Bonnett
It’s difficult to know where to start when you talk with Rob Bonnett, president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA). Bonnett always has a full plate, and the closing weeks of November are no different as his organization tends a hot stove stoked with issues ranging from trade to climate change and a coming… Read more »
Federal carbon tax plan roll out: What will it cost your farm?
The Trudeau government announced its plan for a federal carbon tax policy on Tuesday. It’s a move many saw coming, but some are already criticizing for the lack of transparency from the start. To break it down, as part of the federal plan, those provinces who don’t have a plan up to the Liberal’s standards… Read more »
Saskatchewan student’s research shines light on polycrops
This month, the University of Saskatchewan awarded more than $8 million towards research projects. Large amounts to the tune of $200K, even $375K surely grabbed most peoples attention, but my eyes shifted more towards Jacqueline Toews’s research. Toews has been awarded $17,500 in scholarship money to continue her research on the efficacy of grazing cattle on… Read more »
Treat your soil like an Olympic athlete for peak performance
What do Canadian speed skater Kim Boutin and your soil have in common? They both prosper and succeed when you treat them like an Olympic athlete. Boutin’s Olympic training earned her three medals at the recently-concluded Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. What would happen if farmers treated their soil like an Olympic athlete? Soil… Read more »
GreenON Agriculture program helps farmers reduce carbon footprint
Ontario farmers have a new cost-share program to help them reduce their carbon footprint and become more energy efficient. The GreenON Agriculture program, recently announced by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change, is specifically aimed at producers of agricultural commodities in permanent, climate-controlled buildings. The Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association will administer the… Read more »
Mapping profitability — a better prescription for your bottom line and the environment
Precision agriculture provides clear evidence of the impact of yield variability. But often farmers find themselves mired in a swamp of data as they work to create management zones and prescriptions to maximize yield across a field. University of Guelph’s Clarence Swanton certainly sees the opportunity for farmers to intensify management and increase yield but… Read more »
Corn School: Understanding 30 years of rising yields
Ontario will set a new corn yield record in 2017 with the crop expected to hit an average of 180 bu/ac or better. Where is all that yield coming from? Corn physiologist Dr. Thijs Tollenaar has poured over the data and identified three key factors driving corn yield improvement. A long-time University of Guelph professor… Read more »
How will climate change impact grain yields?
Climate change will have little impact on the overall production of corn, soy and wheat as we push toward 2050, says Grainbot market analyst Kurt Ahrens. Ahrens shared his crop production vision, including potential yield growth for corn, soybean and wheat crops, with about 500 delegates attending last week’s Grain World conference in Winnipeg, Manitoba…. Read more »
Volatile times — how innovation and climate change impact risk management programs
Crop yields continue to increase across North America, but so do yield and market volatility. According to Dr. Alan Ker, director of the University of Guelph’s Institute for the Advanced Study of Food and Agricultural Policy, increased volatility is something farmers will have to get used to as the impact of innovation and climate change… Read more »
Creating a ‘Silicon Valley’ for Food in Ontario
Around the globe, agriculture and food systems produce about 2,850 calories per person per day. That’s enough to feed the world explains University of Guelph professor Evan Fraser, but unfortunately we still have 800 million people who are undernourished. Even more perplexing is the fact that we have 2 billion people who struggle with being… Read more »
Ontario Premier Announces Measures to Reduce Hydro Bills
In what may be called trying to clean up the mess she made, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne announced yesterday the “Fair Hydro Plan” which is designed to decrease the average residential hydro bill by 25% and cap bill increases for the next four years. As part of the announcement, Wynne says “Starting this summer, Ontario’s Fair… Read more »
Credits and Costs: Understanding the Carbon Balance of Annual Cropping
If farmers are going to pay a tax on carbon emissions, they should also receive credit for the carbon their farms remove from the atmosphere. Many in the farm community are trying to make that case, as the federal and provincial governments roll out pricing systems that appear to lean on the cost side of the… Read more »
More Questions Than Answers — John Phipps on the Future of the Ethanol Mandate and NAFTA
With a Trump presidency come many questions and really few answers on what is next. During the campaign many promises were made with little clear understanding of which ones will be followed through on. I chatted with Farm Journal’s John Phipps the morning after the surprise election result. First off, Trump promised a collapse of… Read more »
The Rise of the Rural Vote and the Potential Trade Aftermath that Follows — Chris Clayton
The pollsters got it wrong, actually they got it very wrong. With amazing support from rural America, Donald Trump will be the next president of the United States. In the wee hours of the morning, Chris Clayton, Ag Policy Editor, DTN joined me to discuss why rural America shocked the world and whether Trump will… Read more »