April didn’t bring showers to Western Canada, and it didn’t bring heat to Ontario either. But the growing season in Ontario is still about 10 days ahead of average and that has some farmers well ahead of the norm for planted acres. This week on Wheat Pete’s Word, host Peter “Wheat Pete” Johnson covers a… Read More
When establishing alfalfa there’s a key decision to make: should the forage be under-seeded to an annual crop? Sometimes called a companion or nurse crop, experts say that instead, the annual crop acts more like competition than a companion. Ashley Knapton, dairy strategic account manager with Corteva, says that a nurse crop draws on similar… Read More
AGCO is introducing the latest in their baler lineup: the Massey Ferguson RB 4160P Protec combo baler. The unit, which produces 4-by-5-foot bales, combines all the features found on the RB Series silage balers with an integrated bale-wrapping unit, allowing producers to harvest and ensile high-moisture forages in one process. Whether harvesting forage for a… Read More
A two-year pilot project that will demonstrate grasslands’ carbon-storing power was announced last week by the Canadian Forage and Grassland Association. The project is a follow-up to a previous one, run through Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Agriculture Greenhouse Gases program. “We developed the first carbon offsets protocol applicable to Canadian grasslands,” says Cedric MacLeod, executive… Read More
There’s good dry and too dry when it comes to the seeding and planting season. Right now Western Canada is far too dry, but Ontario is actually nearly the ideal amount of dry, with a few weeks to go before planting really begins. Some field work has begun in the east and some Alberta farmers… Read More
Canadian Forage and Grassland Association (CFGA) is launching a pilot project to help conserve native grasslands. The two-year pilot project, titled “Retaining Canada’s Grasslands Using Carbon Offset Markets,” will allow landowners and ranchers to generate carbon offsets for carbon stored in conserved grasslands in Canada, says the organization. Qualifying land owners who sign a land… Read More
This week’s Wheat Pete’s Word kicks off with a quick explanation and an update on host Peter Johnson’s “extra 15 minutes” concept. The agronomy questions keep rolling in, and this week, Johnson puts off some of the wheat questions and instead tackles some sulphur questions, forage questions, and questions on spring cover crops. Have a… Read More
There’s no way to get around putting up feed for wintering livestock, but there are several ways to minimize the amount of hay fed, the cost of feed delivery, and the cost of hauling away and spreading manure. Steve Kenyon of Greener Pastures Ranching at Busby, Alta., says that planning for winter grazing and feeding… Read More
When livestock producers and ranchers think about year-round grazing, most think about winter feeding strategies — bale grazing, swath grazing and more. But Steve Kenyon, custom grazer at Busby, Alta., says winter grazing is more about how you manage pastures in the growing season. Kenyon, who runs Greener Pastures custom grazing on over 3,500 acres,… Read More
If hay has seemed in shorter supply over the last few years, it’s because it has been. In a recent webinar series exploring grazing cover crops and annual forage, Ontario forage specialist Christine O’Reilly shared a nearly 40 year trend line of both hay production and livestock numbers for the province. Since the early 90s,… Read More
There’s still room for privately-owned, smaller players in the seed business, according to BrettYoung. In this episode of RealAg LIVE!, BrettYoung’s Rene Mabon and Eric Gregory discuss how new ideas move variety offerings forward, how partnering on research and development with global players keeps the company on the leading edge, and what has changed for… Read More
Kainai Forage — the forage export business owned by the Blood Tribe in Alberta and Indigena Capital — has announced it has secured a $15 million long-term finance facility with Farm Credit Canada, and an operating line of credit with Bank of Montreal. The company says proceeds from the credit facilities will expand Kainai Forage’s… Read More
Farmers are taking a closer look at their soil’s health lately, and measuring the impact of cover crops or different types of strip-tillage. In this episode of Soil School, we’re talking about overall soil health and nutrition and we’ve got a great example of what you can achieve when you combine soil health and balanced… Read More
SaskTel and the University of Saskatchewan (USask) have announced a partnership to launch a “living laboratory” at the Livestock and Forage Centre of Excellence (LFCE), south of Clavet, Sask., to test, develop, and demonstrate agricultural technologies. Through a memorandum of understanding, the two organizations will focus on smart farming research and innovation to “accelerate transformation… Read More
The last week hasn’t been kind to the Ontario grain crop as a light frost caused heavy damage to many edible beans, some soybeans, and corn. More than that, we’re in the heart of optimal winter wheat planting timing and conditions are dry — what’s a farmer to do? To answer that question, plus so… Read More
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