Changes to Canada’s variety registration system and staying competitive and innovative were hot topics at this week’s Canadian Seed Trade Association semi-annual meeting. Federal agriculture minister Gerry Ritz was on hand at the CSTA semi-annual meeting to announce a $100,000 worth of funding for the seed industry, but after that announcement the discussion turned to… Read More
Category: Eastern Canada
For the last 20 years, Dr. Helen Thompson has worked on the research side of the agricultural industry with Britain’s Food and Environment Research Agency (FERA). She recently left FERA to start work with Syngenta, a move that has caused a bit of a stir in the agriculture industry there. But, controversy or not, Thompson… Read More
If you’re among the many – including all the finalists in this year’s Canadian Young Speakers for Agriculture competition – who believe a better understanding of modern farming should begin early and formally in schools, take heart. In early December, just prior to the Grow Canada meetings in Calgary, final steps will be taken to… Read More
We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again, the sprayer is really a multi-purpose tool on the modern farm. From pre-seed burn-off, to in-crop protection and fertility applications, to post-harvest, the sprayer rarely sits still on the farm. Because it’s involved throughout the entire growing season, the sprayer could potentially be a great place… Read More
Fall and early winter are a great time for testing soil and seed and analyzing those results, to begin planning for the next growing season. Often, we do all of this planning but then never take the time during the year to check and see if we could be doing better or if the plan… Read More
If ever you’ve wanted to sneak a peek inside an engine’s inner workings, now’s your chance. The Case IH booth at Red Deer’s Agri-Trade event had a neat set up — a window into the whirly bits of the CVT transmission on its high horsepower tractors. Read More: See more tractor videos here. RealAgricutlure.com’s field… Read More
It’s an unfortunate truth, but most dairy farmers are likely to come across a a few tough to explain instances of cows that aren’t do well. A cow that’s dropping in weight and production, but eating well may be a head-scratcher of a case until the vet arrives and confirms that the cow is suffering… Read More
Farmers looking at the 2014 T9 New Holland tractors may now choose the redesigned SmartTrax feature. These wide, lighter and more cost-effective tracks offer a few changes over the last iteration. As Gary Wojcik, with New Holland explains in this video from the Farm Progress Show at Decatur, Illinois, New Holland’s design team has moved… Read More
If you’ve got livestock, eventually you’ve got deadstock, too. Disposing of that deadstock can be a source of disease transmission or environmental contamination if not done properly, so it’s very important that ranchers and feedlot owners have a plan in place to deal with deadstock. There are several options available, all with pros and cons,… Read More
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
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
Well, it’s official. The busy winter conference season is upon us, and I, for one, couldn’t be happier. This week, the RealAgriculture.com team took in Agri-Trade at Red Deer, Alta., and the first-ever Cereals North America conference. Also on this week was the Royal in Toronto, and though we didn’t make it there, we did… Read More
Pass the peachy strawberries and purple lettuce, would you? If you asked me a couple of weeks ago, what light meant to plants, I would say simply, “life.” But, after my discussion with Kevin Folta, associate professor at the University of Florida, light has become as fascinating as the very plants that depend on it…. 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
Agriculture is getting better at not ignoring or dismissing smear campaigns, just because it doesn’t like them (i.e. A&W, Panera bread). So in that light, it also shouldn’t roll its eyes at Friends of the Earth and its new survey that, according to the organization, shows Ontarians want “honey bee carnage” stopped. There are good… Read More