By Shaun Haney Who spends less time at a desk than farmers. One of the advantages of farming is the ability to be outside in the elements growing crops and being stewards of the environment. Farming has become a much more complex career in the last 15 years where they need access to information and… Read More
By Dick Haney At the risk of sounding like the Saturday Night Live character Debbie Downer, there is a potential evil that lurks among us; it is how we leverage equity in our operations to buy more agricultural farm land. I think it would be useful to examine the similarities between Las Vegas and financial… Read More
In the last week I have received several emails and phone calls from people regarding whether or not the Federal Conservatives should have killed the Potash deal with BHP or not. One of the interesting emails I received was from Barry Senft the CEO of the Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO). Senft and the Grain… Read More
Earlier this week we ran a story on solar energy project in Ontario taking place on many farms from the perspective of Saturn Power (a manufacturer). In the summer I visited the farm of Steve Twynstra who has invested in solar power and is selling it back to the power grid in Ontario. Steve… Read More
At one time the farmer mainly used horses, then motorbikes, then quads and now the Utility Terrain Vehicle (UTV) has become a common tool on the farm. For many ranchers and farmers these utility vehicles have created a real sense of versatility and handiness. I must admit that when the UTV first was introduced I… Read More
On so many levels solar energy seems to make sense. You would think that this would really be the case on farms as well. In Ontario farmers sell solar power back to the grid while in Western Canada most farmers use the solar panel power to fuel the electricity in shops or for pivots or… Read More
It’s no secret or will it shock you if I told you that I think farmers are terrible at succession planning. If most of you reflected on your own personal situations I would assume you would say that you agree. The question that arises is, if we know this to be true, why do we… Read More
Unless you have been hiding under a rock this week you probably have heard about the Canadian Federal Government killing the BHP acquisition of Potash Corp. Saskatchewan holds a significant amount of the world’s potash and the more people I talk to the more that I realize this is more than just about selling a… Read More
Whenever I attend farm shows I always like to check out the different implements. When you travel out of your home region you tend to see different implements than your own. This is a great way to pick up on tools and techniques that are being used in different regions and maybe apply them to… Read More
The American market is very important to the Canadian cattle industry. Domestic policies in the United States can greatly impact the Canadian industry. Just think about Country of Origin Labelling (COOL) and the discussion in Canada in terms of mitigating its impact. There are some proposed changes to GIPSA potentially coming and questions and several… Read More
Residents of Rural Alberta, Forget those feelings of Entitlement – You’re nowhere near as important as you once were but MAYBE the Times are a Changing I had the privilege of being a resident of rural Alberta in the heady days of the Peter Lougheed era. At the risk of sounding nostalgic, those were the… Read More
After last weeks two posts on the Canada / EU free trade agreement I received several emails from people saying that they believe that this deal will provide limited benefit to the farmer or livestock producer in Canada. The NFU has been very vocal but I find it hard to take much that they say… Read More
I have almost become desensitized to attacks on biotech crops and food. Quite regularly you can watch the news or read the newspaper and hear negative reports that are unfounded and baseless in much fact. Rarely do you hear someone attack the validity of organic food and especially from someone that is from the inside…. Read More
Not since the early 2000’s have Canadian feedyards imported US feeder cattle in great numbers. Rumours are swirling that 2010 may be the year that this practice becomes popular again. There is no doubt that this will not sit well with Canadian ranchers due to the possible extra supply dragging down the current healthy calf… Read More
The National Farmers Union (NFU) has been throwing stones at Federal Agricultural Minister Gerry Ritz this week about the EU / Canada Free Trade Agreement that should be finalized by the end of the year. In a recent Better Farming story, NFU President Terry Boehm is quoted as saying……. These measures are so draconian that… Read More
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