The Ag Women’s Network (AWN) is now accepting applications for its 2019 mentorship program. The program, which includes two new events this year, will match ten mentee and mentors together in an eight-month partnership starting in March. “Mentorship is widely recognized as one of the most important ways leaders develop professionally and personally. Participants told… Read More
The government-backed Advance Payments Program, commonly called the cash advance, is a tool used by farmers to even-out cash flow and help take the pressure off marketing decisions. It has expanded over the past few decades from a small program offered by the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) for wheat, barley, and durum, to a program… Read More
The Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) used to be a big player in the field of offering government-backed cash advances. The changes to the CWB’s structure and its transition to a private company created an administrative vacuum which 30 or so other groups that currently offer the cash advance have been working to fill. Recently, another… Read More
Ontario grain farmers dealing with high DON (vomitoxin) levels in their corn crop can now apply for funding to cover DON testing. The Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association (OSCIA) has announced a new intake for cost-share opportunities to support DON testing under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP). The initiative will support producers whose corn crop or corn products… Read More
Cleaning up around your farm probably isn’t top of mind at the moment, but as it gets closer to October you may find yourself with some time to clean up the shop or quonset. Free of charge to farmers, CleanFarms is about to start its triennial obsolete pesticides and livestock medication disposal program in various regions… Read More
Circle H Farms took home the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association’s The Environmental Stewardship Award (TESA) from the Canadian Beef Industry Conference (CBIC) in London, Ont. last week. Located near Brandon, Man., Brian and Sonja Harper were recognized for their work transforming their farm since acquiring the property in 1990. “What set the Harpers apart in their focus… Read More
In the third quarter alone, more than one million pounds of beef was produced through the Canadian Beef Sustainability Acceleration (CBSA) pilot, with huge demand for more. Cargill announced this week its third quarter results from the pilot project initiated in fall of 2017. At just over 1 million pounds of beef from certified sustainable sources, the… Read More
Programs offered in Ontario under the new Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP) are now open for applications for cost-share funding. CAP, a five-year federal-provincial-territorial initiative, supports Canada’s agri-food and agri-products sectors through cost-share funding opportunities. It’s modelled on the previous Growing Forward 2 program, but there are differences, explains Margaret May, regional program lead for the Ontario Soil and… Read More
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
With the five-year Growing Forward 2 agriculture framework wrapping up next month, federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay launched six federal programs under the new Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP) at the Canada’s Agriculture Day celebration in Ottawa on Tuesday. CAP is the acronym for the new $3 billion, five-year federal-provincial-territorial agriculture funding agreement that begins on… Read More
No one has to tell University of Guelph agricultural economics master’s student Travis Jansen that farmers like him are well-advised to listen to consumers. But he’s doing more than just listening to them – he’s set to learn from them, too. Jansen, who comes from a family hog farm near Seaforth, knows successful farmers have… Read More
Agriculture ministers from across Canada say they reached an agreement in St. John’s today on the core elements of the next agriculture policy framework, which will be called the “Canadian Agricultural Partnership.” CAP is a five-year $3 billion federal-provincial-territorial funding agreement that will replace the current framework, known as Growing Forward 2, which expires at the… Read More
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
The way we farm is continuously changing, including the way farms with irrigated acres power their irrigation pivots. The idea of using solar energy to help offset the cost of operating pivots once seemed foreign, but there’s growing interest some early adopters have setup solar installations. Merlinds Farms Ltd, near Grassy Lake, Alta. was the first in… Read More
The Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association (OSCIA) has announced a new partnership through Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s AgriRisk Initiatives (ARI) program. The project, entitled ‘Controlled Tile Drainage – Calculate Your Benefits’, will partner OSCIA with scientists at the University of Ottawa to research the crop yield benefits of controlled tile drainage. Controlled tile drainage… Read More