In this episode of Saik’s Agri-Treks, we are back on the tour of Ieuan Evans’ 4.5 acres of diversity. Besides being credited with discovering the Evans cherry tree in a gardener’s home near Fort Saskatchewan, Evans is also well-known for his passion for lilies. Saik’s Agri-Treks: Sunflowers, Sheep and Ieuan Evans Saik’s Agri-Treks: Grafting, Non-Browning Apples and Ieuan Evans… Read More
Category: Farm Travel
Related: Saik’s Agri-Treks: Sunflowers, Sheep and Ieuan Evans (Pt. 1) In this episode of Saik’s Agri-Treks, we are back on the tour of Ieuan Evans’ “4.5 acres of ecosystem.” Rob Saik, host of Agri-Treks and founder of Agri-Trend, shows us an edible mountain ash, apple grafts, cherry and plum trees. He then gives us a tour of the greenhouse,… Read More
Those who oppose agricultural subsidies have long held New Zealand out as the ultimate success story. According to their line of reasoning, if the Kiwis can farm without subsidies, so can we. In fact, before and during the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) talks, New Zealand’s iconic status with its admirers was so elevated that to… Read More
Saik’s Agri-Treks has taken us to favelas in Brazil, not-quite-elephant-proof fencing in Africa, Agritechnica in Germany and desert irrigation in Arizona. But this time, Rob Saik takes us on an exploration of our own backyard — or, Ieuan Evans’ backyard — in sunny Alberta. Related: Will Agriculture be Allowed to Feed 9 Billion? Rob Saik’s TEDx Talk Evans is… Read More
The ceiling on what’s possible with wheat yield has been pushed higher once again. A farmer in northeast England has just claimed a new world wheat yield record of 16.52 tonnes per hectare, or in North American terms, 246 bushels per acre. As was pointed out in this Wheat School episode, yields surpassing 120 bushels per acre… Read More
Author’s Note: Okay, there are probably plenty of reasons you should bale instead of pellet (like: we don’t really have a choice yet). It’s just, well, it’s not every day that I get to use a noun as a verb in a headline. Last week I stumbled upon one of the coolest tweets I’ve seen all… Read More
Nuffield Canada has announced its scholarship recipients for 2016 – Tony Balkwill, of Paris, Ontario, Clair Doan, of Norwich, Ontario, and Tim Smith, of Coronation, Alberta. Nuffield scholarships of $15,000 each are awarded to men and women who are judged to have the greatest potential to create value for them, their industries and their communities through… Read More
No matter where you go in the world, farming happens. It can look very different, of course — from state-of-the-art rooftop greenhouses, to expansive, scrub pastures in Australia, to scratching out barely enough to eat from a tiny plot of land in Kenya. If agriculture looks so different, what’s there to learn from seeing how… Read More
Wheat production in the United Kingdom hovers just below 200, 000 hectares (about a half a million acres). It’s used for export markets, human consumption, and plays a key role in animal rations. Thanks in large part to the UK’s temperate climate, yields of 120bu/ac are not uncommon. And, as you’ll find in the following… Read More
Need an excuse to take a trip to a warmer place this winter? Can it be justified as a field trip for the farm? Cold temperatures might be a good enough reason to head south, and maybe it’s easy for him to say because he’s newly retired, but the former CEO of the Canadian International Grains… Read More
Whether it’s your favourite ag website, the radio or newspaper, Twitter, your area sales rep or the local ag extension office, farmers in Canada and most developed countries have many sources to turn to for expertise. Never mind scarcity, information overload is often a problem. But imagine farming without electricity, without a computer, without the… Read More
Last month, I had the opportunity to head to Scotland’s Aberdeenshire for the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists congress. While there, I received requests to document some of the differences in prices and availability of food products. Instead of writing a comprehensive report outlining the experience (boring!), I decided to do a vlog, which is totally… Read More
Iguassu (or Iguazu, Iguacu) Falls borders Argentina and Brazil, its name originating from the Tupi or Guarani language meaning “big water.” With a width of 2.7 kilometers and heights between 60 and 82m, it certainly is big water. They’re taller than Niagara Falls and twice as wide. And it’s not just the falls that are uniquely spectacular…. Read More
If you leave Dyce, Scotland in a northeasterly direction, you’ll no doubt end up along the North Sea’s coastline. You’ll pass Donald Trump’s controversial golf course along the A90, infamously known by environmentalists, many of whom opposed its start up and watched closely as Trump took his opposition to an experimental offshore wind farm to… Read More
Nuffield Canada has announced the recipients of its scholarships for 2015. Three individuals will receive $15,000 to study a specific agricultural issue while traveling internationally for a minimum of 10 weeks. The 2015 scholarship recipients are Becky Parker of Picton, Ontario, Greg Donald of Kensington, PEI and Colin Hudon of Rosser, Manitoba. Starting in February… Read More