My daughter and grandson share the same birthday, August 7. They’re part of a pork-and-grain farming operation near Thamesville. At their birthday celebration on the weekend, our family barbequed pork sausage from their farm on the campfire. There was no reason to doubt the quality of the sausage. We trust the meat packers in nearby… Read more »
Category: Features
Beef Market Update, August 11: More cattle ahead, but how many?
It’s a tale of two different markets when you look at the Canadian cattle business versus what’s happening in the U.S. where feeders are anticipating a bigger calf crop this fall. Western Canadian feeders are looking at the same kind of numbers in terms of supply as last year, notes Anne Wasko in this latest… Read more »
Websites highlight Canadian farmers’ food products
Canada has a reputation for producing superb food ingredients…then shipping them abroad to be processing into finished goods, which we buy back at a higher cost. We further lose their added value because the processing and manufacturing jobs that are part of creating finished goods are part of someone else’s economy, not ours. Apologies if… Read more »
Real AgVentures: Having a mess of fun on a quick trip to Newfoundland
Sometimes it’s hard to get more than a few days for a vacation, no matter where you’re going. Take our recent vacation to Newfoundland, for example. We had only four days available at the tail end of my wife’s conference in St. John’s, but we were determined to see the western part of the province… Read more »
TechTour: Remote drop pan and separator help reduce harvest losses
Driving combine as a custom harvester, Marcel Kringe and a co-worker figured there had to be an easier way to measure how much good seed was being thrown out the back — something more accurate than checking the ground and more safe than running right beside the combine to throw a pan between the wheels…. Read more »
Beef Market Update: Canadian dollar, feed costs, & Japanese tariffs — all heading higher
Lower cattle prices due to big supplies, a Canadian dollar up over 80 cents U.S., and drought causing higher feed costs — Canadian cattle feeders are hunkering down as we turn the calendar into August. “If I’m a producer at the other end of the spectrum, as far as a cow-calf producer or grass operator,… Read more »
Say ‘salud!’ to the Canada–Mexico connection
I’m sure that with all the sabre rattling going on over NAFTA, our friends in the US understand why Canada and Mexico want to strengthen ties with each other, like we did earlier this month at a meeting in Calgary. There, Lawrence MacAulay, Canada’s Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, and José Calzada, Mexican Secretary of… Read more »
Blood test can identify litter-limiting genetic problem in pigs
A lab has been established in Guelph to screen boars with a genetic abnormality that results in smaller litters. The abnormality happens naturally, when cells divide. “Sometimes, the genes just don’t line up the way they should when cells are developing,” says University of Guelph Prof. Allan King, who established the lab. That results in… Read more »
Beef Market Update: Lining up for the (potentially early) fall run
After sliding for the last few weeks, the cattle market clawed back some ground this week, in U.S. dollar terms, at least. As Anne Wasko of Gateway Livestock notes in our latest Beef Market Update, the basis for Canadian cattle values has quietly flipped. “Instead of our cash cattle prices trading above the U.S. equivalent… Read more »
Farmers taking measures to clean up Ontario water
Producers can, and will, continue asking the age-old rhetorical question about why anyone thinks they are, or would be, insensitive to the environment when (unlike most people) they and their families actually live where they work. And although it’s a valid question, I get a feeling that the way our what’s-in-it-for-me society has evolved, logic… Read more »
Beef Market Update: Bacon prices, dry grass & barbecuing for Canada Day
With big supplies looming in fall, we’ve seem some huge movement on the cash market for cattle over the last eight weeks. Going back to early May, bids in Alberta topped out at around 190. This week they were in the low 150s, notes Anne Wasko in this latest Beef Market Update with Shaun Haney…. Read more »
ClimateCorp bringing its agronomic data platform to Canada
The wealth of information available to producers though digital ag platforms has created some on-farm data management issues. A survey earlier this year shows most producers are gathering agronomic data electronically, but many are not yet using that data for management purposes. Could that change, as companies try to make it easier to put data… Read more »
Spray Tips Special Edition: Choosing the right water volume
Higher water volumes are always best when spraying crops. Right? Actually, that’s a myth. In this episode of Spray Tips Special Edition we find our Sprayers101.com dynamic duo – Tom Wolf of AgriMetrix, and Jason Deveau of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs – enjoying a well-deserved coffee break. Enjoying their java, the spray… Read more »
MYFB — Ep. 25: Steering through business risk and financial risk (and what’s the difference?)
Risk — a four letter word that drives farmers crazy. As farmers, our chances of success are greatest when we know the risks we’re exposed to and hav emitigated risks that are in our control. To help us dive deeper into the topic of risk – specifically business risk and financial risk – RealAgriculture’s Shaun… Read more »
Beef Market Update: Surprises to the upside and the downside
The cattle market has had more than a few surprises lately. After maintaining momentum to the upside longer than expected, the market saw a quick adjustment to the downside this week, as Anne Wasko highlights in this latest Beef Market Update. “Not that the downtrend wasn’t expected, we’re heading into the summer. We’ve had a… Read more »