Recent efforts to address consumer questions and confusion over certified organic food production have taken a step forward in Ontario. On Wednesday, MPPs Peter Tabuns and Sylvia Jones announced a co-sponsored private member’s bill for organic products regulation in Ontario. “This bill will provide further transparency and help ensure that the growing organic industry continues… Read more »
Category: Features
Beef Market Update: Rising loonie pressuring cattle prices
A changing supply environment has the second half of 2017 shaping up much differently for cattle markets than the first. “Already things are changing. If you’re in Canada, you’re well aware — and we’ve talked about this all year long — we’ve been in this strong basis environment where Canadian prices, because we’re tight on… Read more »
MYFB — Ep. 28: The senior partner’s perspective on succession
Every farm succession plan starts and stops with the older generation. In most cases, it’s up to mom and/or dad to determine how and when the transition moves forward. For farm families who are stuck in that process, it’s usually not from a lack of desire to execute, but from paralysis — not knowing where… Read more »
Real Dream Workshops, Ep. 1 — Shawn Schill
Are you planning to build a new farm workshop? How big should it be? What features should you incorporate? What cool ideas would make it a ‘killer shop’? Are there pitfalls you should avoid? Real Agriculture will try to answer all these questions on our new Real Dream Workshops series. To kick things off, Real… Read more »
Getting crunched: Government squeezes on farms are adding up
I’m fortunate enough to get to meet all kinds of farmers. Usually when we meet, the conversation is a standard one. What’s the weather been like or how is the harvest going? Politics, just like sex and religion, is usually left out of it. Until recently. Farmers keep bringing it up in their conversations. That… Read more »
Exploding Sprayer Myths: Is more air better for airblast sprayers?
In the year 2017 an indestructible human cyborg sprayer expert is sent from the future to help sprayer operators match airblast sprayer air settings to their crops. As the red smoke clears in the opening scene of the latest episode of Exploding Spray Myths, our cyborg star, OMAFRA’s Jason Deveau, meets human sprayer expert Tom… Read more »
Canadian Beef Centre of Excellence demonstrates value in under-utilized cuts
There are certain parts to a beef cow that consumers tend to migrate to, with most of them being the centre cuts — sirloin, prime rib, and others we see at restaurants and in stores. The Canadian Beef Centre of Excellence, located in Calgary, AB, is looking to show food service operators, chefs, and domestic/international… Read more »
UFA brings auto-dosing tool to Canada
Livestock producers in Western Canada now have access to a new medication system that will ensure accuracy, as well as help track medication given to their animals. The system, which was announced at the Canadian Beef Industry Conference last week, is made up of an auto-dosing tool that tracks and records what, when, and the… Read more »
Beef Market Update: Cash drops again this week as futures hope to find bottom
Unfortunately cash dropped again this week which is making things frustrating for cattle feeders. In the last three months the December live cattle future is down 7.22% and is 10.52% off of the highs. Cash dropped another three dollars this week after losing five dollars the week before. On Friday, the the December contract closed… Read more »
Beef School, Ep 6: The Impact of Nutrition on Performance & Carcass Quality
Quality in…Quality out What you feed an animal it is important to achieve the maximum performance of that animal in the feedyard. everyone chases performance. There are many feed input options from oats to triticale to rye to DDG’s to corn. According to Dr. Darryl Gibb of Gowans Feed Consulting “You push for performance and… Read more »
Sausage study challenges consumer confidence
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 »
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 »