The news is not good this fall. The rising cost of food and housing is eclipsed by the rising cost of energy both here and abroad. Supply chains are disrupted, and global supplies of everything from electronic chips to dishwashers is uncertain. In the face of it all, farmers are having to make decisions regarding… Read More
Whether we plan to or not, we learn something new every growing season. Some learning is required, as on-the-spot breakdowns or problems arise. Other times, a farm conference or show is so full of informative presentations and knowledgable people that just attending can make your brain feel over-full. But have you ever planned out learning… Read More
As Canadians gather (in small groups) for Thanksgiving this weekend, several arguments are sure to happen. No, we don’t mean about COVID restrictions or the outcome of the latest election, we mean the real, hard-hitting debates, such as ham versus turkey, pumpkin versus apple pie, and if cranberry jelly from a can should even be… Read More
What are the risks for the 2022 crop? Weather, of course, is always a factor, but what about the markets? What if we can compared the risks of the market declining, to the possibility of input prices further rising? Margins could be a heck of a lot tighter next year, unless commodity prices make moves… Read More
Rural crime is unfortunately one of those topics that more of us have been impacted by than not. Whether it be through a neighbour, your own farm, or a friend across the country, rural crime happens. Farm specific crime, such as stolen fuel or grain or rustled animals, often ticks up when commodity prices rise…. Read More
December is often a time for reflection of the past year; then January rolls around, and our focus shifts to the upcoming 12 months. For us farmers, it means planning for the growing season. However, we belong to an industry that has so many moving parts and, after all, we all have different goals for… Read More
There have been some decades that were incredible for farming, and some not so much. We doubt that anyone would want to go back to the 30s, the 80s, or even the early 2000s — 2002 was a pretty bummer year — but some of us probably wish we could go back to the “good… Read More
The longer the COVID-19 pandemic goes on, the more permanent some of the changes to modern society and social norms become. While the work on the farm level has changed little, agriculture businesses — like many others — have moved away from office settings to working from home and have kiboshed most travel. What’s more,… Read More
You could argue that the advent of more affordable glyphosate options increased the use of a pre-harvest pass on many western Canadian grain acres. Using glyphosate before harvest can kill late weeds and reduce the amount of green stems the combine encounters, making straight cutting easier. In conjunction with some solid advancements in pod-shatter resistance… Read More
When COVID-19 restrictions began in mid-March, it wasn’t surprising that conferences and agriculture events were postponed or cancelled outright. Soon after, cancellations stretched into the summer months, or events moved to a virtual or online-only platform, and recent announcements of Agribition in the west and The Royal in the east seemed to be the final… Read More
While Canadian farmers maintain access to over-the-top use of dicamba herbicides in herbicide-tolerant crops, American farmers are dealing with significant uncertainty regarding access to the product not just this season, but for next year and years to come. The 9th Circuit Court in the U.S. vacated dicamba’s over-the-top registration June 3rd, 2020, ruling that the… Read More
Rural communities need certain basic functions to survive in the long term. Whether it’s medical service, the local school, rural broadband, or a dry goods store, rural communities struggle to keep enough services around. Could mail delivery be one the next big battles to keep alive? For many rural communities in Canada, Canada Post is… Read More
We’ve talked about flattening the COVID-19 infection curve and a flattened recovery curve, and now we’re talking about flattening the worry curve. David Coletto, CEO of Abacus Data, a polling and market research firm, says that his company has been tracking how Canadians feel about COVID-19, how stressed they are about it, how long isolation… Read More
As schools, parliament, businesses, and entire sports leagues shut down, the concern over supply chain interruption grows. Health concerns aside, what production-level concern worries you most for agriculture during this COVID-19 outbreak? Have your say!
Adopting new technology on the farm — from new hybrids to new pesticides, to full-on automation — comes with a price tag. This new or additional cost might be absolutely worth it if the technology makes more yield, decreases input costs, or saves you time and labour. While most technology comes to the farm with… Read More