Oxford dictionary defines “post-truth” as “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.” We’re seeing this term thrown around by the media in the context of recent politics, but these “post-truth” conditions are really nothing new for agriculture. “This has… Read more »
Category: FarmTech
Making Malt More Often: Malt Barley Grower Discussion
Malt barley has become a specialty crop over the years, grown by farmers who specialize in consistently ‘making malt’. Scott Keller of New Norway, Alta., and Wade McAllister of Innisfail, Alta. are two of those farmers. After participating in a malt barley panel discussion at FarmTech ’17, they dropped by to discuss their not-so-secret formula for… Read more »
Two Ways to Get That Spray Down into the Canopy
What does a unicycle have to do with better pesticide efficacy? If you’re Tom Wolf, co-founder of AgriMetrix and avid unicycler, it’s all about understanding droplets and how different sizes move through a dense crop canopy. Larger droplets tend to move in a straight line, forward or back, but small droplets move with the wind… Read more »
Entrapment Risk Elevated With Out-of-Condition Grain in the Bin
The tough harvest conditions on the prairies last fall were unforeseen when planning began for Canada’s first grain entrapment awareness and training program, but the launch of “BeGrainSafe” has turned out to be incredibly timely. “Out-of-condition grain is a major contributor to grain entrapment situations, as well as other types of injuries and illness. We know… Read more »
New Rail Bill Expected Soon: 3 Things To Watch For
If new rail legislation the federal government promised to introduce this spring is to be passed before the end of the session in June, it will have to be tabled soon. “One would imagine with the legislative calendar, it’s going to be have to be in the next several weeks,” says Steve Pratte, rail policy guru… Read more »
Naughty Weevils Expand Territory Across Alberta
Here’s a fun fact: not all weevils are pests. Unfortunately, as fun as that fact may be, the reality is several weevil species are damaging pests, and their range is expanding in Alberta. Alfalfa weevil, pea leaf weevil, and cabbage seedpod weevil have all shown an expanded range in the province, and, as Scott Meers,… Read more »
Getting Your Farm Succession Unstuck
The process of transitioning a farm business from one generation to the next is often filled with obstacles and patches where progress seemingly bogs down in the mud. Generally, the stickiest areas are the ones that come with the potential for conflict, explains farm family business coach Elaine Froese, in the interview below. “The two biggest things… Read more »
Farm Tours Get Outside the Agriculture Echo Chamber
Call it farm show-and-tell or a really great way to make new farming friends, but Andrew Campbell is almost two months into his 52 Farms in 52 Weeks tour, and the project, so far, is going very well. Campbell, the @FreshAirFarmer, sat down with RealAgriculture’s resident hand-talker Lyndsey Smith to talk about the tour stops… Read more »
Canada-U.S. Uncertainty Adds to Long List of Challenges Facing Trudeau Government
Maintaining the Canada-U.S. relationship following the election of Donald Trump has quickly become a top priority for the Trudeau government, adding to an already long list of issues facing the Liberals. “It’s added a lot of uncertainty obviously to an already full agenda. They came to power with 300-plus promises. A very ambitious government, across a range… Read more »
Ugly Experience in ’16 Muddying Acreage Forecasts for ’17 — FarmTech Market Panel
Bad experiences with high disease levels in last year’s crop are making acreage projections for Western Canada in 2017 a tad more complicated than normal. “This year has been a lot more guess work. We have things we’re just not sure about because the price signals on durum are actually looking pretty favourable, the price… Read more »
The Power of Listening And Its Role in Mental Wellness
Clara Hughes is a storied and decorated Olympian, winning a total of six medals between both summer and winter olympics. A cyclist by chance and a speed skater by choice, Hughes has been open about the significant challenges she faced as a teenager and as a young adult athlete battling a rough home life and her… Read more »
Disappearing Coffee, a New It Vegetable, and Great Canadians: The 2017 FarmTech Wrap Up
What’s the new it vegetable for 2017? You heard it here first: it’s beets. But after sitting down with the Rt. Honourable Brian Mulroney, General Roméo Dallaire, and Olympian Clara Hughes, you’d think Kelvin Heppner and Lyndsey Smith would have much more to talk about than beets…and they do, it just wouldn’t be a RealAgriculture… Read more »
Brian Mulroney on NAFTA, Trump and His Advice for Justin Trudeau
The organizers of FarmTech probably couldn’t have asked for more timely circumstances to have the Prime Minister who brought NAFTA forward share a keynote address. Hours after Donald Trump said he wanted to expedite talks to replace or renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement, the Right Honourable Brian Mulroney took the stage in front of… Read more »
Re-Thinking Finding Farm Labour in the Face of Expansion
How come we’ve accepted technology in most aspects of growing crops, but we still use job boards and local papers to find hired help? Chances are, the person you’re looking for doesn’t live in the surrounding area, or you’d have hired them by now. Kristjan Hebert, farmer at Moosomin, Sask. and chair of Global Ag… Read more »
Avoiding the Seven Deadly(ish) Sins of Grain Marketing
Pope Gregory I probably didn’t foresee his list being used as guidance for grain farmers managing market risk when he defined what became known as the seven cardinal sins in 590 AD. But whether we’re talking morality or grain marketing, these behaviours and habits can be costly. Brian Voth, president of IntelliFarm Inc., presented the “seven… Read more »