A good crop starts with good quality seed. As far as choosing that seed goes, most producers make that choice based on two factors, germ and vigour. Those two things are critical, but they don’t tell the whole story. The truth is that there are other unseen things that, if unaddressed can have a major… Read More
Farmers are starting to grasp the potential of social media. A growing interest has been shown by both the older and younger generation of farmer on how to use tools like twitter to their advantage and not just for their entertainment. Twitter in particular has gained ground in the agriculture industry for promotional use, social… Read More
There are many farmers and many Canadians, that if you asked “Do you feel that government hears your voice as a farmer?”, would launch into a frustrated and angry tirade about any number of issues under their skin. In some cases that’s a legitimate expression of a system that failed them, but in a greater… Read More
The continuing saga of the financial crisis in Europe and in particular Greece is leaving a lot of analysts on the edge of their seats. The latest development being the 170 billion dollar Greek bailout deal presented Tuesday. The failure of that deal could have far-reaching implications. But just how much could Europe’s problems spill… Read More
When we talk about feeding a growing world population, part of the solution involves maximizing the potential of all of the worlds existing agricultural land base. Certain countries in the world are looked upon to be the future of agricultural production. This list of “up and coming” nations includes Ukraine. Vast tracks of land with… Read More
James S Peck owns and operates PX Farms Ltd. in Cambridge, England. The operation is close to 6000 acres and is comprised of a combination of contracted acres and his own family farm. The farm is extremely large for the U.K. and the growth it has seen since PX Farms was established in 2003 has… Read More
The pulse industry across Canada is looking at an aggressive growth strategy in the coming years. The Saskatchewan Pulse Growers Association in particular have targeted a major expansion in acres by 2025 and they’re not the only province looking to grow. Alberta as well has some very aggressive thoughts on what may happens to pulse… Read More
Assessing risk is a crucial part of any producer’s pest control strategy. If you don’t know what to look for or how to look for it, you are setting yourself up for some potentially costly problems. That risk assessment starts with a good knowledge of the previous year including hotspots for activity, and overall movement… Read More
By all standards it appears that FarmTech 2012 was an incredible success. The event, which ran from January 24th to the 26th was sold out, with producers and industry members gathering to hear from an wide array of speakers who ran the gamut from industry expert to army general to comedian. Another reason this years… Read More
Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz was in attendance at FarmTech in Edmonton. He spoke to the 1600 attendees about the huge aoportunities in Canadian agriculture. Of course of one the topics was the upcoming changes to the marketing sytsem for wheat and barley coming August 1, 2012 in Western Canada. There were a number of questions put… Read More
With the volatility that is in the marketplace it is very critical to try have a handle on your risk management strategy. There are many ways to do this in terms of people and products. Traditionally farmers had to communicate through brokers to eben get updated futures prices. With the advent of 3G networks and… Read More