There are lot of choices for farmers this year which is creating a significant battle for acres, even amongst the special crop acres. Yellow and green peas are not one of the true sexy selections in comparison to canola but are still an option for farmers looking to diversify the rotation. With all the focus… Read More
Category: Tradeshows & Events
Canary Seed is not a high acre crop in Western Canada but it has been in the news lately. Mexico and Canada have been in a real trade dispute which prevented Canada exports to enter Mexico. Mexico is Canada’s largest buyer of canary seed which has created a real disruption to the crop. It is… Read More
The storage of your crop is one of the most important steps in the cropping cycle but it is one that is quite often mismanaged and not properly executed. Every farmer has a part of a bin before no matter good of a farmer you are. At the Southwest Agricultural conference Helmut Spieser, OMAFRA talked… Read More
With the pricing advantages for canola and lentils right now in the prairies, many growers are moving to tighter and tighter crop rotations. These tighter rotations include lentils more often and the exclusion of cereals in a canola lentil rotation. This is similar to the exclusion of wheat in corn soybean rotations in Ontario…. Read More
Is there anything more exciting than a new USDA report? With the increased interest in commodities USDA reports have become like the new gambling lines coming out for Superbowl weekend. The hype is high and everyone has an angle that they play. The markets moved huge today as a result of the report from the… Read More
At the Sask Canola meeting this morning Gerry Ritz gave an announcement on some new funding. I attended the scrum with the rest of the ag media and just caught the end of the discussion where he addressed free trade with the European Union and the long term benefits for farmers. Mr. Ritz also commented… Read More
The year of 2010 was a year to forget for many farmers in Western Canada who had to deal with the intense wet weather. I talked to a farmer tonight who got a fraction of his acres even seeded and actually only had nine seeding days to get some crop planted. Drew Lerner, World… Read More
Spring is a very hectic time for farmers. As farmers know there are time on seed restrictions for inoculants. We have all been through the scenario of applying inoculants to your soybeans in the morning and by the afternoon it is pouring rain. As you can imagine this can be very stressful when you use… Read More
Can you imagine 300 bushel corn? I asked an industry person this question this week and he said, “I didn’t think that 200 bushel corn was possible.” After being at the South West Ag conference this week, it might surprise you that all the discussed yield increase is not just in genetic advancements. Several different… Read More
Food has become pretty trendy. We have now have two Food Networks on cable and the growth of Farmers Markets has been strong in North America. One of the most misinterpreted terms is “Local Food.” What is local food? Seems like a pretty simple question. You would think that such a simple term would never… Read More
Have you ever heard the saying that information is power? Having information at your fingertips when you ned to make very important business decisions is critical to the success of your farm or ag-business. With the increase in crop protection product skews and the introduction of generics into the marketplace, it is more challenging than… Read More
In case you haven’t noticed, equipment is getting bigger every year. Bigger is always relative depending on where you farm. As farms become larger, farmers need to make sure that they are operating with the most ideal efficiency. Getting bigger equipment is not always as easy because it requires larger trucks, larger tractors and more… Read More
At one time the farmer mainly used horses, then motorbikes, then quads and now the Utility Terrain Vehicle (UTV) has become a common tool on the farm. For many ranchers and farmers these utility vehicles have created a real sense of versatility and handiness. I must admit that when the UTV first was introduced I… Read More
On so many levels solar energy seems to make sense. You would think that this would really be the case on farms as well. In Ontario farmers sell solar power back to the grid while in Western Canada most farmers use the solar panel power to fuel the electricity in shops or for pivots or… Read More
Whenever I attend farm shows I always like to check out the different implements. When you travel out of your home region you tend to see different implements than your own. This is a great way to pick up on tools and techniques that are being used in different regions and maybe apply them to… Read More