Yield stability and income stability — that’s what farmers earn when they invest in regenerative agriculture. That message was heard often throughout the recent Innovative Farmers Association of Ontario (IFAO) annual conference in London, Ont. It’s a tune that more and more farmers are singing as they increase efforts to enhance soil health on their… Read More
After last year’s sudden switch to wet weather, forecasting into 2020 is proving challenging says Scott Kehler, chief scientist for Weatherlogics Inc. And with no clear patterns in the oceans, and even prediction models for seasonal weather showing little indication of what to expect, this summer’s forecast is even more challenging. Still, Kehler has some… Read More
In a stroke of good luck, both Anne Wasko of Gateway Livestock Exchange and Shaun Haney, host of RealAg Radio, were in San Antonio, TX this week to take in the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s annual convention. That means this edition of the Beef Market Update is a very special in-person recording, which makes the… Read More
Spring 2019 was certainly a challenge for Ontario corn growers. With more than double the annual spring rainfall, many growers kept hoping the rain would stop and a planting window would emerge, but in many cases that opportunity didn’t arrive until June. For Maizex agronomist Greg Stewart, it was the most delayed planting season he’s… Read More
It’s been a week of wild weather: extreme cold in the west, and warm and very wet weather in the east. Understandably, overland flooding in Ontario has many farmers asking about the impact on the wheat crop. Peter Johnson has the answer you need in this week’s Wheat Pete’s Word. Johnson shares some of the… Read More
While the forecasters are calling for a slightly longer winter than most would like, most are calling for less extreme weather events for the coming months — with a drier west and wetter east expected. “We will not have an El Niño or La Niña influencing the weather patterns for 2020, and this is the… Read More
Drew Lerner, of World Weather Inc. says he thinks 2020 is going to be a better year in general for weather across the Prairies. When he looks back at the extreme weather that occurred in the west in 2019, he agree that that was one nasty weather pattern many will not forget. There are two… Read More
It’s not the forecast anyone in Ontario wants to hear. While some are still finishing up 2019 harvest — a season hampered by a cool, wet spring, a drought, then a nasty fall — weather guru Drew Lerner, of World Weather Inc, says farmers may have to be just as patient in 2020. On the… Read More
Alberta’s northern agricultural regions are asking people not to snowmobile in areas where crops still remain unharvested. “It’s a disaster…in many parts of the Peace River region,” says Canterra Seeds’ Jesse Meyer. “We’ve got areas that are well under half done – so over half of the crop is still in the field.” Meyer says… Read More
Those in the railway business are already starting to prepare for the winter months that lie ahead. As snowstorms hit parts of the Prairies in the last few weeks. some have wondered if that would put a strain on the movement of grain. David Przednowek, director of sales and marketing for CN Rail, says these… Read More
Over the Thanksgiving long weekend, the province of Manitoba was blanketed with snow in amounts unimaginable for the third week of fall. As of Sunday morning, 50 to 60 millimetres of precipitation had fallen, mainly in the form of snow in the southwestern and southeastern parts of the province, while the central and Interlake regions… Read More
Farmers across the Prairies have had to deal with some wacky weather this year. From little to virtually no moisture during seeding to a full on snow storm near the beginning of fall — Mother Nature has not been kind. This past week in Manitoba, was a struggle for many as the snow came down… Read More
A lot of crazy things can happen when it comes to weather, but a record snowfall in September takes the cake for most this year. Last week meteorologists stunned people in Alberta with their predictions of huge amounts of snow just a week into fall. When the weekend finally arrived, sure enough, so did the… Read More
Soybean harvest is underway in Ontario as the crop matures rapidly. It’s good news for winter wheat growers looking to get the crop planted on soybean ground, says RealAgriculture agronomist Peter Johnson, but there are still plenty of late-planted green soybeans that are a long way from the bin. The prospect of another year of… Read More
Weather has always been an external uncontrollable factor for farmers across the world. Besides having plants in a greenhouse, weather impacts all of us in terms of agronomy, the markets, and the food we buy at the store. Lately, all of this unpredictable weather has reminded some of us that we can be the victims;… Read More