I was driving home tonight thinking about some of the most interesting people that we have interviewed since the RealAgriculture.com started in the fall of 2008. One of the first people that popped into my head was Ian Cummings. Ian is a dairy farmer that moved his dairy farm to the US to avoid the… Read More
Category: Western Canada
I have been around canola fields my entire life and when you factor in all of the growing challenges and key points, the most misunderstood is the decision of “when should I swath?” I get more calls to our office during this time of the growing season than any other. Swath timing is incredibly difficult… Read More
As a livestock producer, how many times have you heard, “We need to produce what the consumer wants.” That is a simple impactful statement but is not as easy as it sounds. What does the consumer really want in its beef products? Do we know? Does the consumer know? Market research is key to finding… Read More
The Consumer Goods Forum has released a new report on the five trends that are impacting the global retail chain. The five trends were: Economy and Consumer Demand – the challenges of the global economy have significant potential impacts on the demand for goods like red meat. Corporate Responsibility – this includes environment and sustainability… Read More
The Canadian Wheat Board has been travelling across Western Canada meeting with farm organizations and farmers to discuss the future of the CWB. Well at least thats what the intent was. In reality according to CWB District two Director, Jeff Nielsen the outcome was more of a lobby to grasp on to the single desk… Read More
In this episode, the AgNerds talk about Google’s acquisition of Motorola and what that marriage may mean for the future of the Droid phone as well as what it means for other developers using the Android system. Also covered is the growing popularity of the Droid in Canada and the majority presence it has… Read More
Margins in the feedyard business are tighter than they have ever been in an extremely volatile market. Fuel is expensive, feed is expensive and the Canadian dollar is high. The beef industry is struggling to stay competitive. “Break even” is a term that holds more weight now than it has the industry’s history. With volatility… Read More
When you talk about factors affecting the cattle markets as we head into the feeder run, a number of things emerge. High commodity prices are creating a new normal when it comes to a baseline feeder price. Producers have to get over the initial sticker shock and adjust to the fact that higher feeder prices… Read More
Where are we headed in agriculture? What does the future hold for biotechnology and food production? Where will the next big innovations in these areas come from? Dr Stan Blade hopes those innovations will come from in Alberta. Dr. Blade is the CEO of Alberta Innovates – Bio Solutions. They help companies working on research… Read More
Demand for canola from crushers has remained strong throughout the summer months, stocks are tight and exports are good. That being said, harvest is just around the corner and a number of questions will be answered regarding actual acres and yield potential. Everyone is aware of the disastourous year that Western Manitoba and Easter Saskatchewan have… Read More
Rising feed prices, expensive oil and a high dollar have made it a difficult time to feed cattle. You can add to that the continued instability in financial markets around the world and it’s hard to imagine that our ability to compete hasn’t been heavily damaged. There is no doubt that the Canadian industry needs… Read More
The road to economic recovery in Canada is delicate. Growth has been moderate at best, with events around the world adding to that fragility daily. European countries are dealing with high deficits and attempting to balance budgets under the pressure of a frustrated and angry population. In the U.S., the debt ceiling debate, the inability… Read More
By Shaun Haney RealAgriculture.com has been at several plot tours and company meetings this summer and there is a definite common theme of product development trending amongst the life science companies. It appears that in the near term the agronomic innovation will be derived in the areas of seed enhancement and fungicides instead of herbicides…. Read More
Yesterday I was at a ag-retailer crop tour in Vulcan, Alberta with Dupont. While Dupont was discussing some of their new products like fungicides and seed treatments, I decided to talk to some of the ag-retail attendees and find out some more about them. In this weeks episode of Talking to Farmers (but in this… Read More
With the Western Canadian winter wheat harvest about to begin, extra attention needs to be paid to harvest timing. When to swath, when to straight cut and when to combine are integral decisions to your profitability. The biggest threat to your harvest tends to be the weather. Wet weather can greatly impact quality if you… Read More