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Although livestock and crops have some similar concepts, one of the differences is that you don’t have to keep your crops from escaping.

The Razer Grazer, by Range Ward, is working to help keep your cattle in.

Neil Thorsteinson, sales manager with Range Ward, was on hand at AgSmart at Olds, Alta., to show off the portable, solar electric fencing machines.

Completely set up to fence a half a mile of temporary electric fencing, the Razer Grazer comes with a 50 watt solar panel, which charges a heavy duty deep cycle 12 volt battery.

Equipped with step-in pigtail posts, the fencer also comes with an electric reel, which as Thorsteinson explains, is called the power arm.

“It rolls up our half mile roll of power braid reflective rope in about seven minutes. It can also be removed from the body of the Razer Grazer as well to go in and cross fence independently from the machine, to go and cross fence throughout the quarter section or perimeter fenced,” he explains.

The motor for the electric reel can run off the power of a pickup truck, by plugging it into the trailer lights. If you are using a side-by-side or ATV to move the fencer, the machine comes equipped with a wiring harness, where you can clip it onto the side-by-sides battery.

As many ranchers are often fencing in dry, saline, or tricky soil conditions, Thorsteinson highlights the power hammer ground rod system.

“It’s a hammer in the ground, hammer back out of the ground, ground rod,” he demonstrates.

Check out the full conversation between Thorsteinson and RealAgriculture’s Kara Oosterhuis, below:

The Canola Council of Canada (CCC) has announced details of its On-Farm Climate Action Fund program.

Through the Canola 4R Advantage nutrient stewardship program, eligible farms can access up to $12,000 per year, as 85 per cent cost-share of beginning or advancing 4R practices on-farm.

Up to $17.4 million in federal funding is currently approved for the two-year Canola 4R Advantage project

“Canadian canola growers are leaders in sustainability, and we’re excited to launch this program to keep building on this excellent track record,” says Jim Everson, CCC president. “Expanding the use of 4R Nutrient Stewardship is an important opportunity to improve fertilizer efficiency, which is good for both farm productivity and the environment.”

4R N nutrient stewardship is focused on applying the right source of fertilizer at the right rate, right time and right place for optimal results and minimizing nitrous oxide emissions.

Canola 4R Advantage cover costs for canola growers that use best management practices (BMPs) in four areas: soil testing, enhanced efficiency fertilizers, preferred application, and field zone mapping.

To be eligible for these incentives, a grower must have a 4R Nutrient Stewardship plan that has been verified by a Certified Crop Adviser or Professional Agrologist who has earned the 4R designation from Fertilizer Canada.

“These BMPs fit in well with canola production across the Prairies and are effective ways to use fertilizer efficiently and get more return from that investment,” says Roger Chevraux, canola grower and chair of Alberta Canola. “And by working with a 4R designated agronomist, growers get guidance from certified experts and their acres accounted for and recognized under the 4R Nutrient Stewardship program.”

Canola 4R Advantage will begin accepting applications on August 17 through a digital platform linked to the CCC website. In the meantime, growers and agronomists can review program details and eligibility criteria at canolacouncil.org/4R-advantage.

The CCC is also partnering with Fertilizer Canada to provide training, information resources and knowledge transfer activities to growers and agronomists.

Stability and sustainability are two key factors that FuelPositive is looking to provide farmers through their on-farm, green ammonia production system.

By definition, green ammonia is 100 per cent renewable and carbon free, which, as we look ahead to farming practices, checks two sizeable boxes in the way of production. Although green ammonia may satisfy the needs of several different types of end users, FuelPositive’s initial customers are expected to be farmers who will use the product for fertilizer and eventually to power farm machinery, such as tractors and other farm vehicles, generators, and grain drying systems.

The price of the system to the farmer will start at $950,000, a number that the company says they came to after much deliberation and research. This price will vary depending on the farmer’s needs, set through consultations between each individual farmer and a FuelPositive professional.

The base system will include a hydrogen separator, nitrogen extractor, ammonia converter, control system with remote monitoring capability, nominal ammonia storage, and basic installation package. Each customer can consider adding options and potential deductions from this base specification. The customization may include production system features, storage system design, installation, and delivery.

The specs include:

• 300 kg/day (100 tonnes/year) of green anhydrous ammonia
• 476 kg/day of water
• Customer to supply sustainable grid source of electricity or an off-grid option (approximately 1-megawatt solar array, with supplementary storage, would power the system completely off-grid)
• Each system fits within three standard 20-foot containers
  • To scale up for greater output you can add more process modules. The primary system contains the master controls, added modules utilize remote control configurations.
• Life cycle of several decades, with periodic upgrades
• Modular design makes component and software upgrades easy

By use of fertilizer alone, the company states that the return on investment will vary from operation to operation, however, farmer’s will benefit by saving money from buying traditional grey ammonia. FuelPositive states they will help farmers optimize returns on the investment.

In April of 2022, it was announced that a farm in Manitoba would be the first pilot location for the technology and after having a few months of use under their belt, the Manitoba farmers, Tracy and Curtis Hiebert, are being considered as the company’s first pre-sales customers.

“The FuelPositive system will give us stability. That’s what we like about it. It’s stabilizing the supply and stabilizing the price,” says Curtis Hiebert.

For those interested in learning more and showing interest in being a pre-sale customer, FuelPositive has set up a dedicated website to facilitate this process.

More than three thousand conductors, yard staff and trainpersons who work for CN Rail are working with an expired contract, and it’s not clear when the railway and its largest union will sit down to begin collective bargaining.

The three-year collective agreement between the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) and CN Rail that was signed after an eight-day strike in 2019 expired on July 22, 2022.

While negotiations typically begin three months before the end of an agreement, the two sides have yet to sit down as they’re awaiting a decision by the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB), according to the union.

A union spokesperson says CN filed an application in December 2021 to combine the TCRC’s multiple bargaining units into one, and they’re still waiting for a ruling on this application from the CIRB.

The current terms will remain in force for the time being, in accordance with Part I of the Canada Labour Code, notes David Przednowek, CN’s assistant vice president, grain, in an interview with RealAgriculture.

“Collective bargaining for the renewal of the agreements for the conductors hasn’t commenced. That is one of the factors that affects maximum end-to-end supply chain capacity in terms of no major rail disruptions,” says Przednowek, speaking about CN’s overall plans for transporting the 2022-23 crop.