After a late spring, including snow only a few weeks ago, Ontario corn planting is off to the races. A Twitter roll call, with over 100 Ontario producers reporting their progress, suggests that about 10 percent of Ontario’s corn has been planted, as of Sunday night. The majority of producers with 20 percent of planting… Read More
Ontario farmers continue to spend big money on farmland, especially in the southwest part of the province. According to the annual Southwestern Ontario Land Values report from Valco Consultants, the median price paid for an acre of farmland in this region of the province came in at $12,710 in 2017, an average increase of 9.7… Read More
Farmers from Saskatchewan and Quebec were named Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers for 2017 during the national OYF program in Penticton, BC this past weekend. Derek and Tannis Axten and Véronique Bouchard and Francois Handfield received the national recognition on Friday night. The Axtens operate a no-till grain farm with a unique emphasis on soil health… Read More
It’s Friday and that means we have a RealAg Roundtable set up on today’s show. Shaun Haney and Kelvin Heppner discuss some new details in Bayer’s reported agreement to sell its LibertyLink business to meet competition approvals, the confirmation of Robert Lighthizer and what that means for NAFTA renegotiation and Canada’s appointee to head up… Read More
Grain markets dealt with a sideway 3rd week of April thanks to weather concerns, acreage estimates, and planting progress owning headlines. Canola was the biggest winner for the week, up 1.4%, while conversely, oats was the sorest loser, down 0.8%. Corn and wheat were slightly lower, down 0.35% and 0.2% respectively, whereas soybeans gained 0.4%… Read More
First generation market garden farmers from New Brunswick and third generation dairy and field crop farmers from Quebec have been named Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers for 2016. Dominic Drapeau & Celia Neault of Ste-Francoise-de-Lotbinière, QC and Andrew & Jennifer Lovell of Keswick Ridge, NB were selected at the national OYF event held in Niagara Falls,… Read More
Fuel theft is unfortunately an all-too-common problem on farms. As operations grow larger, and with more uninhabited farm yards, thieves may find fuel tanks unsupervised and unprotected. To keep fuel where it’s supposed to be, Kenneth Johnson and Jace Ericson of Estevan, Saskatchewan came up with their own solution: a steel cabinet for fuel transfer pumps on tanks. Their creation — the Defender… Read More
The lumberjack show has become a tradition at Canada’s Farm Progress Show in Regina. West Coast Lumberjack Shows has returned to the show this year, hosting three shows daily just outside Hall 12. Our hard ag news-only journalist duo of Kelvin Heppner and videographer Jason Stroeve caught up with Darren and Lauren for a Facebook behind-the-scenes… Read More
After four years in development, AGCO rolled out its new 3300 Command Series corn head at the Farm Progress Show earlier this month in Decatur, Illinois. AGCO brand manager Kevin Bien told Real Agriculture the new corn head has been totally redesigned. “We call it the Command Series because it allows our customers to take… Read More
Jeff and Ebony Prosko of Rose Valley were named Saskatchewan’s Outstanding Young Farmers for 2015 during the OYF luncheon at Canada’s Farm Progress Show in Regina on Friday. They operate a 4,500 acre grain and oilseed farm — part of a larger 15,000 acre family operation in northeast Saskatchewan. The Proskos also opened an ag retail business at Rose Valley called… Read More
North America’s largest food retailer, Walmart, unveiled its positions on animal welfare and the use of antibiotics in farm animals on Friday. Strangely enough, farm groups and animal rights organizations alike applauded the company’s animal care guidelines. While both sides are welcoming Walmart’s positions, if you dig a bit deeper, there are conflicting views on what the implications… Read More
What a week! Seeding continues in Canada and the United States well ahead of schedule, creating bearish implications. That being said, freezing temperatures are in the forecast for a few areas and so the percentage complete could be lower than what officials are predicting. The lower U.S. dollar has also provided support to all commodity… Read More
Things have changed quickly in society, maybe faster than ever. For example, I don’t know about you, but when I was growing up, science was definitely not cool. One of my contemporaries (age-wise), a top-notch, internationally respected environmental toxicologist, reiterated that for me recently during a discussion about occupational choices. “I didn’t become a scientist… Read More
By Dave McEachren, McEachren Seeds, Glencoe, Ont. It was 1945, and my grandfather was purchasing his first farm. The 100 acres of southwestern Ontario clay-loam soil was much like the land his father before him had farmed. The man he bought the farm from warned of the trouble with modern tractors. “Don’t go buying a… Read More
The last few weeks of the year would not be complete without a Top 10 or two. While Shaun Haney and Lyndsey Smith have already weighed in with their thoughts on the top news stories of the year, we thought we’d also offer up what our viewers and readers watched most in 2012. Without further… Read More