Purebred cattle operations rely largely on DNA for parentage verification and identifying potential genetic defects, but where is the rest of the industry at with genomics? Is there a role for genome mapping in commercial herds? How will it help the industry as a whole? “There’s genomic tools for every sector of the value chain… Read More
It was quite a week in Regina — flash floods, giant equipment roll outs and Saskatchewan field editor Debra Murphy’s first chance at covering a farm show. No farm show that RealAgriculture.com attends would be quite complete without a signature Thumbs up, Thumbs down piece, and so, without further ado, I give you the Day… Read More
Day two is a wrap of Canada’s Farm Progress Show and the RealAgriculture.com team had it covered. Today we cover the new FCC app, a massive truck sprayer, intercrop seeders and behind the scenes information on the Talking to Farmers segment. We hope that you enjoy today’s wrap up because we really had some fun… Read More
Day 1 of Canada’s Farm Progress Show is in the books, and it was a doozy. Shaun Haney, Lyndsey Smith and Debra Murphy hit the ground running this morning, ready to cover all things machinery. From award winning designs and innovations, to tornado hunters and agvocates, Day 1 of the show was jam packed from… Read More
There is many a cowboy who likely wouldn’t dream of kicking the cows off his land and running sheep or goats. We get that. But if you haven’t thought about the benefits of using sheep and goats on pasture, you may be missing out on a very efficient means of getting more out your existing… Read More
Applying fungicides to pulses early is crucial, particularly with polycyclic diseases which can spread through the canopy quickly. Downy mildew is one of these polycyclic diseases, but it’s trickier than most to control due to a few factors, says Kan-Fa Chang, research scientist with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development. Chang says limited fungicide options makes in-crop… Read More
On Friday, I was offered horse meat. You no doubt remember the scandal that erupted in Europe earlier this year involving mislabeled meatballs which were distributed through supermarkets and even Ikea across 13 countries. The processed meat and meatballs labelled as pork and beef were found to contain traces of horse meat, which outraged consumers… Read More
Ah, branding … set to coincide perfectly with the start of the wedding season. As if the blindingly white legs of a farmer in a skirt aren’t nearly distracting enough, they must also be embellished with bruises. We held our branding on the last weekend of May, and I’m still thinking about pain mitigation for… Read More
There’s no denying the flax market tanked following the discovery of CDC Triffid in exports to Europe in 2009. The Flax Council of Canada set out a testing protocol for Triffid, but many farmers balked at the idea of sowing flax seed again. It’s been four years now —will we see a gradual shift back… Read More
According to Neil Harker, research assistant with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, wild oat management through herbicide application costs western Canadian producers around $500 million annually. Herbicide resistance in many weed biotypes is cropping up — resistance within wild oat populations has been nagging at farmers’ fields for years and is spreading. How can we combat… Read More
The factors to consider when moving animals or changing feeding tactics can be overwhelming. In the case of rapid grass growth (as is evident this year), producers are advised to feed a supplement containing magnesium, especially for lactating cattle. This is all in an effort to prevent grass tetany, a metabolic condition that causes animals… Read More
We all know that pulling a roller behind the tractor in wet conditions is akin to rolling dough without flour, with one key difference: you likely never have to park your embarrassing, dough-covered rolling pin beside the highway for all to see. Conversely, in dry conditions, a roller can actually pulverize the soil, increasing the… Read More
Just when you thought things couldn’t get any weirder… A new, free app for Androids and iPhones has been launched. The app, christened “Buycott,” and developed by Buycott Inc. (an overwhelming amount of creativity, I know), allows users to join a number of campaigns of their choice and make purchase decisions based on the “campaign… Read More
If you are aggravated by puns or organisms belonging to the family Apidae, a warning: this article may bug you. But honey, I’ll try not to drone, if you promise to bee open-minded. There has been a lot of media coverage on the recent and very controversial propesed two-year suspension of neonicotinoids in the European… Read More
You may have run out of hay this winter, but at least you have the know-how to start your own snow-removal business! There’s a plus side to everything, right? We were actually pretty fortunate, this winter (I mean, besides from the experience gained by the aforementioned snow collection). Though we used more hay than anticipated,… Read More