It's spring and that means it's farming time across Canada. StatsCan has released its March seeding intention report for 2019 to give an indication for of how acres could possibly change for 2019. In Western Canada, the battle for acres has several more competitors than in Ontario and the U.S. Midwest, so winners and losers... Read More
Category: Crop Production
Ontario’s processing vegetable growers are expressing their disappointment over a recent provincial ruling concerning contracts for the 2020 processing tomato crop. The provincial agriculture department announced recently its intent to overhaul the regulated marketing system and move to a direct contracting model versus the current negotiation model between growers and processors. The Ontario Processing Vegetable... Read More
Protein Industries Canada (PIC) has announced its first call for proposals, allocating $40 million for co-investment into projects that will "position Canada as the centre of high-quality plant-based protein products and co-products," according to the group. "We are eager to collaborate with businesses, big and small, to co-invest in projects that have the potential to... Read More
Herbicide resistant weeds are spreading across counties, the country, and the continent. Weed seeds are hitching a ride on wind and water and being transported by everything from machinery and migrating geese to ducks and earthworms. On this episode of RealAgriculture's Resistance Management School, we're joined by University of Guelph Ridgetown campus weed researcher, Dave... Read More
What's yellow, baled, and wanted all over? Straw of course! The pretty sad wheat crop in Ontario has many farmers asking, "what's straw worth?" and, "which cereal crop will give me the most?" Host Peter 'Wheat Pete' Johnson tackles that question and so much more in this week's Wheat Pete's Word. Hear more about straw... Read More
Breaking yield records has become routine for modern corn hybrids. Much of the credit goes to new and improved genetics, but those bin-busting yields also require more nutrients, and that demand extends well beyond N, P, and K. "As we continue to raise the yield bar we need to start looking at micronutrients with a... Read More
If you could move a chunk of acres to fall planting, diversify the crop mix, and get a jump on herbicide-resistant weeds, would you? All of that is an option with winter canola, but the crop isn't without its challenges. Currently, there’s only one registered winter canola variety for Ontario growers, says Eric Page, research... Read More
It's that time of year again when producers are being asked by the Soil Conservation Council of Canada (SCCC) to soil their undies! The play on words campaign is in its third year, and involves farmers digging a hole, placing 100 per cent cotton underwear in it, covering it up, and waiting a few months... Read More
As the federal government rolled out the carbon tax April 1, farmers and rural Canadians were understandably irritated. Among the feedback we received was a question that struck me — why don't farmers get paid to store carbon in the soil? I was a little surprised, because, in at least one province, they do. Alberta... Read More
Ontario winter wheat growers have been expecting an unimpressive winter wheat stand, but early feedback from farmers and agronomists is proving that the 2019 crop may be even worse than expected. The sooner farmers can evaluate wheat stands properly the better, but conditions haven't been conducive to the crop breaking dormancy. If the crop looks... Read More