Commercial beekeeper Hugh Simpson believes farmers and beekeepers have to collaborate, communicate and co-operate to ensure Ontario's bee population remains strong and healthy. Simpson is a founding member of the Independent Commercial Beekeepers Organization. The group was founded by like-minded beekeepers who make a living keeping bees as livestock based on economics, logic and practical... Read More
Category: Crops
By Larry Martin As this is written, December corn futures have traded in a range between US $3.81 and $3.58 for six weeks, since mid-July. This range came after a precipitous drop from the $5.00 area in April and May. Everyone is trying to guess where the market’s going from here. Of course no one... Read More
Once upon a time, something like a cabbage and a turnip-like plant engaged in a very "fortuitous cross pollination" and a new species was born, first known as oilseed rape, and then further cross-bred to become the human-consumption form, canola. It's this cross-pollination so long ago that has made mapping of the canola genome a... Read More
With seed companies preparing for an expansion in corn acres across the prairies, farmers considering growing Roundup Ready corn for the first time are wondering whether it fits in crop rotations that already include Roundup Ready canola. The concern is the introduction of another glyphosate-tolerant crop could complicate management of volunteer forms of corn or... Read More
The law firm of Siskinds LLP, based at London, Ont., has launched a class action regarding neonicotinoid pesticides, specifically those containing imidacloprid, clothianidin and thiomethoxam, designed, developed, marketed and produced by Bayer (as Bayer CropScience) and Syngenta. The action, set in motion by Sun Parlor and Munro Honey, seeks in excess of $400 million in... Read More
When it comes to planting no-till wheat, Phil Needham, of Needham Ag Technologies, says farmers need to think first about the combine before rolling out the drill. "You can buy the best piece of seeding equipment on the market, but it's only going to be as good as the residue management (in a no-till system)... Read More
While oat supplies will be tighter than normal this year, problems getting the crop to market continue to put downward pressure on cash bids in Western Canada. “Oats is going to remain a tight supply, tight shipping market,” says Lorne Boundy, a Winnipeg-based oat merchandiser with Paterson Grain, in the following interview. The federal government’s... Read More
So you're thinking of switching to a wider row spacing for next year's soybeans. Have you taken your hula hoop around this year's crop first? Though there isn't necessarily an "ideal" row spacing suggested for western Canadian soybean growers, the importance of knowing a target plant population and assessing stand establishment is still essential. Related:... Read More
Seed companies have big plans for the expansion of corn acres in Western Canada, but whether farmers plant more corn will depend on two key factors: maturity and yield. Monsanto Canada announced just over a year ago that it's spending more than $100 million over 10 years on developing varieties suitable for the Canadian prairies.... Read More
If you support research-based solutions to agricultural challenges, rejoice. A new report from a group called the Council of Canadian Academies says Canadians have the lowest level of reservation toward science among 17 countries considered. That's heartening for the pro-science crowd. It runs counter to the growing belief that precaution is prevailing among Canadians, rather... Read More