Brennan Turner recently asked farmers if they'd prefer extra bushels but lower prices, or sky high prices but a poor crop. Not surprisingly, farmers would prefer inventory, likely in part because Canadian farmers are quite comfortable with storing grain. Of course, the yields and volumes coming off fields this fall has left many farmers without... Read More
Category: Crop Production
This week Calgary is hosting ABIC 2013 which is a global conference on food and agricultural biotechnology. I had the chance to sit down with Jim Wispinski, President of Dow AgroSciences Canada, and discuss the panel that he moderated about the past and future impacts of biotechnology agribusiness and farmers. If you cannot hear the... Read More
This mornings frost warning had some Ontario farmer's teeth chattering, but it wasn't the cold that did it. Farmers in the certain counties of Ontario would be understandably nervous depending on how far along their corn crop is. Frost at the wrong time can take a sizeable bite out of your corn yield. Once temperatures... Read More
It is amazing how fast things can change. With the corn markets fearing a very large US corn harvest some producers are starting to squirm about their profit margins a year from now. As I talk to corn growers many say, "the market will find a bottom and we will be fine" and some say,... Read More
Bees, as pollinators, are essential to food production worldwide. So when solid evidence of a link between corn planting and bee deaths in Ontario and Quebec was found, farmers and industry recognized the need to look into how to manage the risk of bee exposure to a particular insecticide class called neonicotinoids. As Steve Denys,... Read More
Few farmers want to hear bearish news, but ignoring the warning signs of an impending price slide may just mean you end up on the wrong side of it. About this time last year, Moe Agostino, of Farms.com Risk Management, was calling for a price slide in both corn and soy, and farmers, begrudgingly, have... Read More
Bin-busting crops are never something to wish away, but the simple laws of supply and demand eventually come in to play when everyone has a lot of crop to sell. While that's oversimplifying grain markets, the overall message is clear — decent quality wheat, corn and other grains are going to be easy to find... Read More
A frost in mid-September isn't unexpected, but the damage caused varies widely, depending on a number of factors. Just because the temperatures dip doesn’t mean that your immature crop is a write-off. Crop type, maturity and length of time the temp sat below freezing all play a role in the final damage done. The first... Read More
If you're a farmer who didn't do much forward selling in the last two years, you've likely been very happy with the outcome. If you haven't priced crop for 2013-14 yet, however, it may not end up not having been such a wise plan. Many farmers are harvesting a big crop right now, and, at... Read More
What's tall and showy and a new silage option for Alberta ranchers? Sorghum Sudan grass! The crop is a warm season, fast growing, high nitrogen user that, as silage, is capturing the attention of silage users in Alberta, now that varieties are coming along to better fit the growing area. As Vern Turchyn, of Viterra,... Read More