Members of the Ontario Soil Network are inviting complete strangers onto their farms — virtually, of course. Mel Luymes, communications and community director of the Ontario Soil Network, says that the Soil Road Trip allows farmers, researchers, or just those who are curious, to tour up to 100 fields and discover what each farmer is... Read More
Category: Eastern Canada
Olymel's management has announced resumption of operations at its hog slaughterhouse and cutting plant at Vallée-Jonction, in Beauce, Que. The result of the vote by members of the Olymel workers union at the location ratified the agreement in principle and return-to-work protocol reached on August 29. The vote puts an end to the strike that... Read More
Statistics Canada pegs the 2021 crop down significantly based on its satellite imagery modelling. StatsCan puts national wheat production down 34.8 per cent, canola down 24.3 per cent to 14.7 million tonnes, and soybeans down 8.4 per cent year over year to 5.8 million tonne. Grain corn is the one bright spot, with an increase... Read More
When we think about how farmers market their crop, there are two significant events that have occurred in 2021 that may drive people to think a little different going forward. One of those is the market run-up last fall, when prices really began to escalate.The second factor is farmers in the western half of North... Read More
There's a lot happening in the machinery sector lately. Big-ticket equipment sales driven by higher-than-usual commodity prices, and confidence that those prices are going to stay where they are for a while, are certainly factors. But, there's also an issue in supply of units. In the second quarter of 2021, money that had been diverted... Read More
Corn is often described as a diva. It can thrive in the right conditions, but it does not like competition. That's especially evident when corn plants have to compete with weeds for moisture in dry conditions, as seen in Western Canada and the Northern Plains of the U.S. in 2021. "There have been many studies... Read More
Editor's Note: Late Sunday Olymel and its unionized employees came to an agreement in principle. Olymel announced it would delay a cut of the evening shift until Wednesday, September 1, pending a vote on the agreement. A four-month long strike at a Quebec Olymel plant is set to continue, as Friday morning the union representing... Read More
There are several weather conditions that will dictate how fall will go for agriculture in Canada: if the drought in the west will continue, and when to expect the first frost. When it comes to a long-range weather forecast, the key words for this fall are La Niña, says Brett Anderson, senior meteorologist with AccuWeather.... Read More
Ontario's approximately 85 sugar beet growers are likely to benefit from announced updates to the Michigan Sugar Bay City plant. Last week, Michigan Sugar announced a planned US$65 million upgrade to one of its four sugar beet processing facilities. The upgrade includes a de-sugaring addition for molasses, which will help the company improve overall sugar... Read More
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) has updated its forecast for this year's crop, reflecting the impact of drought in Western Canada in its August numbers. AAFC's July report garnered more attention than normal, with a 19.9 million metric tonne (MT) canola production estimate coming in much higher than any other canola projections. In the outlook... Read More