So what makes a rural community? Some people believe that it is about the hospital, the hockey rink, the school or maybe the post office. What about the local newspaper? Is it still a fabric of the community like it once was? We might not even know how much they mean until they are all... Read More
Category: Eastern Canada
Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau shared new details on his government's proposed tax policy changes for income splitting or sprinkling on Wednesday, the last day before MPs head home for Christmas. The revised changes include "bright line" tests designed to determine whether a business owner's family members make meaningful contributions to the business, and are... Read More
We often hear that farmers need to tell their story. Farmers need to speak up and make sure their concerns are heard and are understood by politicians and consumers. Too many times our messages seem to fall on deaf ears with left and right leaning governments. However, last week's #farmers4NAFTA campaign by U.S. farm groups... Read More
The average Canadian family of four will spend $348 more on food in 2018, according to an annual food price report released on Wednesday. Published by Dalhousie University and the University of Guelph, the 8th edition of "Canada's Food Price Report" forecasts higher restaurant spending and La Nina will drive food costs higher next year,... Read More
The demand side of the Ontario corn balance sheet is poised to grow with the provincial government proposing to double its ethanol mandate for gasoline from five percent to 10 percent by 2020. "We currently have the five percent mandate in place and it takes at least about a third of the corn production in... Read More
Before we begin to explain how blockchain may be a game changer for agricultural marketing let's answer that question that is likely at the top of your mind. "What the the heck is blockchain?" According to the Harvard Business Review, it is "an open, distributed ledger that can record transactions between two parties efficiently and... Read More
Can rolling soybeans pump up your yields? If you get the timing right it looks like there's a two bu/ac payoff, according to research conducted this summer by OMAFRA soybean specialist Horst Bohner. In this edition of RealAgriculture Soybean School. Bohner explains that growers traditionally get a 0.5 bu/ac return on rolling due to better... Read More
Are you planning to build a new farm workshop? How will you power and heat it? Do you want a crane? In episode 3 of Real Dream Workshops, Peter Johnson visits his neighbour Otto Bloemen at Lucan, Ontario-based OJB Industries. Bloeman tells Johnson how he set out to build a cost-effective wood-frame building with high... Read More
It's not official, but it looks like Ontario's 2017 soybean yield will come in at around 43 bushels per acre. That's down from the 46-bushel five-year average, but considering the challenges Mother Nature threw at the crop during the past growing year, OMAFRA soybean specialist Horst Bohner will take it. In this edition of RealAgriculture... Read More
Both Canada and the United States released their export numbers for the month of October this week and there are some interesting takeaways. Fresh off last week's third quarter GDP numbers that were dragged down by weak exports, the Statistics Canada trade data pushlished on Tuesday showed rebounding exports. Canada's trade deficit shrank to a... Read More