Farmers are always hoping for higher prices in any market, but our wishes do not always come true. However, there are signs we're turning a corner, with global demand outstripping supply. Many farmers and analysts have stared at their computer screen this fall to see Dec corn laser-locked around $3.50, along with other commodities like... Read More
Category: Eastern Canada
Mycotoxin and mould growth in dairy feed can lead to lower milk production, poor animal health and reduced profits. This impact on production is not a new discovery for dairy producers, but there certainly is a growing awareness of the problem, says North Carolina State University professor emeritus Dr. Lon Whitlow. "A large part of... Read More
The 33rd Canadian Young Speakers for Agriculture competition took place this past weekend at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto. 27 competitors, ranging in age from 11 to 24, shared speeches in the senior and junior categories. "This is another exciting year for the competition for two reasons: this is the first we’ve had... Read More
Canada has a stellar grain safety record and reputation, but the president of Cereals Canada believes there needs to be more awareness of one specific mycotoxin that can show up after the crop is in the bin: ochratoxin A, or OTA. OTA is a potent toxin produced by fungus in storage. It's considered to be... Read More
Are you planning to build a new farm workshop? How big should it be? What features should you incorporate? What cool ideas would make it a ‘killer shop’? Are there pitfalls you should avoid? In episode 2 of Real Dream Workshops, Peter Johnson visits Barry and Tyler McBlain at their farm shop near Brantford in... Read More
The federal government has decided to not make any changes to how it treats deferred cash purchase tickets for grain after proposing in the 2017 budget to potentially eliminate the option. Many farm groups voiced their opposition to the idea of dropping the income tax deferral mechanism during consultations held in spring and early summer.... Read More
You've just finished combining a corn field and you want to know how much organic matter all that corn residue will contribute to your soil. RealAgriculture's agronomist Peter Johnson tackles that question on our latest Corn School episode. Unfortunately, as Johnson explains, all those stalks and cobs won’t have much of an impact. When it... Read More
How often do you stop and take time to evaluate how well your farm business is performing? And how do you determine whether an area of the business is performing well or needing improvement? The first step in benchmarking a farm's financial performance is to compare it to itself, to understand historical performance. From there,... Read More
Some of Canada's largest grocery suppliers and retailers are involved in an investigation by the Competition Bureau over concerns about price-fixing in the bread aisle. The Competition Bureau has received search warrants from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice based on evidence that there are "reasonable grounds to believe that certain individuals and companies have... Read More
The dust is starting to settle after Finance Minister Bill Morneau's flurry of announcements backtracking on the federal government's proposed small business tax changes. Now that the news conferences are over and we've had a few days to analyze the changes to the changes, how will the updates affect farm businesses? First of all, we... Read More