Would consumers watch a farming reality TV show? The 'Incredible' Dr. Jan Pol thinks so. Since 2012, the 73-year-old veterinarian has starred in the popular series bearing his name on National Geographic’s NATGEO Wild channel, which features him and his family as they make their rounds tending to the needs of farm and companion animals.... Read More
Category: Eastern Canada
A springtime initiative launched earlier this week by the David Suzuki Foundation, fashioned after the iconic Got Milk? campaign of yore, asks “Got Milkweed, Canada?” It’s an initiative designed to get urban people to plant milkweed and provide a much-needed food source for North America’s precarious population of eastern monarch butterflies, which require milkweed for... Read More
It was made pretty clear at the Advancing Women in Agriculture conference in Calgary: women need to be more involved in boards. According to a survey conducted by GMI Ratings, in 2012 women held just 10.3% of seats on Canadian boards, a far cry from the 30%, and ultimately 50% goal outlined by a Report... Read More
What do you want to improve on your farm this spring? As part of TechTour LIVE last month, Rob Hannam of Synthesis Agri-Food Network encouraged farmers to apply "lean" principles to their farm operations. As he explains in the video below, "lean" is a philosophy for reducing loss and waste from a process. There are... Read More
With governments across the country talking about putting a price on carbon, there's serious concern that policy-makers will end up taxing and raising costs for a group of people who have made significant progress in and are already achieving the intended outcome of sequestering carbon: farmers. "I don't think we've done a very good job... Read More
From the Canada Pension Plan buying a stake in Viterra to the SaskParty easily winning the provincial election earlier this week to the big question mark hanging over Monsanto's new Xtend soybean seed heading into planting season, here's this week's podcast recapping what's happened in Canadian agriculture. We hear from Saskatchewan Ag Minister Lyle Stewart... Read More
Body condition scoring (BCS) is not a new tool to the livestock industry, by any stretch, but like so many other management indicators, it continues to evolve. In the last decade, researchers have learned that cows have a genetically determined "set point," something they refer to as "Target BCS." According to research conducted in 2007... Read More
In this week’s Word, Peter Johnson, resident agronomist for RealAgriculture, examines everything from weather impacts to phosphorous management. And yes, you do have some homework this week. Have a question for Wheat Pete? Call 1-888-746-3311, send him a tweet (@wheatpete), or email him at peter.johnson@bell.net. Highlights: 01:00 Flooding in Ontario. Erosion, erosion, erosion. 01:57 Red... Read More
Fifteen years ago, University of Guelph’s Dr. Clarence Swanton helped revolutionize weed control with his pioneering research on the critical weed-free period for soybeans and corn. Essentially, Swanton helped usher in the thinking that weeds that emerge with or shortly after the crop cause irreversible yield loss. He defined the critical weed-free period as 1st…Read More
The Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board has reached a deal to buy 40 percent of Glencore's agricultural business, which includes Viterra, for US$2.5 billion. "We are pleased to be partnering with CPPIB as we embark on the next stage of the development of Glencore Agri," said Glencore CEO Ivan Glasenberg in a statement early Wednesday... Read More