After implementing restrictions on the use of corn and soybean seed treatments last summer, the Ontario government is now seeking public feedback on a "Pollinator Health Action Plan." The plan is seen as the third component in the province's pollinator health strategy, with the other two pillars being restrictions on neonicotinoid seed treatments and the... Read More
Category: Eastern Canada
Advancements in farm technology often come from major investments in research and development by large companies, but there are still cases where farmer ingenuity is part of developing something new. Matt Reimer, a young farmer from Killarney, Manitoba, has received plenty of attention after posting videos on YouTube last summer of his work automating a... Read More
We're talking about everything from the state of the US and Canadian economies to SaskCanola's effort to share how many farmers view modern ag technology through the "License to Farm" film. After spending most of the week at Ag Days in Brandon, Kelvin Heppner host of this week's news podcast and is joined by a... Read More
Health Canada has issued notice it intends to stop granting new conditional registrations for pesticides as of June 1st, 2016. "The Government of Canada is committed to making regulatory decisions that are open and transparent, which is why we have decided to discontinue the use of conditional registrations," said Jane Philpott, Minister of Health, earlier... Read More
Weighing and calibrating seed between fields is a good excuse to get outside, but it sure can feel tedious when there are acres to be sowed. And, with robots weeding row crops, and driverless tractors hitting hayfields, it's hard to believe we're still doing it. Enter Väderstad's brand new SeedEye seed counter system. The system... Read More
Tractors keep getting bigger and bigger, but with the advent of automation, do we really need 500 HP tractors? Ohio State University (OSU) professor Scott Shearer doesn't think so. He believes future tractors will get a lot smaller and become autonomous units that make farm soils more productive. “The current trend to increasingly larger equipment... Read More
It was just over a year ago that Farm & Food Care Canada released its fourth edition of "The Real Dirt on Farming" booklet, with the goal of distributing one million copies over the following four years. The organization says that milestone was reached this week, just 15 months after the 52-page digest was first... Read More
Ontario crop yields have exploded over the last 35 years. Corn yields have increased by 80% during this time and soybeans are not that far behind at 65%. Those big yield gains create a much greater draw on soil nutrients. In the case of corn, for example, the average corn crop now removes 63 lbs... Read More
On this week’s Word, Peter Johnson, resident agronomist for RealAgriculture and host of this weekly podcast, gets into the hows and whys of reducing phosphorus losses, managing this year's wheat crop, and tillage on manure. 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: Ag... Read More
Brew pubs and craft breweries need points of uniqueness. Sure, they offer local beer, however they define it. But what’s different about their lager, ale, stout or whatever, than that of their competitors? Well, in the Year of the Pulses, a couple of Canadian brewers, one from the east and one from the west, are... Read More