Category: Eastern Canada

For most of us, seed testing is something to be done during or immediately after harvest, and right before seeding. But, there might be a reason or two to put the egg nog back in the fridge and hit the bins for a sample. For those relatively new to seed testing, Sydney Vos with BioVision... Read More

The Hon. Gerry Ritz served as Canada’s agriculture minister for eight years — from the summer of 2007 to the fall of 2015. Not everybody agreed with his politics or his personality, but there’s no question Ritz had a big impact on the direction of Canadian agriculture. From ending the Canadian Wheat Board’s monopoly to... Read More

As part of the company's 50th anniversary in 2016, Versatile has announced it will be bringing back its historic red and yellow paint scheme for a limited number of tractors. Founded in Winnipeg by Peter Pakosh and Roy Robinson, Versatile was the first manufacturer to mass-produce articulated four-wheel drive tractors, starting in 1966 with the... Read More

With the U.S. Federal Reserve raising interest rates for the first time in almost a decade and the Bank of Canada suggesting it’s considering negative interest rates, how much lower can the Canadian loonie drop relative to the U.S. dollar? It’s an important question when determining whether to lock in basis levels, as movement in... Read More

It’s been quite a year for Ontario corn growers. Of course there are always exceptions and not everybody is the benefactor of timely rains and optimal growing conditions, but for the most part 2015 produced an incredible corn crop that averaged better than 170 bushels per acre. In this episode of Corn School, Pride Seeds... Read More

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack declared on Friday afternoon that “effective immediately” the U.S. Department of Agriculture would not be enforcing country of origin labeling rules for beef and pork. It’s been over seven years since American packers were forced to segregate Canadian animals and meat. How quickly can they go back to operating how... Read More

Dairy — milk, in particular — is facing big challenges from the likes of pop companies and juice manufacturers. They’ve marketed their way into the lunch buckets of Canadian children over the years, and taken hold. A study underway now by University of Guelph researchers has found milk is not considered cool by adolescents, one... Read More

North America’s first dairy milk robot was installed in 1999, less than 50 kilometres from Jack Rodenburg’s Woodstock, Ontario office. The long-time OMAFRA dairy specialist was sceptical at first, but he quickly realized that robot technology could revolutionize Canadian dairy farms. He says early models had their issues, but he quickly realized the potential for... Read More

Darrell Busby of the Tri-County Steer Carcass Futurity talks about the monetary benefits of calm cattle. For those of us who work in the livestock business, stories of injury are all too common. Often, the blame lies with the animal being managed. But, is there more that we can do to manage for quality disposition... Read More

Grain prices have swayed back and forth this week thanks to some aggressive reactions to the U.S. Federal Reserve’s interest rate increase on Wednesday, as well as a little short-covering, and (barely) bullish weather concerns out of Brazil. Most of the complex ended the week lower though than it started, with oats being the biggest... Read More