I’m not surprised that Alberta farmers railed against Bill 6. Usually, the status quo is easier to live with than change, particularly imposed change. And in the case of Bill 6, change would occur in everything from farm culture to the bottom line. It still might. But hopefully, not to the same extent. In response... Read More

It’s the time of year for holiday traditions, which for some families means heading out to pick a Christmas tree. Today is recognized as “Christmas Tree Day.” The occasion is official in Ontario, as Bill 16, which was passed by the province earlier this year, bestows the title of on the first Saturday of December.... Read More

While grains ended the month of November with little fanfare, the first trading week of December proved to have some push to the upside despite a number of reports that didn’t really change any fundamentals. Soyoil led the complex with a 10.5% gain for the week, which helped support canola prices (+2.25% for the week)... Read More

Haven’t we seen this before? Traders and analysts were expecting Statistics Canada to peg the 2015 canola crop at around 15.6 million tonnes in the agency’s latest production report released Friday morning. Pre-report guesses ranged between 14.5 and 16.4 million. Most farmers reported better than expected canola yields at harvest, so everybody was expecting the... Read More

Imagine if robots could both identify and destroy weeds. Well, Bosch Deepfield Robotics is well on its way to making that dream a reality. The company, only one year old, has developed a four wheel multi-purpose robotic platform called BoniRob. It navigates along plant rows, running on batteries or connected to a generator, logging data,... Read More

Is your farm secure? That’s a question farmers need to ask themselves says security specialist Larry Wallace. As traditional rural farm communities become more urban, farms become larger and valuable equipment fills yards and drive sheds. That means farmers need to be more diligent in their security practices, says Wallace, who founded Wallace Risk Management... Read More

There's been plenty of discussion about split nitrogen applications in corn — what's the best way to maximize yield potential? In this week’s Word with Peter Johnson, resident agronomist for RealAgriculture and host of this weekly podcast, he delves into the research looking at nitrogen application timing, method, formulation and more. It's a surprisingly corn-focused... Read More

There’s something unique about the Speckle Park cattle breed that’s catching attention in Canada and around the world. Canadian Western Agribition hosted the largest Canadian Speckle Park show in the breed’s history last week, according to the business manager for the Canadian Speckle Park Association. Over 70 head participated in the Canadian Speckle Park National... Read More

The Pathfinder from Salford Group is a versatile, steerable cart designed to travel behind anything from a strip till bar to a planter or tillage tool. It’s also designed to carry multiple fertilizer application systems. Salford product manager Brad Baker explains the PathFinder is equipped with a steerable undercarriage that can be adjusted from 120... Read More