There comes a time in every farmer's life when they must sit down and write a letter to Santa. Whether it's for a shiny new combine, a quarter of good land or maybe decent twine, Santa's elves can totally get that for you — if you're willing to sing. And so, on a cold winter's... Read More
Category: Eastern Canada
Venture capitalist Dave McClure made his mark in the branding world when he noted customers don’t care about your solutions, they care about their problems. Reflecting back then on the year that’s passing, as well as thinking towards the one ahead, it made me wonder if McClure’s approach might work for the agri-food sector, too,... Read More
Global markets were blindsided by Russia in the third week of December as Moscow raised its key interest rates to a shocking 17 per cent, up significantly from the 10.5 per cent level they had been just raised to a few days earlier. Why the rate increase? The ruble has been free-falling this year with... Read More
Whether it was the rail transportation fiasco in Western Canada, the ongoing country-of-origin labeling dispute with the U.S., the Canada-E.U. trade deal, UPOV '91, bee health, the Canadian Wheat Board...the list goes on — 2014 was another eventful and exciting year in Canadian agriculture. Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz joined RealAg’s Kelvin Heppner to look back... Read More
Grain Farmers of Ontario met December 18, 2014, with government representatives to ask the provincial government to abandon the proposed seed treatment regulations and, instead, "support an approach that will work for the complexities of both grain farming and bee keeping." "Family farmers need your commitment to agriculture now," says GFO of the provincial government,... Read More
In May of 2013 the United States Department of Agriculture notified the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) of an outbreak of porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) in a small number of swine herds in the States. By January 2014, the virus had crossed the border, with the first case of PED confirmed on a farm in... Read More
‘Twas the week before Christmas, and down with a crash Came feeder cattle futures and Russia’s cash. CN charged too much to move grain by rail, And we laughed ’cause people got BS in the mail. Here’s TWORA for December 18th, 2014: Related: Happy Holidays from the RealAg Crew to You The Seedpod — Ep.... Read More
The future of the University of Guelph's Kemptville and Alfred campuses are one step closer to being decided, as government-requested reports on their feasibility have been completed. The full report contains several recommendations for the Alfred campus, but ends with only one feasible option for Kemptville's future: "(It is recommended) the Government of Ontario enter... Read More
CN Rail exceeded its volume-based "cap" on grain revenue in the 2013-14 crop year by almost $5 million, according to a ruling issued by the Canadian Transportation Agency today. The CTA says CN's grain revenue of $672,110,852 was $4,981,915 above its entitlement of $667,128,937. Under federal regulations, the railway now has 30 days to pay... Read More
Just because nitrogen fertilizer is placed below the soil surface doesn’t mean it’s going to stay there for plants to use it. In fact, if it’s not buried deep enough, you might be better off broadcasting it on top of the soil, says the senior agronomist for Koch Agronomic Services. Whether for equipment reasons, with... Read More