Remember seasoned sergeant Phil Esterhaus (actor Michael Conrad) in Hill St. Blues, who warmly but firmly reminded the squad “Let’s be careful out there!” as they filed out of his daily briefing? Well, the same applies to farming – it’s safer than police work, but it certainly has its hazards, not the least of which... Read More
Category: Farm Management
Recently, I was asked to speak at the Alberta Ag Services Board's 70th annual meeting. The theme centered around change and all that agriculture had evolved through in the last 70 years. From horse-drawn implements, to variable rate, sectional control-equipped seeding equipment, the last 70 years has literally been a technological revolution in producing food.... Read More
Mark Wales, a horticulture farmer from Elgin County, Ontario, has been named as the chairperson for the Agriculture and Agri-Food Labour Task Force (LTF). The LTF is moving forward with recommendations set out in its Agriculture and Agri-Food Labour Action Plan to address agricultural industry worker shortages. Wales is also the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource... Read More
Have you recently taken over the farm? Or are you about to begin the hand-over to the next generation? Or, just maybe, your New Year's resolution was to up your farm business management game. Whatever your reasons, Jacqueline Gerrard, of Backswath Management, will be presenting some top management tips at Crop Connect '15. The second... Read More
One more hit out of every 20 at bats — for a baseball player, that’s the difference between an elite .300 batting average and an only-okay .250 average. Over the length of a ballplayer’s career, that extra hit every five or so games will land a player in the Hall of Fame. It’s the difference... Read More
A recent survey suggested that 52% of family businesses don’t have a succession plans. Farms are family businesses — does that number sound about right to you? If so, there are thousands upon thousands of farms and farmers that are still dragging their feet on planning the long-term viability of their farm businesses. What will... Read More
Low oil prices should translate into reduced input prices for farmers, but don't expect to see major declines in fertilizer prices before the 2015 growing season, according to a lending institution consultant speaking at St. Jean Farm Days in Manitoba this week. "I think in the long run we will see our cost of production... Read More
In less than 20 years, there will be no farmers or ranchers under the age of 35 left in the state of Wyoming, according to a study published in the U.S. journal Rangelands last week. Researchers analyzed demographic trends among farm and ranch operators in the state from 1920 to 2007, and as you would... Read More
Wulf Cattle started in 1955 as a feeding operation and has evolved into a player in the seedstock business as well. Marketing more than 40, 000 head of value-added fed cattle annually, Wulf Cattle now owns feedyards in Minnesota, South Dakota and Nebraska, making it one of North America’s largest integrated beef companies. “I think... Read More
The amount of data we can collect on farms has grown exponentially over the last decade or two. Whether it’s through yield monitors, images captured by satellites or drones, smartphone apps or RFID sensors, our ability to track and record what’s happening has come a long way from the pocketbooks of earlier generations. And there’s... Read More