If there ever was a "perfect" spray day, it would likely be embellished with a flat sprayer tire or a busted hydraulic hose. Let's face it, some years, even days with good conditions are few. Something is always on a spray applicator's mind, whether it's temperature extremes, the potential for precipitation, high windspeed, an inversion... Read More
Category: Features
When it comes to Canada’s $27-billion food waste problem, what’s actionable on your farm? How can you take measures to reduce it…and should you bother? Martin Gooch thinks so. On behalf of his firm, Value Chain Management International, he’s co-authored a new study, Developing an Industry-Led Approach to Addressing Food Waste in Canada, to try... Read More
By now, you’ve likely heard about or seen an 'undercover' video that shows terrible abuse of dairy cows on a farm in British Columbia. In the disturbing video, cows are kicked, caned or beaten up simply because they were weaker than the young workers. After that video release, dairy farmers across the country did something... Read More
The importance of good spray coverage is emphasized in all kinds of agricultural publications, including product labels. But, according to Tom Wolf, spray application specialist with AgriMetrix Research and Training in this episode of Spray Tips, "the labels are remarkably silent on what good coverage actually is and how you can actually measure it." Wolf... Read More
Who’d have thought drivers on public roads would ever be warned to beware of faster farm vehicles? Not me. Traditionally, people have moaned about getting stuck behind slow-moving farm gear, prompting the ag sector to plead for patience and try explaining it’s just doing its job, getting from one farm, or from one part of... Read More
It's a refrain you can't really ever tire of if you're a cattle producer — cattle prices are up across the board, with no immediate end in sight. That's not to say there isn't downside risk in this bull market (pardon the pun), but supply, demand, export markets and more are all colliding to support... Read More
Well, it seems the RealAgriculture crew always arrives to Canada's Farm Progress Show armed and ready to talk to farmers. This usually means a sly call for a massive "tweetup" and subsequent trapping of unsuspecting victims, but it seems people caught wind of our plan this year, and for every interview shown above, there are... Read More
Good forage makes money, but poor forage is money lost. Tom Kilcer, of Advanced Ag Systems in Kinderhook, NY, has spent years researching forage production, forage quality, and livestock performance. Here’s what he’s learned. Contrary to common assumptions, forage does not dry by the same mechanisms from start to finish. They are, in fact, three... Read More
With all the red tape and busy work farmers already face, who wants more? No one, I’m sure. Not even people who kind of like paperwork. But I’m hoping an effort underway to have farmers create an animal care code of conduct will be seen by most as more than a nuisance. In Ontario, an... Read More
The disease pressure landscape changes as the season progresses and from year to year, but there are always the endemic threats that farmers have to manage for. Part of the disease scouting process includes knowing what to look for, including some new or rare pests that could be making their way into your growing region.... Read More