As Gary Larson once said, The Chickens are Restless. If you're not on Twitter, you likely haven't heard about a growing group of disgruntled farmers taking aim at Panera Bread Company's cheap shot at conventional agriculture. Cheap shot is perhaps being generous — an entire ad campaign has been built around fear mongering and misinformation,... Read More
Category: Features
Guess what? The old "turn the fans on and leave them on" at harvest isn't necessarily true. Contrary to what farmers have been told and have been doing for quite some time, warm days actually add or maintain moisture levels in grain bins. Yes, really. Research on the subject out of the Indian Head Agricultural... Read More
The 2013 calving season was, to say the least, awful on our farm. Ugh, I still shudder at the thought of it. If you were anything like me, you were confused. The lack of sleep and surplus of snow certainly didn’t help. Why is this calf sick? What are these signs and symptoms indicative of?... Read More
Well-managed pastures can produce good yields for years, but will produce best if fertility of those pastures is planned for the long-term. Big producing pastures require big fertility numbers, though grazing helps to cycle these nutrients back to the soil. Over-grazing, too low or high stocking densities and time all can begin to mine pasture... Read More
Hedging is a big scary word to many farmers. And it's understandable — it's an account that can flucuate significantly, making it seem like you've lost money. But, unlike speculators that never grow or store crops, farmers are in a unique position to use hedging as a low-risk price management tool. Why? Because as your... Read More
Good reasons exist to better understand what sustainability means on the farm – and a lot of them have to do with consumers. It’s vital for farmers themselves to know how to best care for the land, water and air in which they produce food. No smoke and mirrors. Unsustainable practices mean trouble in the... Read More
Have you ever walked around a farm show and thought, "If only I had the money." We put that question, and a few others, to a group of farmers we bribed with t-shirts asked to participate in the latest installment of Talking to Farmers. Watch the video below to hear about how often these farmers... Read More
In this RealAg Crop Update Ontario, Shawn Brenneman, agronomic sales manager for Eastern Canada with Syngenta, takes us on a virtual tour of a large swath of the eastern Canadian growing region to talk about corn and soybean crop development. While early season conditions weren't ideal for corn and soy, recent heat has corn moving... Read More
Forbes recently published an article asking the (rehtorical, I assume) question, "Is Organic Agriculture Affluent Narcissim?" My answer? Of course it is. I thought we all knew that. I find myself in an interesting position these days. I consider myself rather neutral — I'm happy we're all free to choose what we put in our... Read More
Mid-summer is typically a lower price window in the cattle market, and this year is no different. What is different, however, versus the last few summers, is the cattle-feeder friendly weather and crop prices building for this fall. As Shaun Haney and Anne Wasko, of Gateway Livestock, discuss in this latest Beef Market Update, seasonal... Read More