It was great news this week that, following negotiations between Canada and China, canola producers and exporters here will have a shot at expanded access to the Chinese market. But to me, it was even more noteworthy that science, not politics, helped open the door. Science is constantly maligned in agriculture, particularly when product safety... Read More
Category: Features
If you cannot se the embedded video player above, Click Here Anne Wasko and Shaun Haney discuss the recent cow slaughter prices. As Anne mentions to Shaun there is some interesting issues at play here. Domestic cow slaughter 1st quarter is down 7% while exports are double last year meaning that disposals are up 20%... Read More
Food and farming wise, I like what’s going on in agriculturally rich Waterloo region, where people have rallied to create the region’s first food charter. It was accepted by the regional council's community services committee there Monday. The charter's sponsor, the Waterloo Region Food System Roundtable, calls the five-point document “a statement of values and... Read More
Whether you do your own digging, subscribe to several news outlets or employ an analyst, making decisions about price direction requires a significant investment of time and effort. For many farmers, marketing and following the markets is an enjoyable part of their job. For others, it's not how they'd like to spend their time or... Read More
Developing a full understanding of antimicrobial resistance is imperative to managing its occurrence. Canada's beef industry has been studying the incidence of antimicrobial resistance in cattle for some time, but there is more work to be done. Building off this introduction on antimicrobial resistance by Dr. Reynold Bergen, this episode of the Beef Research School... Read More
On Tuesday, April 9th, a widespread day of protest will be held against – of all things troubling our country – GM alfalfa. Activists will be gathering at about 20 locales, including 12 in Ontario, to show their opposition to its pending arrival. The Canadian Biotechnology Action Network, a relatively benign group with agricultural ties... Read More
The new marketing environment around wheat in Western Canada offers producers a much greater level of involvement than they've ever had when it comes to managing price risk. Should producers choose to step out of the contract environment provided by their local grain companies and buyers and go directly to the futures and options market... Read More
Dr. Robert T. Fraley is the executive vice president and chief technology officer of Monsanto. He is also considered by many to be one of the fathers of modern agricultural biotechnology. Dr. Fraley's farm background and his passion for research combined early in his career and moved the Monsanto Company from an industrial chemical company... Read More
How high can wheat yields go? Is 150 bushels an acre achievable, and, if so, how do we get there? That's the question we asked several farmers at this year's FarmTech conference. The answers are evenly split between yes, no and yes, but only if fill-in-the-blank happens. It would seem it's that fill-in-the-blank part that... Read More
Understanding and managing antimicrobial resistance is important for livestock production and to ensure the continued effectiveness of veterinary products. It's also a complex issue under intense public scrutiny two factors that, under the wrong conditions, don't go well together. The Ontario Medical Association recently began pushing for governments to step up its involvement in the... Read More