It can be difficult, if not borderline impossible, to create a uniform seedbed out of a highly variably field. But Austrian equipment manufacturer Pöttinger is offering a new tool, with a camera-supported seedbed preparation system. Cameras mounted between a power harrow and the seeding equipment take real-time footage of the surface of the soil, measuring... Read More
Category: Features
Rural Ontario has long been seething at provincial Liberals for a list of problems it lays at their feet. Now, the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) has added a new villain to the list of those it says should show more love for rural Ontario: that is, urbanites. Prior to the provincial budget being announced,... Read More
When spraying it's inevitable that there will be some swaying along the boom, where parts of the boom move faster or slower relative to other parts, resulting in uneven application rates. German agricultural machinery company Amazone, together with Dutch spraying company Rometron, have developed a precision spray application system that compensates for changes in horizontal... Read More
There's very little routine from one day to the next in farming. Equipment breaks down, weather changes, animals need help, truck drivers call, neighbours drop by to visit — it's what keeps every day interesting, but it also makes sticking to a disciplined fitness plan difficult, especially when it comes to seasonally busy periods. In... Read More
It sounds like a futuristic farming scene, but researchers in central Europe are working on developing an autonomous farming system where drones and robots work together to control weeds, starting in sugar beets and sunflowers. Seven partners across four European countries are involved in the Flourish Project, an effort to create an autonomous, robotic system... Read More
As a snowstorm bears down on the prairies just in time for spring calving, the cattle markets continue their slide downwards, and futures markets try to figure out how low they have to go to clear additional product in the value chain. That's where we start this week's discussion from Beef Market Update analyst Anne... Read More
In recent years we've seen dramatic shifts into the areas of low-till and no-till. And now, Väderstad is offering another option with its Carrier lineup of disc cultivators — ultra-shallow tillage. "The idea behind this is when the farmer has done his combining, especially after oilseed...if he do a very shallow tillage then (and with... Read More
From storage requirements to difficult-to-spell words like 'Mannheimia haemolytica' and 'rhinotracheitis,' there's a lot to consider when it comes to vaccinating cattle. And that complexity is one of the reasons Cody Creelman, veterinarian and managing partner of Veterinary Agri-Health Services, suggests producers develop a customized, written vaccination protocol, with annual reviews. "It's important to [re-assess... Read More
With more than 4000 measurements taken per second, John Deere's manure sensing technology offers farmers a solution to the otherwise extreme variability in nutrient content when spreading manure. With farmers in Europe (and parts of North America) facing increasing regulatory oversight over nutrient application, Deere has developed the high-tech manure sensor technology to measure and... Read More
Statistics Canada has confirmed once again that Canadian cattle producers are not following their American counterparts in expanding the beef herd. The federal agency published its January 1, 2018, inventory report this week, and Anne Wasko, of Gateway Livestock, walks us through the numbers in this Beef Market Update. First of all, for the not-so-analytical... Read More