The Liberal government's minimum wage hike will cost Ontario fruit and vegetable growers $297 million over the next two years. The impact on the industry was calculated by professional consultants and presented to all levels of the provincial government, but Premier Kathleen Wynne, Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs) and senior bureaucrats chose not to listen,... Read More

Kubota's fully autonomous tractor is offering Japanese agriculture an innovative solution to the challenges of an aging demographic. "Really we've been developing this technology for the local market in view of the fact that in Japan, much of the farming population is aging, and we're starting to see some labour shortages," says Kubota's Mel McGlinchey.... Read More

Soil moisture reserves from a wet year in 2016 carried the 2017 crop through a very dry summer across the southern Canadian prairies, enabling some better-than-expected yields, but also leaving the moisture bank account depleted heading into the 2018 growing season. The rapid transition from wet to dry has several implications for the upcoming season,... Read More

Almost half of Ontario's certified crop advisors packed a London, ON hotel conference room this week for their organization's annual meeting and conference. Ontario Certified Crop Advisor (CCA) Association chair Ken Currah says meeting attendance is a strong indication of grower demand for agronomic services and the expertise that CCAs bring to the farm. He... Read More

Drones are likely packed away for winter, but now is the time to take them out to perform battery maintenance. The chemistry inside lithium polymer (LiPo) batteries used to power most drones breaks down when kept at full or low charge levels for extended periods of time, reducing battery life and capacity. A battery that... Read More