Ask Francisco Rodriquez a question about dairy robots and he’ll tell you about people. With more than 38,000 robots milking cows on 19,000 farms around the globe, the technology is becoming ubiquitous throughout the dairy business. But what does it mean for dairy producers as technology revolutionizes the traditional daily milking grind? “The future in... Read More
Category: Podcasts
Ontario's wheat crop saw incredible growth last fall, and spring fertilizer plans must be adjusted accordingly. With advanced wheat, nitrogen application should be delayed, explains Graeme Jones, an agronomist from New Zealand who helped set a previous world record wheat yield. Timing depends on nitrogen availability in the soil and crop size, he says, in... Read More
Farmland values across Canada continue to climb. Some very early seeding is beginning in the West, although there are concerns about dryness. Canada and the EU continue to work on their trade deal, and a popular reality TV veterinarian is showing how farmers care for their animals. We hear from FCC economist JP Gervais, trade... Read More
In this week’s Word, Peter Johnson, resident agronomist for RealAgriculture, covers everything from weather to annual ryegrass control. And, did you get last week's homework assignment done? Skip to Podcast Have a question for Wheat Pete? Call 1-888-746-3311, send him a tweet (@wheatpete), or email him at peter.johnson@bell.net. Highlights (01:05) Weather Update: (01:12) 7.5" rainfall... Read More
Walking through the Western Canadian Dairy Seminar tradeshow for the first time felt a bit reminiscent of my first day on the job. I was equally overwhelmed and intrigued by all the new faces and unrecognizable products. But, when I spotted Cargill's booth (a no doubt familiar logo) in conjunction with a CowSignals display, I... Read More
If there was some way of measuring trending topics in farmer conversations in Western Canada over the past six months, "so, are you growing peas this year?" would be at or near the top. Thanks to the very strong prices that are accompanying a global pulse shortage, a record number of pea (and lentil) acres... Read More
It's the world's challenge to provide safe and affordable food, Kay Kuenker, entrepreneur and consultant told delegates at this year's Advancing Women in Agriculture Conference (West). And, according to Kuenker, women must be involved in addressing this issue. "Women are showing that every imaginable discipline or role in that can be fulfilled by a woman,"... Read More
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board was the winning bidder as Switzerland-based commodities giant Glencore sought to sell a chunk of its agricultural assets, including grain company Viterra. The CPPIB and Glencore announced last week they have reached a deal that will see the CPPIB pay $2.5 billion for a 40 percent stake in Glencore's... Read More
It was made pretty clear at the Advancing Women in Agriculture conference in Calgary: women need to be more involved in boards. According to a survey conducted by GMI Ratings, in 2012 women held just 10.3% of seats on Canadian boards, a far cry from the 30%, and ultimately 50% goal outlined by a Report... Read More
What do you want to improve on your farm this spring? As part of TechTour LIVE last month, Rob Hannam of Synthesis Agri-Food Network encouraged farmers to apply "lean" principles to their farm operations. As he explains in the video below, "lean" is a philosophy for reducing loss and waste from a process. There are... Read More