Research is often seen as an investment in new technology development, in whirring instruments or the roar of equipment. That might make it easy to forget that new technology results from new knowledge. And knowledge is key to preserving and advancing modern family farms. That reminder comes courtesy of Mildmay, ON dairy farmer Ralph Dietrich.... Read More
Category: Research
This week Calgary is hosting ABIC 2013 which is a global conference on food and agricultural biotechnology. I had the chance to sit down with Jim Wispinski, President of Dow AgroSciences Canada, and discuss the panel that he moderated about the past and future impacts of biotechnology agribusiness and farmers. If you cannot hear the... Read More
Ever since I was a kid, everything "futuristic", in books and TV pointed to automation as the pinnacle of what the future would hold. From the Jetsons and their automatic sidewalks and dishwashers to my personal favourite, the old "Science International - What Will They Think of Next" tv show, automation was the future of... Read More
The federal government has announced a commitment of $7 million under the Growing Forward 2 framework for the Canadian Field Crop Research Alliance to lead a research cluster to help producers better compete in global markets. The funding will be matched with another $3.3 million by industry. The “Canadian Field Crop Genetics Improvement Cluster”, a... Read More
There are constantly new technologies being discovered that can have a positive impact on agricultural production. It seems every week there is something to get excited about when it comes to scientific breakthroughs. One of the big topics of late has been nitrogen-fixing bacteria that isn’t host specific to leguminous plants. The implications of this... Read More
As the canola crop moves out of flower and into pod fill, farmers start to notice misshapen pods. Some curl from thrips damage, others may have insect feeding damage, but it's the tell-tale bladder-like pods of aster yellows that will make many farmers — hit hard by last year's infection — cringe when they see... Read More
Gerry Ritz was on hand at Richardson's Kelburn Farms, just south of Winnipeg, today to announce a federal government commitment of $15 million to the canola industry. This funding, through Growing Forward 2, will be leveraged to bump that total to more than $20 million, says Patti Miller, president of the Canola Council of Canada... Read More
A total of 28 research projects focused on expanding or improving barley's use as feed, food and malt will receive funding under a new Barley National Research Cluster, spearheaded by the Alberta Barley Commission. Newly re-appointed federal agriculture minister Gerry Ritz was on hand last week to make the $8 million announcement. “This is a... Read More
The hybridization of crops is one of the first big stepping stones to major advancements in crop yield, as hybrid vigour really does create offspring greater than either of the parents. Hybrid breeding of corn and canola varieties has led to yield jumps in the leaps vs. the incremental gains made through straight crosses. But... Read More
When it comes to marketing your hard red winter wheat, quality is the name of the game. That means protein. Increasing that protein in your wheat predominantly means nitrogen management. SEE MORE WHEAT SCHOOL EPISODES. In this episode of the Wheat School, Peter Johnson joins us to talk about the relationship between nitrogen and protein... Read More