Even for seasoned soybean growers, harvest losses happen, and it's estimated 80 percent of harvest losses occur at the header with soybeans. At $11/bushel, getting a few extra bushels off each acre adds up quickly. Just how losses are affected by combine header design and harvest speed was the subject of a two-year study by... Read More
Category: Western Canada
Canadian National Railway has announced the sudden departure of its chief executive officer, as the railway struggles with an escalating backlog of grain and other commodities. Luc Jobin is "leaving CN effective immediately," said a statement from the railway's board of directors on Monday. His exit comes less than two years after he replaced Claude... Read More
Canada is internationally know for its clean water, Rocky Mountains, and endless prairie skies. Our agricultural groups use this "clean and pristine" currency to their benefit whenever they are selling our wares overseas, but does a blue sky and waving grain really sell more crops? More than that, can we quantify Canada's record on soil,... Read More
While running their last venture, Farm At Hand, Kim Keller and business partner Himanshu Singh started a mental health initiative called "Here for Farmers," a t-shirt fundraising campaign focused on supporting mental wellness in the agriculture community. Outside of the campaign, however, the calls kept coming in, asking for help finding mental health resources in... Read More
Despite armies of well-meaning accountants, bankers and consultants urging them to do so, many Canadian farm families don’t have a plan in place to transfer ownership between generations. It could be the word succession that’s getting in the way. This can imply an abrupt change, when the older generation is booted out to pasture and... Read More
With NAFTA negotiations underway, talk of new tariffs, and the relationship between Canada and the U.S. at a critical juncture in its history, the U.S. capital was an appropriate setting for the Western Canadian Wheat Growers' 48th annual convention this week. The current trade and transportation issues, which are tied together in driving the export-based... Read More
Alberta has a unique part of the seed value chain in its Alberta Seed Processors organization. For many towns, the seed plant has been an integral part of the town's economy and, in some cases, even helped build the town. As Monica Klaas, with the Alberta Seed Processors, explains, though, the role of the seed... Read More
As the volume of grain backed up on farms in Western Canada grows, proposed transportation legislation that could help grain shippers address poor rail service remains stalled in the Senate. As it's written right now, Bill C-49 — originally introduced in the House of Commons last spring — would give grain shippers the right to... Read More
It's a question people grapple with daily — is it better to be a generalist, with a knowledge on a great number of topics, or a specialist, who can talk with gumption about a specific field? The Canola Council of Canada has found a way to get the best of both worlds, with a group... Read More
What do Canadian speed skater Kim Boutin and your soil have in common? They both prosper and succeed when you treat them like an Olympic athlete. Boutin’s Olympic training earned her three medals at the recently-concluded Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. What would happen if farmers treated their soil like an Olympic athlete? Soil... Read More