If drought concerns, disease pressure, or low commodity prices have you scratching your head on crop rotation tweaks, Alberta farmers have access to two, free crop planning and profitability programs offered by the provincial agriculture department. The first program, Crop Choice$, allows farmers to input their own costs and yield expectations, and is also fully... Read More
Category: Western Canada
How important is the number of rows on a corn cob? When row numbers shrink from 20 to 18 you could be looking at a 20-bushel per acre yield loss, says Illinois-based BASF agronomist Jeremy Hogan. On this edition of RealAgriculture's Corn School, Hogan breaks down four components of yield – protecting row numbers, maximizing... Read More
The traditional 3-point hitch assembly shifts most of the implement load on to the rear axle. We counter this with ballast on the front end of the tractor, which is not always precise, but is always added weight (a drag on efficiency!). Fendt looked at the problem in a less conventional way and came up... Read More
With commodity prices staying low and farmers facing higher interest rates for the foreseeable future, there is reason to be cautious about equipment sales moving forward, especially after 2017's mixed bag of results between Canada and the U.S. Some manufacturers, though, do see light at the end of the tunnel. At play in the optimism,... Read More
Tiles, tillers, and tests. In this week's episode of the Word, host Peter Johnson covers everything from tile drainage systems plugging with roots, to managing tillering in wheat, and variability in organic matter tests. Plus: even non-clay soils can compact... Have a question you’d like Johnson to address? Or some yield results to send in?... Read More
The Alberta Cattle Feeders' Association (ACFA) met last week at the Alberta Beef Industry Conference for their Annual General Meeting, where a resounding 75 percent of the membership voted in favour of pursuing an agreement that is being called the "New Era Beef Industry." This agreement, if successful, will see a change to the check-off... Read More
The 2018-19 federal budget tabled by Finance Minister Bill Morneau on Tuesday did not contain any major farm programs or funding. "We had to do some deep digging to actually see some positives for farmers. It's really lacking compared to budget 2017 when they had ambitious goals for agriculture — exports worth $75 billion by... Read More
Just like highly successful people share several traits, highly profitable farms share consistent attributes. Regardless of farm type or geography, there are farmer traits and business management practices common to profitable farms. "The number one practice driving farm profitability is lifelong learning and your commitment to building your skills," says Heather Watson, executive director of... Read More
RealAgriculture is hiring a full-time, in-the-field videographer to cover Western Canada. If you’re outgoing and enthusiastic with a passion for farming and know your way around a camera and production software, we’d like you to consider joining the RealAgriculture team. As videographer, you’ll be expected to travel across all three Prairie provinces, though a home... Read More
Seedbed conditions should set the planter speed limit, but a seedbed is rarely uniform from one end of the field to the other or from pass to pass, often because of variability in tillage passes. Seedbed conditions should inform planter settings and speed of planting, but how can you best gauge and adapt tillage to... Read More