With declining youth participation in agriculture, farm groups across the country are looking for more ways to engage millennials in this important industry. The Alberta Wheat Commission and Alberta Barley launched the AdvancingAg Future Leaders Program in order to inspire future farm leaders through a leadership and mentorship experience. “The AdvancingAg Future Leaders Program is... Read More
Category: Western Canada
Sometimes when you respond to someone attacking you verbally you need to communicate in a way that will resonate with the people you are trying to influence. Due to the creation of the term "fake news" by Donald Trump, this term has become mainstream but it resonates with people. Trump followers have rallied around it.... Read More
If you need any more evidence that times are changing in farming, look no further than a new partnership between the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) and an activist group called Environmental Defence. You likely know the former. The OFA describes itself as Canada’s largest voluntary farm organization, representing more than 36,000 farm families across... Read More
Grains this week trended slightly lower as concerns over crop potential and slowing sales muted any bullish headlines coming from new USDA acreage reports. Canola and oats were down 0.45% and 0.5% respectively compared to a week ago while corn and wheat lost 1.1% and 1.7% each. The soybean complex took the biggest hit though,... Read More
The idea that Manitoba's commodity organizations need to work more closely together to provide more value to members — possibly going as far as merging — was formally introduced and discussed recently at CropConnect. "All these organizations, particularly in Manitoba, have basically the same membership, doing very similar projects, with the same money, going after... Read More
Strong, durable and lightweight. Those are the words John Deere is using to describe its new carbon fibre spray booms. John Deere has been working for years on ways to substitute the composite material for the steel and aluminum traditionally used in farm equipment. After years of testing, the new 120- and 132-foot carbon fibre... Read More
The tough harvest conditions on the prairies last fall were unforeseen when planning began for Canada's first grain entrapment awareness and training program, but the launch of "BeGrainSafe" has turned out to be incredibly timely. "Out-of-condition grain is a major contributor to grain entrapment situations, as well as other types of injuries and illness. We... Read More
Ontario Pork announced February 23, 2017, that it had confirmed the 100th Ontario case of PED (porcine epidemic diarrhea) virus. It is the first confirmed case this year. The virus was confirmed Wednesday, February 22, 2017, in a finisher barn in Haldimand-Norfolk county. No other details have been released at this time. Read more: Managing... Read More
With unharvested crop still in the field and saturated soils in many areas, some helpful weather could be on the way for Western Canada this spring, says Drew Lerner of World Weather Inc. "The spring bias is tilted toward a little less precipitation and a slight warmer bias," he says in the video below, filmed... Read More
If new rail legislation the federal government promised to introduce this spring is to be passed before the end of the session in June, it will have to be tabled soon. "One would imagine with the legislative calendar, it's going to be have to be in the next several weeks," says Steve Pratte, rail policy... Read More