Can we push feed and even malt barley varieties to sky-high yields? Steve Larocque, of Beyond Agronomy, has completed a four-year field trial that says yes, but there's a catch. Inspired by what he saw on a 2010 trip to New Zealand, where feed barley averaged 207 to 210 bushels per acre, Larocque started digging... Read More
Category: Western Canada
If farmers are going to pay a tax on carbon emissions, they should also receive credit for the carbon their farms remove from the atmosphere. Many in the farm community are trying to make that case, as the federal and provincial governments roll out pricing systems that appear to lean on the cost side of... Read More
Geographically speaking, Ontario and Western Canada aren't actually that far apart. But agriculture within the two regions is incredibly different, though some may argue it's getting more similar all the time. Picture Butte, Alberta-based Shaun Haney recently sat down with Guelph-dweller Norm Sutherland, a district sales manager for Syngenta, to celebrate the uniqueness of farming... Read More
The announcement last week of a $400 million pea processing plant in central Manitoba caught many in the farm community by surprise. "Peas? Don't you mean soybeans?" was the most common response. By far. With another 20-plus percent increase in soybean acres expected, there will likely be north of two million acres grown on the... Read More
Grain markets through the middle of January continue to be driven by South American weather challenges, namely flooding in parts of Argentina just as the soybean crop down there is starting to emerge. However, geopolitical factors like the U.K. Brexit and Donald Trump’s inauguration as the 45th U.S. President also weighed on markets. While soybeans... Read More
Despite the protectionist rhetoric coming from President Trump, the trade critic for the federal Conservatives sounds hopeful — even optimistic — about Canada's trading relationship with the United States. "It's fine to say you want to put America first. It's fine to say you want to create jobs at home, but at the end of... Read More
Sitting in the Northern Exposure presentation at the Southwest Agricultural Conference, I watched with fascination as a room full of southern Ontario farmers were captivated by Prairie agriculture. How's that, you ask? Well, farming in Ontario's "north" is far more similar to farming in Manitoba than the rest of the growing region of Ontario, and... Read More
The chairman and CEO for French food ingredient company Roquette were in Winnipeg on Wednesday to announce plans for a $400 million pea processing plant to be built near Portage la Prairie, Man. Coinciding with Global Pulse Day, Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister and Agriculture Minister Ralph Eichler hosted the announcement at the Manitoba Legislative Building.... Read More