A private member's bill entitled the "Modernizing Animal Protections Act" will receive second reading on September 28, 2016. The bill is set for a vote in Canada's House of Commons late next week. While the off-the-hop goals of avoiding shark harvesting in Canadian waters and shutting down puppy mills seem in line with the title,... Read More
Category: Western Canada
She’s a celebrity who uses her fame to pitch everything from gluten-free diets to colon cleanses. Does any of it work? Should you care? In our first RealAg Bookclub podcast, co-hosts Shaun Haney and Bernard Tobin talk with Tim Caulfield, author of Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong about Everything? to find out what happens when celebrity... Read More
A corridor that stretches from the Canadian Prairies to South Dakota is poised to lead the world in plant-based protein production and innovation, with the most secure supply and lowest environmental footprint, say the organizers behind the "Protein Highway" concept. The initiative was inspired during a meeting hosted by Canadian Governor General David Johnston in... Read More
Do you know which crop's straw is the most palatable? If you don't have a TMR, how do you get livestock to eat more straw to stretch those hay supplies? Did you know straw quality can change significantly from year to year? What are the more creative options for feeding livestock? 2016 has not been... Read More
Manitoba's Progressive Conservative government has made some big changes in the boardroom of the province's agriculture insurance and lending agency. With the exception of one director, the NDP-appointed board for the Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation (MASC) has been replaced. Jim Wilson, a grain farmer and accountant from Darlingford, has been named the new chair of... Read More
There’s a new conservation tillage practice in town. Move over no-till, reduced till and strip till, here comes reservoir tillage. The RT850 reservoir tillage tool from Minnesota-based Willmar Fabrication is designed to run between crop rows and make depressions in the ground using 10-inch teeth to create better water infiltration and reduce runoff. “You’re just... Read More
Judging by conversations with farmers across the prairies, social media, and conferences, 2016 is the year of straight-cut canola. Not long ago, canola straight-cutting was a fringe activity but it appears to be going mainstream. Increase in canola straight-cutting is due in part to tailored hybrids, growers learning from each other, and a focus on... Read More
Engineers keep designing harvest equipment to make it harder to do a poor job combining. An automatic overload response system and improved slope compensation are two highlights for 2017 Lexion combines from Claas, explains product coordinator Jeff Gray in this video, filmed at the 2016 Farm Progress Show in Iowa. Updating the 3D cleaning system... Read More
Grain markets this week were fairly volatile as the market swayed on harvest pressures, fresh policy announcements, and wet weather slowing down Harvest 2016 and/or affecting its quality. Soyoil was the leader for the week, up 4.25% on palm oil touching two-year highs in Asian markets. This intuitively supported canola, which was up almost 2.5%... Read More
It's probably an honest mistake, but there's some irony in having the Prime Minister of Canada — the home of canola — send out a tweet celebrating good news about canola with what appears to be a photo of mustard. 95 percent of Canadians — including the person in the PMO who looks after Justin... Read More