Tara Mulhern Davidson has been ranching for over 15 years, and has had to manage through several severe droughts in the last five. The perpetual dryness is weighing on planning for the long-term, she says, but there's also the every day challenges of working with a living commodity. Davidson's Lonesome Dove Ranch is based at... Read More
Category: Western Canada
Statistics Canada (StatsCan) has published data providing a socioeconomic snapshot of Canada’s evolving farm population. As of 2021, the farm population represents just 1.6 per cent of the total population in Canada. But how are they categorized? Data from the census shows that the face of Canada's farm population is changing — farm households are... Read More
Picture this: You're headed out to the sprayer and the wind starts to blow. The knee-jerk reaction is to cancel all spraying operations for that particular time, right? Not necessarily. There is definitely such thing as too much wind to spray; however, some wind turbulence is not all bad. So says Tom Wolf, founder of... Read More
Small plot research has its place, however, there is a need for field-scale research, too. When you take research to field scale, it allows for genetic and environmental interactions that may not show up in small-plot results, says Jagroop Kahlon, of Alberta Pulse Growers (APG). Kahlon presented about the APG Plot to Field program at... Read More
New soil testing technology that goes beyond chemistry to analyzing soil biology will be available in Canada as the result of a new partnership between Taurus Agricultural Marketing and Iowa-based Trace Genomics. The two companies announced the partnership on Thursday (August 24). Trace's metagenomics technology analyzes DNA in a soil sample, providing data on over... Read More
When it comes to nitrous oxide emissions, there are many complex formulas that can be used to determine what is going on in the fields. Abby Sim, field technician at Olds College of Agriculture and Technology, says this is precisely why the Smart Farm at the college decided to look at estimating nitrous oxide emissions.... Read More
As slow-release products and split applications become more common in the pursuit of fertilizer efficiency, it's important to understand the timing of when a crop needs those nutrients to avoid situations where fertilizer that's been applied is not available when the plants need it. The agronomy team at Manitoba equipment dealer Enns Brothers is in... Read More
Details and timelines have yet to be determined, but the federal and provincial governments in Alberta and Saskatchewan have agreed to move ahead on offering AgriRecovery disaster relief programs for livestock producers affected by drought in 2023. Both Prairie provinces submitted requests for AgriRecovery assessments in July. Any program under AgriRecovery is cost-shared on a... Read More
Whether you are a farmer, rancher, agronomist, researcher, or industry professional — you've likely encountered herbicide resistance. We know herbicide resistance is out there, and unfortunately, there's no silver bullet to managing it. However, as Rob Klewchuk of Syngenta Canada explains in this Wheat School episode, there are some management things that can be done.... Read More
Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay took the opportunity to drive a combine while visiting a Saskatchewan grain farm between Regina and Saskatoon this week. MacAulay and some of his staff dropped in at Stone Farms near Davidson, Sask., for about an hour and half on Tuesday. "I've been inviting the minister of the portfolio to come... Read More