You can measure the pork industry’s development in Ontario in some obvious ways, such as sales and the size of the herd across the province. But Prof. Bob Friendship at the Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, says another strong indicator of the sector’s vitality is the number of veterinary students who are choosing it... Read More
Category: Western Canada
Granular phosphorus fertilizer recovered from liquid hog manure could be a viable alternative to traditional 11-52 monoammonium phosphate (MAP) fertilizer for growing wheat and canola, according to research done at the University of Manitoba. Struvite "looks like a fantastic fertilizer," says Don Flaten, U of M soil scientist and one of the authors of a... Read More
Last week, Eric Micheels, assistant professor in the Agricultural and Resource Economics department at the University of Saskatchewan, tweeted a link to his newly-minted dissertation, entitled Market Orientation in Production Agriculture: Measurement, Relationships and Implications. Now, normally, the word "dissertation" would do little to pique my interest, but Micheels has been vocal through the Earls... Read More
The grains markets got a surprising World Agricultural Supply and Demands Estimate (WASDE) report on Tuesday, as the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) raised demand for U.S. corn and soybeans, sending the markets skyward! Oilseeds got the best of the bullish rush, with soybeans going limit-up, followed closely by canola, which touched last summer's... Read More
Last week the new Progressive Conservative government in Manitoba changed the name of its agriculture ministry back to the Department of Agriculture. Previously it was the Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, or MAFRD. Many people on twitter were cheerleading the decision as if this was agriculture finding its roots with the name change.... Read More
In March, Monsanto CEO Hugh Grant stated that his global seed and trait company was going to focus on research and development instead of a agri-business mega merger. Even if that was his intent, the talk of a possible merger or acquisition didn't go away for long. This week Reuters and Bloomberg have been aflutter... Read More
Japanese tractor company Kubota has announced a deal to purchase Salina, Kansas-based equipment-maker Great Plains Manufacturing, Inc. Kubota will acquire 100 percent of Great Plains' shares for a stock price of approximately US$430 million, subject to provisions in the agreement. The deal expands on a North American alliance Kubota had with Great Plains' turf and... Read More
Canola supplies will likely be tight leading up to harvest this fall, and could be even tighter in 2017 based on StatsCan estimates, average yields and demand trends. "The market is definitely telling us supplies are not going to be as abundant as what we've had over the last few years, and I would say…Read More
Three engineering students from the University of Regina won an international ag robotics competition in Indiana last week. The agBOT Challenge saw teams compete to build the most efficient, unmanned seeder, capable of planting two different varieties in half-mile passes while maintaining control and providing data back to the operator (see the lengthy and impressive... Read More
Rain, and even some snow, has slowed seeding progress on the prairies, but nobody's complaining. Cool temperatures, meanwhile, are hampering planting in Ontario and creating some nutrient issues, as we hear from Whete Pete. There are new reports of Bayer and BASF considering bids for Monsanto, soybean markets soared thanks to the USDA and barbecue... Read More