Soils in much of Alberta and parts of western Saskatchewan are very dry and needing rain as early seeding activity is getting underway. Unfortunately, there doesn't appear to be widespread relief on the way in the next few weeks. "We are going to be looking for a balance across the majority of the prairies, and... Read More
Category: Western Canada
Costco is about to embark on a very dedicated vertical integration strategy for its chicken business. As reported by Fortune.com earlier this week, Costco is set to build its own processing facility, and will build its own chicken farms for one third of its supply. With plans to produce and slaughter 1.7 million chickens per... Read More
Last week when the Alberta Government released its budget, certain third party agencies and councils were relieved of their duties. Much of the focus was on the death of the Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency (ALMA), but there were others put to rest. The Alberta Farm Safety Advisory Council was also cut and dismissed. What?... Read More
Dryness is becoming a serious concern on the western side of the Prairies, as seeding is getting underway. Meanwhile, cold and wet conditions have hampered progress in Ontario. Meteorologist Drew Lerner of World Weather Inc is one of the people we hear from on this week's podcast. Also, Ontario farmers have lost their court case... Read More
How much time should farmers invest in trying to explain modern agriculture to people unwilling to listen? Feedstuffs journalist and commentator Andy Vance believes agriculture stakeholders need to concentrate their communications efforts on consumers who freely choose food produced by modern agriculture and are either neutral or supportive of using efficiency-enhancing technologies to grow food.... Read More
There will be more pulses (surprise!), barley, corn and durum planted on Canadian farms in 2016, according to StatsCan's acreage estimates published on Thursday. The canola acreage number was likely the largest surprise in the report, coming in below trade expectations at 19.3 million acres, down from 20.1 million in 2015. (see numbers below) "I... Read More
After a long winter of farm shows, conferences and trade shows it made a lot of sense to hop back on an airplane and take the family on a vacation. It wouldn't surprise many of you that I have a few Aeroplan points to use up. Free flights!!! In today's world of busy, taking time... Read More
The Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) officially launched their sustainability initiative this week in Ottawa. The initiative, called proAction, includes national standards for milk quality, food safety, animal care, traceability, biosecurity and the environment. It's a way to showcase what the industry's strengths, while also encouraging constant progress and improvement. "As dairy farmers, we are... Read More