While the confetti and balloons might still be settling at the feet of Brian Pallister (he's really tall), the Progressive Conservative leader and his 39 elected colleagues will quickly find themselves no longer dreaming about holding the reigns for the province. Most Manitoba farmers will have a local MLA in the governing party for the... Read More
Category: Western Canada
Did you know we're in the thick of the thirty-second annual National Soil Conservation Week? It runs April 17-23, and gives us a reason to consider the ground beneath our feet. "Soil conservation is much more than making the land we farm more productive," Paul Thoroughgood, Soil Conservation Council of Canada (SCCC) chair, said in... Read More
After nearly 17 years of NDP government, Manitobans gave Brian Pallister and the Progressive Conservatives a strong majority in the provincial election on Tuesday. The Tories won a historic 53.7 percent of the popular vote and increased their seats from 19 to 40 — the most for one party since the legislature expanded to 57... Read More
The Canadian Grain Commission is proposing licensing producer car loading facilities and agents who use producer car loading sites. The CGC also wants more feedback on licensing feed mills to ensure producers get paid for grain deliveries. Under the proposal published on Tuesday, producer car loading facilities would be licensed as a new subclass of... Read More
Editor's note: Saskatchewan dairy farmer Cam Houle's tweet about people taking farmers for granted has resonated widely, receiving more than a thousand retweets since it was posted on April 10th. RealAg's Shaun Haney wrote this column "Has Farming Become a Thankless Job?" in response. Now Cam shares the story behind the tweet and the lesson... Read More
If you've ever heard RealAg agronomist Peter Johnson speak, chances are you know what he thinks about hoe drills. "Hoe drills are junk. Buy a real drill. Drive on," said Johnson, while he was still the cereal specialist for OMAFRA, in this video at FarmTech a few years ago. So what does Wheat Pete have... Read More
Farms and ag businesses could be eligible for federal funding if they hire young people to do work that benefits the environment. Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Lawrence MacAulay and Environment and Climate Change Minister Catherine McKenna visited AAFC's Central Experiment Farm in Ottawa on Monday to announce up to $1.9 million in funding over the... Read More
Cattle feeding does take a true cast iron gut at times. Whether it is dollar exchange, feed costs or external political factors, the volatility in all the profit and loss variables is enough to drive you mad. In this weeks Beef Market Update Anne Wasko and Shaun Haney discuss the beef markets and how the... Read More
How much, or how little, should you drink? How much money should your kids get for allowance? How much should you set aside for holidays, for retirement? How much time should you spend on communications, and what should you do? You may have grappled with the some of the questions above. But most farmers have... Read More
The discussion about consumers and farmers connecting can be exhausting, never-ending and downright frustrating for farmers and maybe even some consumers. Sometimes in any strained relationship people lash out, they vent, and they cry for smoother times. One of the disconnects to this relationship can be the role that the food company plays, but that's... Read More