Catch up on this week’s ag news — from seeding to the federal budget to the avian influenza situation in Ontario — here’s This Week on Real Ag for April 24th, 2015: Mentions: Wheat Pete’s Word: Plant’15 Begins, Celebrating Soil, Trouble in the Corn Bins and More More Wheat and Oats, Fewer Canola Acres —... Read More
Category: Western Canada
Farmers and fishing businesses will save a projected $50 million in taxes over the next five years thanks to another increase to the Lifetime Capital Gains exemption announced in the federal budget this week. The exemption, which helps farmers reduce their tax burden when transferring ownership of farm assets, has been raised to $1 million... Read More
Statistics Canada published its annual pre-seeding acreage estimates on Thursday morning. As expected, the planting intentions survey showed Canadian farmers plan to seed more wheat, oats and barley and less canola and soybeans than in 2014 (see chart.) There were some surprises in the report, as the canola acreage projection of 19.4 million acres was... Read More
April brings many things, but the most important are spring planting (or seeding, if you're in the west) and, of course, the beginning of the Major League Baseball season. As I watch farmers getting into the field while also enjoying baseball on the radio again, I started to think about the similarities of the start... Read More
Two major players in the livestock health and nutrition business could soon be on the same team, as Alltech has entered an agreement to acquire Ridley Inc. for C$521 million. "This transformative transaction that combines two industry leaders allows Alltech to deliver better performance and value to livestock and poultry producers across the globe," said... Read More
Trimble has bought HarvestMark, a food traceability and quality inspection company. HarvestMark collects information on food movement and sales, with an eye to food safety tracking and supply chain management. The acquisition of HarvestMark "further enhances" Trimble’s position in agriculture and transportation and logistics within the food supply chain, the company says. The addition of... Read More
Is your planter ready to roll? Corn planting season will soon be here for growers in Ontario and Western Canada. While it's been a cool spring in Ontario, an early melt in Western Canada meant some fields were dry enough to plant several weeks ago. However, the date on the calendar and the temperature reading... Read More
Cargill is celebrating its 150th anniversary in 2015, and has launched the "Together We Thrive" contest for rural and farming communities. The Together We Thrive contest will award six grants of $25,000 to community organizations in one each of Ontario, Manitoba, North Saskatchewan, South Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Peace Region that share one of Cargill’s... Read More
In universities in Ontario, the semester has ended and students are off to travel, work at a summer job or just recharge their batteries. Experience has taught me as an instructor to not pack too much into the very end of the semester. Nerves are frayed and agendas are overwhelmed. That’s especially true in the... Read More
Soil conditions in the heart of the soybean growing area on the eastern prairies have been dry this spring, leading to questions about planting deeper than normal to ensure the seed has access to moisture. This Soybean School West episode takes us to the middle of a windy field near Portage, Man., where Dieter Schwarz... Read More