Grain prices ended the month of February a little mixed as corn, soybean, and canola prices all got support in the last half of the month through harvest and logistical concerns out of South American. Lower oil prices have helped keep gains in check for those crops related to the biofuels industry, although strong domestic... Read More
Category: Western Canada
Many farmers will be familiar with vDrive, a technology that allows each planter to be controlled and monitored independently. The result, powered by a 12-volt motor, is variable rate planting, that accounts for real-time changes in speed (including around corners). On January 21 of this year, Precision Planting announced the same technology would be used... Read More
From the Agricultural Growth Act receiving Royal Assent to new questions surrounding the strange case of missing quarantined heritage sheep in Ontario, there's plenty to discuss in this week's ag news recap. Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz, meteorologist Drew Lerner, McGill University's Joe Schwarcz, Dave Solverson of the Canadian Cattlemen's Association and others make it into... Read More
The Barley Council of Canada has announced the hiring of a new executive director. Phil de Kemp, who also serves as the president of the Malting Industry Association of Canada, will take on the role beginning March 1st. De Kemp previously worked for Cargill and the federal government, including time as the senior policy advisor... Read More
Acres that were penciled in for wheat back in December might get switched to canola in spring, depending on how much weight farmers put into the price relationship between wheat and canola, says the vice-president for oilseeds with Louis Dreyfus Commodities. Brian Conn says back in November and December, they were expecting a decline in... Read More
If you're aerial-image curious but not exactly ready to commit to a UAV purchase, this latest stop on the TechTour may be of interest to you. In this episode of the TechTour, Shaun Haney catches up with Warren Genik, with AgSky Technologies, to talk about what AgSky does, and how the service means you can... Read More
Winnipeg-based precision agriculture and data management company Farmers Edge announced Wednesday that it has acquired GranDuke Geomatics, a geospatial software development company based in Lethbridge. Founded by Guy Duke and Kevin Grant in 2012, GranDuke Geomatics, with the assistance of the National Research Council, offers customized software for geospatial applications in precision agriculture, environmental monitoring,... Read More
Federal legislation containing changes to plant breeders' rights and farm cash advance programs became law on Wednesday, as Bill C-18 — also known as the Agricultural Growth Act — received royal assent. Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz will be holding a press conference at Canterra Seeds in Winnipeg on Friday morning to mark the passage of... Read More
Stephanie Michaud, Trimble Navigations, in conversation with Shaun Haney at NFMS 2015. The display is a 12.1? high-definition color touch-screen, and this year, Trimble announced the TMX-2050 will have the ability to support third party applications. “Today, and within the last week, that’s been our biggest release that we’ve been talking about,” Trimble Navigation’s Stephanie... Read More
Adherence to testing protocols for scrapie and correct identification of an animal have been called into question during a court case involving individuals who are charged with taking and hiding quarantined heritage breed sheep destined to be destroyed as part of Canada's scrapie eradication program. The protocols and identification in question stem from a 2009... Read More