The province of British Columbia has confirmed a tenth barn is infected with avian influenza. This news comes only two weeks after the province notified the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) of the detection of an H5 subtype in two barns in B.C.'s Fraser Valley, later identified as the highly pathogenic H5N2. Avian influenza has... Read More
Category: Western Canada
Mixing alfalfa and sainfoin for a pasture stand has potential, as research scientists pointed out last week at the Western Canadian Grazing Conference in Edmonton. Sainfoin is a perennial forage legume. It was introduced to North America from Europe and Asia in the late 1800s and has since been used for both grazing and hay.... Read More
Guest post by Janine Lunn I am happy to see that farming is gaining popular interest. It seems that lately agriculture has become sexy, and I’m relieved to see we’re graduating from the old image of men wearing striped coveralls, straw hats and chewing a stem of wheat. Many non-farmers are now keen to meet... Read More
Canada's rules and regulations regarding plant breeder's rights adhere to a convention that's over 35 years old, even though there is a more modern, widely accepted convention that's a mere 23 years old — UPOV '91. Bill C-18, currently in the parliamentary process, will bring Canada in line with UPOV '91, a move that has... Read More
The day when unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are used for spraying fields in North America could be here sooner than we expect. In fact, for small acres, that day may have already arrived. Several spraying units made by a Swift Current-based RotorSpray attracted plenty of attention at Farm Forum in Saskatoon earlier this month. The... Read More
One of the leading causes of herbicide injury in canola is insufficient sprayer cleaning, says Clark Brenzil, provincial weed control specialist for the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture. Whether due to drift or residue, herbicide injury can result in drastic yield losses, besides being an eye-sore to drive by. Related: Spray Tips with Tom Wolf —…Read More
Checking nozzles on the sprayer for uniformity can prove rather tedious, as it often means clambering up and down sprayer steps to turn booms on and off, and running behind the sprayer to take a look, all while attempting to avoid drift. SprayTest Controls Inc. has changed that process, with the remote boom control system.... Read More
Rumours are building again that Russia may limit their grain exports (specifically wheat) and the government might start increasing the purchasing price from farmers for the government reserve stocks (the government is definitely worried about rising domestic food prices). This would incentivize producers to sell to the government versus grain merchants/exporters. SovEcon said earlier in... Read More
The latest on the Ontario government's plan to regulate neonic seed treatments, the avian influenza outbreak in B.C.'s Fraser Valley, changes at the Canadian Grain Commission and a review of the markets, including the sharp drop in feeder cattle futures, over the past week — here's the TWORA podcast for December 12th:
Animosity and mistrust in the food system — or the "agri-food value chain," as it’s called in some circles — is costing farmers billions of dollars in waste. At a time when the powers-that-be are urging the sector to bolster the economy by pulling together for increased jobs and exports, Oakville-based Value Chain Management International... Read More