It’s not often a farmer gets to show off — and explain — what’s happening in his wheat field on national television during primetime hours. Humphrey Banack of Round Hill, Alberta had the opportunity this fall when he hosted comedian Rick Mercer and his CBC camera crew for a day of combining wheat (if you... Read More
Category: Western Canada
Whether it’s your favourite ag website, the radio or newspaper, Twitter, your area sales rep or the local ag extension office, farmers in Canada and most developed countries have many sources to turn to for expertise. Never mind scarcity, information overload is often a problem. But imagine farming without electricity, without a computer, without the... Read More
Rounding out the middle of November, the markets seemed to pause a bit and then dropped lower as some farmer selling increased and likely the last of U.S. corn and soybeans fields were being harvested for 2014, as most places now have too much snow on the ground. While U.S. soybean crush volumes from October... Read More
Why do we speed when we know it’s wrong? Why do we text while driving? Why smoke, when we know it’s bad? Why continue overusing traditional chemistry herbicide applications when we know they’re causing problems? That’s what Canadian weed scientists want to know. They’re getting frustrated with what seems to be farmers’ general unwillingness to... Read More
The Saskatchewan Flax Development Commission received four nominations for directors and will be holding an election to fill three vacant director positions. The four nominees are: Jordon Hillier from Southey, SK Nancy Johns from Zelma, SK Ken Kessler from Pangman, SK Dave Sefton from Broadview, SK Biographies for the candidates are available on the Saskatchewan... Read More
It was the Interactive Combine Adjustment (ICA) technology that won John Deere an Ag Innovation Award at Agri-Trade this year. ICA was first released in 2014, and is designed to minimize losses, while optimizing straw and grain quality. The operator is offered the choice between single and multiple optimization targets. Then, s/he receives suggestions for... Read More
An internal disagreement that created concerns about a possible crack in the foundation of Canada's supply management system for chicken appears to have been resolved with the signing of a new national agreement on quota allocation. Alberta withdrew from the national quota allocation program at the end of 2013, arguing the formula for distributing new... Read More
Potentially containing a mycotoxin known as DON (deoxynivalenol), fusarium-affected wheat can be a challenge to market, and a safety hazard to handle. But, new work suggests sorting tactics could help improve sample quality. Rex Newkirk is the vice president of research and innovation at Canadian International Grains Institute (CIGI) and has been heavily involved in…Read More
The outlook for grain and oilseed prices might not be as bad — and the cattle market’s trajectory not as good — as the general consensus, according to our guest on TWORA for November 19th, 2014 (click above to listen.) From the Ag Excellence Conference in Winnipeg, Kelvin Heppner chats with FCC chief economist JP... Read More
There have been no confirmed cases of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus (PEDv) in Saskatchewan thus far, but that hasn't stopped the province from reacting to its potential threat. Earlier this week, the federal and provincial governments announced their support of the Saskatchewan Pork Development Board (SaskPork), with $150,000 in funding. The funding will help deliver... Read More