Category: Western Canada

I've often heard travelling farmers suggest their peers ignore the customs declaration form that asks whether or not you've recently visited a farm or are returning to one. The fear, is, of course, that the customs staff might waste your time with needless questions, disinfecting of boots and so forth. I've never paid much heed... Read More

There was mud, rain, green corn, Japanese beetles, more rain, and oh-so-many demos — that’s right, Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show is in the books for another year, and it was a great one. As always, Real Agriculture’s founder, Shaun Haney, and its editor, Lyndsey Smith, took some time at the end of the show to... Read More

With last week's snowstorm that covered a great area of Alberta, farmers are beginning to try and form their harvest strategy for some of the pancaked fields. RealAgriculture reader Jay Schultz asked his twitter followers what he should do. What do you think? Let us know in the poll below. #westcndag twitter pole. Retweet for... Read More

With no major production challenges anywhere in the world, grain and oilseed prices have fallen to levels we haven’t seen since 2010. So how low can they go? That’s the question Frayne Olson, crops economist and marketing specialist at North Dakota State University, tries to answer in the interview below. Looking at historical charts for... Read More

Grains this week fell significantly as harvest pressure starts to hit full tilt in the North American markets. Most of the northern half of North America and parts of Australia are experiencing some cold weather, which has the bulls frothing to see prices move higher, but the trend continues to head lower as bears are... Read More

Soybean growers in Western Canada and the Northern U.S. have been up early over the last few mornings checking how low temperatures dropped overnight. The thermometer has dipped below the freezing mark in some areas, with damage to soybeans depending on a number of factors, including maturity. As part of this Soybean School West episode,... Read More

In many Canadian communities, fire departments are struggling to recruit and retain qualified staff, largely because the "staff" are actually volunteers. According to the Office of the Fire Commissioner, there are 14 000 firefighters in Alberta alone, with volunteers accounting for 80% of that workforce, in 450 volunteer-operated fire departments across the province. When responding... Read More

Snow and freezing temperatures arrived earlier than welcomed in parts of Western Canada this week. We also saw a bearish market report from the USDA and some new developments surrounding the privatization of the Canadian Wheat Board. It was also a week on the road for the RealAg team, as Shaun, Lyndsey and Bern attended... Read More

Keeping with the bearish trend in the grain markets, the USDA reported higher than expected corn and soybean yields and production in its monthly supply/demand report released on Thursday morning. The average U.S. corn yield was pegged at a record 171.7 bushels per acre, with total production of 14.4 billion bushels. For soybeans, the average... Read More

Whether you’re looking to make a great ration, improve livestock bedding or feed the cellulose ethanol industry, John Deere says you need to check out its new L340 large square baler. Jeremy Unruh, John Deere’s baling and mowing product line manager, gave us a tour of the new balers at the Farm Progress Show last... Read More