If there ever was a "perfect" spray day, it would likely be embellished with a flat sprayer tire or a busted hydraulic hose. Let's face it, some years, even days with good conditions are few. Something is always on a spray applicator's mind, whether it's temperature extremes, the potential for precipitation, high windspeed, an inversion... Read More
Category: Western Canada
By the time symptoms of fusarium head blight (FHB) show up in the crop, it is too late to halt disease development (though you may be able to manage fusarium kernels with the combine). This makes managing the disease a little more complicated, as spray applicators and producers have to assess the history of…Read More
The movement to understand food continues to grow. In Saskatchewan, the Ministry of Agriculture has taken great steps to feed this hunger for knowledge, supporting Agriculture in the Classroom, a charity that promotes agriculture education and awareness in the province. In fact, on June 10, just outside Moose Jaw, Agriculture Minister Lyle Stewart announced the... Read More
When it comes to Canada’s $27-billion food waste problem, what’s actionable on your farm? How can you take measures to reduce it…and should you bother? Martin Gooch thinks so. On behalf of his firm, Value Chain Management International, he’s co-authored a new study, Developing an Industry-Led Approach to Addressing Food Waste in Canada, to try... Read More
I don't mean to alarm you, farmers, but your job is in danger. Career Cast, a job-hunting site, recently released its "Most Endangered Jobs for 2014" with the role of farmer listed in the No. 2 position, faring only slightly better than the much-beleaguered mail carrier. Two things: this is not shocking, nor necessarily negative.... Read More
It’s a research project that’s never been done before, because, frankly, there really wasn’t much reason to tackle the question. But now farmers want to know — What’s the best way to condition canola for storage over the summer? This summer, the Prairie Agriculture Machinery Institute (PAMI) is running a trial (funded by the three... Read More
Corral feeding systems, though handy, can make for a lot of wasted grub, and depending on the voracity of the livestock, can also mean stuck animals. At this year’s Canada’s Farm Progress Show, there was a different sort of bale feeder on display, that seemingly addressed both of those problems while simultaneously simulating grazing. The... Read More
It's mid-July and that means the canola is blooming! It also means you're trying to sneak in some down-time at the local fair or at the cabin. And that's a fantastic plan, says Angela Brackenreed, agronomist with the Canola Council of Canada, but before you go, there are a few things to scout for in…Read More
Kansas-based Peterson Farm Brothers — Gregory, Nathan and Kendal — haven't just put together a fun new parody video, but they're also using their music and blog to help share a message of environmental stewardship and sustainability. The latest song, "All I do is Farm," seen below, is just as much fun as past parodies,…Read More
To some, "accepting risk" is an excuse to not fully understand personal finance, and it's no wonder, with an abundance of numbers, statistics and graphs, economics can seem daunting to some or overly dull to others. And for women, as Gwen Paddock, national manager of agriculture and agribusiness for RBC Royal Bank, points out, the... Read More