Nineteen years out of the last 23, you'd have saved money by pre-buying your fertilizer in the fall. Of course, fall application of fertilizer is subject to high rates of losses, potentially negating any savings and having a negative impact on the environment, and storing fertilizer isn't always possible. So, it's not surprising then that... Read More
Category: Western Canada
We'll start this week's column on a somber note, because this is serious — yesterday it was announced that the first case of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus has been confirmed on a hog farm in Middlesex county in the southwest corner of Ontario. The details are still preliminary, but this deadly virus appears to have... Read More
The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food (OMAF) confirmed today that porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv) was found on a farm in the southwest of the province. 1st confirmed case of PED in Ontario announced. OP working with OMAF on next steps. — Ontario Pork (@OntarioPork) January 23, 2014 First detected in the United States... Read More
Federal agriculture minister Gerry Ritz was on hand at Brandon's Ag Days yesterday to announce more than $3.7 million in funding awarded to projects spearheaded by the Prairie Oat Growers Association (POGA). The funding is targeted at varietal development and to help oat producers sell more of their crop in the global marketplace. POGA will... Read More
(If you've never been to a Manitoba social, a) you're totally missing out! b) you won't get the title of this post, and, c) you should ask a Manitoban about the very specific food that is consumed at one. Moving on...) Mr. Shaun Haney, very productive interviewer, and Ms. Lyndsey Smith, editor and Manitoban, managed... Read More
If your farm is one soil type from end to end, you can feel free to skip this post. Of course, unless your farm is only 20 feet square, it likely contains several soil types and textures overall and in each field. The concept of managing each soil type or resulting management zone is not... Read More
The only data that's useful is data you can...well...use. On the farm, that means data that can translate into a decision, without the use of an interpreter, quickly and efficiently. Many companies currently offer all kinds of data collection services for your operation. The real question is, how will that impact what you do tomorrow?…Read More
The last Ford I owned outright – and lived to tell the tale — was a 1972 Pinto. To me, at the time, it was a beauty, silver-grey with a thick black stripe along the rocker panels. I thought it was cool, but, in truth, I was an idiot to drive it. I was lucky... Read More
The numbers for the 2013 Ontario winter wheat crop are in. This year growers averaged 80.6 bu/ac of winter wheat. Not too shabby, however, according to Peter Johnson, Cereal Specialist with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, what may be coming down the pipe for the 2014 crop is even better. How much better? The trend…Read More
The Saskatchewan Soil Conservation Association received $91, 205.00 from the Canadian Agricultural Adaptation Program in early 2012 to build agricultural apps designed for Canada’s prairie farmers. The results of this project are now being announced, with apps very near completion. This project will produce five agricultural apps for smartphones and tablets that will give producers... Read More