Agriculture minister Gerry Ritz was in Winnipeg, Man., today to announce the tabling of Bill C-18, the Agricultural Growth Act. The act covers a host of agriculture-related regulations — a total of nine — with an eye to "amending, streamlining and modernizing" Canada's regulations as they relate to several areas of agriculture. From plant breeding... Read More
Category: Western Canada
The ability to measure, track and vary inputs and other agronomic data far exceeds most people's comfort level with data analysis. And if you're all, whoa, what the heck is she talking about? You've made my point. Any new(ish) equipment comes with the fantastic built-in capability to track what its doing, and as farmers add... Read More
There has been many challenges that have faced the Australian beef industry in recent years, from floods and drought, record high currency, political challenges and global economic slowdown. However, despite all these issues, Australia's beef export footprint has expanded into developing nations, helping to offset the slowness into traditional markets. Shaun Haney was at the... Read More
The business of food retailing is undergoing significant changes. There is significant consolidation happening, new entrants like Whole Foods, the growth of WalMart and all of this is happening while the consumer market is not growing overall. Just like farming technology is allowing food retailers to lower costs and gain more insight into its operations... Read More
Can you imagine hand harvesting your corn crop? How about drying and storing corn in an orphanage? Farming in North America and farming in Africa do share some similarities such as crop type, but that's about where the similarities end. It's hard to even imagine a fraction of the challenges farmers face there. In this... Read More
When your coworkers work in three different provinces, it can be tough to ever actually see each other. Here at RealAgriculture, we try to get to get together whenever we can, but sometimes the weather conspires against us. And so, the blizzard that smacked around Calgary on Monday, causing travel delays and flight cancellations impacted... Read More
I had the great pleasure of joining the Manitoba Canola Growers Association for its second Canola Leaders event held November 29 and 30, 2013, at Brandon, Manitoba. About 20 young farmers participated in two days of fun, networking and learning, with a heavy emphasis on the importance of food, understanding consumers, learning leadership skills and... Read More
If you’re still wondering if local food is a fad, and whether you should build a local food component into your crop and livestock production, take heed of the latest consumer food price outlook from the University of Guelph. The outlook, produced annually by a team led by Prof. Sylvain Charlebois, shows consumer interest in... Read More
If you have no idea what to get the rancher in your life, you're not alone. And if your rancher has been dealing with all kinds of snow and winter stress already, it's very likely that whatever you decide to buy/make for the holidays will be set aside for at least twelve months. After the... Read More
Micronutrients may be needed in tiny amounts, but that doesn't mean they're unimportant. When needed, a micronutrient is just as necessary as nitrogen or phosphorus, albeit in much smaller volumes. That difference in volume creates a few logistical issues, as spreading only three to five pounds of any given product over an acre means the... Read More