We should all steal a page from Pulse Canada’s inventive approach to market expansions. The organization’s new Meal Planning for 9 Billion People video campaign pushes just about every button imaginable. First, the positioning. It sounds elementary, but feeding the world with meals as Pulse Canada suggests rather than simple saying “food” is brilliant. It... Read More
Category: Western Canada
When the news broke that JBS was going to buy the XL Foods Lakeside plant after the fall 2012 ecoli crisis, many were relieved that a buyer had stepped up. The plant going dark was a much worse scenario for local cattle feeders. Now that the plant deal has closed we thought it would actually... Read More
How do you view milk in your household? Do you lump it together with other beverages like juice, soda, coffee, tea? When do you drink it? Why do you drink it? What informs those decisions in your home? That's a relatively small set of questions, but important ones as the dairy industry looks at how... Read More
Statistics Canada released its first seeding intentions report for March 31, 2013 this morning. Corn, wheat and oats were given the biggest nod to acreage bumps, however, this survey was conducted to April 3 when farmers still expected spring to arrive before May. Corn acres are estimated at 2.3 million for Ontario, an increase of... Read More
It's an unfortunate thing, but farmers in each of the Prairie Provinces must think about clubroot this spring and throughout the growing season. While it's still overwhelmingly most common in the Edmonton area, clubroot spores have been confirmed in both Saskatchewan and Manitoba fields. For those more acquainted with the threat, soil testing is one... Read More
Don't let the rather diminutive size of the Lely Vector TMR fool you. This rather compact unit is designed to deliver frequent, precise dairy rations tirelessly for herds of between 220 and 300 cows, depending on the ration mix. The Vector unit works on its own as a robotic system completed by the Lely feed... Read More
Land prices seem to have endless upward momentum. Farm Credit Canada's latest land value estimates suggest some very impressive gains in values when taken on their own, but put those numbers over a three to five year span, and the bull run on prices seems unstoppable and nearly unbelievable in some cases. But it would... Read More
It's been a rough year for many farmers in the U.S., as drought stole yields, entire crops and whole pastures. A return to more normal precipitation patterns over the winter helped in many areas, however, this spring's cold and, yes, even snowy April weather has put the brakes on the spring corn planting season and... Read More
The first Earth Day I remember was in 1989, even though the movement started many years before that. What, you say? How could I remember a non-holiday so specifically? I remember it because it's the day my barn cat turned house cat decided to bless us with three kittens — right in the middle of... Read More
The risk of mastitis is highest just after calving and even higher in first-calf heifers. There are several strategies to avoiding the incidence and spread of this udder infection, and some key management decisions to make prior to treatment of the disease. Dr. Herman Barkema, DVM and professor of animal health at the University of... Read More