There is definitely a market for connecting farm renters and land owners. Retiring farmers are tending to hold onto the land asset and cash rent it to other farmers. Another trend is that farm renters are willing to farm across greater distances and not just from neighbors that they have known for 30 years. All... Read More
Category: Western Canada
Editor's note: This is Owen Roberts' Real Talk, Real Action column. Each week, Owen will offer his insight into how farmers and the agricultural industry can participate in the rural- and ag-related discussions going on around them. Contact Owen at owen@uoguelph.ca or on Twitter at @TheUrbanCowboy. What’s spreading faster in Canada -- herbicide-resistant weeds, or... Read More
It sure is pretty when it flowers and the health benefits of the seed is hard to match, but growing flax can be a tough slog for farmers. It's not terribly competitive, markets are volatile and the resulting straw is more of a waste product than second income due to limited options in the west.... Read More
In a story that has been developing for months, One Earth Farms has been told that it will not be able to farm on the Blood Reserve in 2013 or into the future. A One Earth Farms employee confirmed to RealAgriculture.com last week that the Lethbridge Farm Manager has been released and the Lethbridge office... Read More
The Western Grains Research Foundation is reminding farmers that the federal government annually provides a Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) tax credit to producers offering them a tax credit on their check-off investments. The tax credit percentage for producers who contributed to the Wheat and Barley Check-off, administered by the Western Grains Research Foundation... Read More
The Edmonton area of Alberta has the unwanted title of "clubroot hotspot," as this is where the disease first took hold. The incidence map has grown each year since clubroot was confirmed in canola in 2003. Then, not long ago, viable spores were detected in Saskatchewan soils. Last week, the Manitoba government confirmed viable spores... Read More
It's positively refreshing to see a discussion on the plight of threatened grasslands, world hunger and political unrest have a tangible, though only partial, solution. What's more, livestock production has been criticized by environmentalists as too water intensive and hard on delicate ecosystems to be sustainable. A recent presentation, however, is turning this notion on... Read More
I'm not a big markets person. I know, I know, it's agriculture, how could I not be into markets? I have a basic understanding of charts and outlooks, of course, but by my heart is in the soil, plants and animals — the futures market is rather Greek to me. Still, it's difficult to attend... Read More
"Farm succession is a journey, not an event." That's the key message farm succession expert Len Davies has for farm families in the final episode of Agricultural Management Institute’s (AMI) new five-part video series. In the earlier episodes, four farm families shared their personal insights on what made their farm succession plans work. In the... Read More
FarmOn.com, an Alberta organization focused on connecting young farmers with resources, information and people to help them get started or continue farming, is launching the #farmvoices movement on April 22, 2013. Also celebrated that day is Earth Day, a fitting day, says board member and farmer Sarah Wray, as farmers are one of the largest... Read More