It continues to amaze me how fast and rapid technology is coming to agriculture to help farmers improve decision making. Since the advent of GPS the possibilities are continually proving to be endless and......very cool. With the ability to take vegetative index readings and then make decisions within 24 hours is truly interesting. What really... Read More
Category: Western Canada
This week I helped out Farms.com by filming the Canola Harvest Watch. I talked to Serfas Farms just south of Lethbridge about how their canola harvest went. The Serfas's are a family operation that farms wheat, barley, canola and silage corn. Mark and Kevin farm with their dad Herb and are based in Turin, Alberta.... Read More
Minimizing the loss of silage is very important in any livestock operation whether you are running a dairy or a feedyard. Silage can be stored in a pit, silo or the bale wrapper. Proper storage is very important feeding requirements. What kind of silage storage you choose will somewhat depend on your farm location or... Read More
We have lots of cows in Canadian Agriculture, but we also have some sacred cows a well. One of these is the ability to shelter income through the cash method of reporting farming income. For those who don€™t know how this works, it is a simplistic formula whereby as long as you have more expenses... Read More
With the US market moving higher this week, Canadian producers have also enjoyed some higher fat sales as well. Immediately the resulting question is whether or not there is follow through in this market or will the price slowly slide down. The United States has done well exporting beef this year with its weaker dollar.... Read More
Traceability has become a word that farmers are much more familiar with over the past ten years. Many farmers used to think that their responsibility ended at the farm gate. Many would say that this is no longer the case while some people content all of this is about pushing liability down the value chain.... Read More
By Shaun Haney It has always been the practice in agriculture if more than one sibling decides to take over the family farm that the farm will be split into separate entities. I know that in my own family's case in the late seventies, my grandfather and his brother split the farm into two separate... Read More
It is that time of year when farmers are placing their orders for soil sampling with fertilizer retailers and professional agronomists. When you decide to soil test it is essential that you request the proper depths and analysis of those depths in order to make the right fertilizing decisions. Many producers fall into the trap... Read More
The smell of a liquid manure spreader (better known as a honey wagon) is very familiar in many rural areas of Canada. Liquid manure spreaders are very popular in hog and dairy operations. Many people argue that once incorporated, liquid manure is highly beneficial in comparison to its solid manure alternative. In talking to farmers... Read More
Globally, we€™re in a position where demand for wheat is surpassing supply. Figures from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT) show wheat demand growing by 1.5 per cent per year, while annual production is increasing by only 0.9 per cent. With the global population expected to rise to over 9 billion by 2050,... Read More