There are strategies producers can use to rejuvenate an old hay field into an efficient pasture system during a drought
There are many ways to create a new pasture, but focusing on grazing strategy, field history and climate makes the options more manageable. For Steven Balzer, there were several factors with a piece of old hay land he purchased two years ago just outside of Langham, Sask . He wanted to intensively graze the land […] Read more
John Greig
Stories by John Greig
Barn sensor data can provide value
Companies find ways to collect livestock data for producers from multiple sensors that already exist in livestock barns
More sensors continue to be added to livestock barns to help increase animal productivity, reduce labour and provide safer environments for people and animals. Dairy farms, especially, have moved to embrace sensors over the past five to 10 years and now have more data available, similar to their hog and poultry farming neighbours. “On the […] Read more
Monitor gives producers more flexibility
Imagine being able to take a day off without worrying about water trough levels for grazing cattle. That scenario drove Katlin Lang and his brother, Dustin, of Vibank, Sask., to found a company that provides a water trough monitoring system. Designed for troughs that are connected to solar systems in pastures, Katlin Lang says the […] Read more
Company scales up automated cattle weighing
An automated weigh scale, built to be dropped into almost any point in the cattle production chain, delivers individual knowledge data on animals in real time. That data can be used to make decisions on cattle health, rates of gain and the readiness of animals for market. “We’re missing a live KPI (key performance indicator) […] Read more
New testing equipment monitors bull fertility
The portable machine is designed to help producers pinpoint insemination timing for more successful breeding
Slow-swimming bull sperm will have no place to hide. A Scottish company, Dyneval, has created a new semen analyzer that measures a wider range of concentrations of semen than previous testing methods. This will allow veterinarians, beef and dairy producers to have more control over semen quality. The Dynescanl analyzer is also highly portable, making […] Read more
The reliability of latest or the value of older gear, it’s all good
I’ve had lots of advice and discussions on the decision to buy new or make do with older farm equipment over the years. Some farmers who keep older equipment humming along have no idea why someone would pay full price for new machinery. There are those who swear by running new equipment to ensure uptime […] Read more
Reality TV show from U.K. sheds light on radical transparency
There are lessons to be learned for the agriculture sector from the popularity of the British reality show Clarkson’s Farm. I was late to viewing the show on Amazon Prime, mostly because the history of mainstream media depiction of farming on television is suspect. It ranges from overly fawning, idealized, moralizing or unrealistic. The depiction […] Read more
Regulatory agility called critical to ag innovation in Canada
One of the lessons of the pandemic and response to it by governments and regulatory agencies is that regulatory agility is possible. COVID-19 vaccines have been approved with record speed, and from what I can find, the government says that the same vigour of process has also been applied. The only point missing is long-term […] Read more
Looking back at what we learned, lost and gained in 2020
I’m not big on end-of-year summaries, but with 2020 a year whose end will be celebrated (albeit not with crowds), it’s worth looking at what we’ve learned, what we’ve lost and what we’ve gained. This will be a year that historians and average people will look back on for the next 100 years. Hopefully we […] Read more
CFIA eases meat trade between provinces
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency will allow interprovincial trade of provincially inspected meat if necessary to alleviate meat shortages. Moving meat not inspected by the federal system across a provincial border will require a ministerial exemption. A process to obtain that was released late last month. The process is temporary, in place during the COVID-19 […] Read more
