We did something we haven’t done in a long while. It was a thing we used to do as a news organization every few weeks or so. We held an editorial board meeting with a prominent member of our agricultural community. Why, you might ask, is that important? You can check out page 13 and […] Read more
Stories by Michael Raine
WP delayed due to storm
Dear Western Producer subscriber, This week’s prairie storm system has left many roads and highways blocked and travel delayed. This week’s edition of The Western Producer is also being held up by the winter weather conditions. It will reach Canada Post a day later than usual and because of this it will also be arriving […] Read more
No driver, now the gloves are off
Last week on a stage in Las Vegas, John Deere’s first autonomous tractor that farmers could order debuted without an acre of dirt in sight. It wasn’t a farm show or a dealer event. It was at the Consumer Electronics Show. Long known for more than consumer electronics, that event has evolved into a showcase […] Read more
Future-proofing the farm: case studies
In late December every year, we deliver a special edition of this newspaper for year-end reading, with the stories also posted on producer.com. It’s different from your regular Western Producer because it lacks the usual Markets, Farm Living, Production, Business and Livestock sections, as well as the weekly charts and graphs of commodity pricing. We […] Read more
Storm hits 37 million acres
Of all things that could go wrong with farming, weather is still the most troubling. Likely this is due to the complete lack of control that farmers have over it. Farmers can get insurance for it, but that never makes up for the losses if it is catastrophic. Once in a great, long while a […] Read more
Prairies intermediate wheatgrass three to four years away from release
Doug Cattani looks at three farm-raised crops of intermediate wheat grass this year and says despite highly variable yields, they “all make sense.” One got all the groceries, one is organic and one couldn’t catch a break. And each shows the potential for a perennial crop. One crop, grown conventionally will likely yield 1,500 pounds […] Read more
It’s time to support our own
Discrimination based on being an identifiable other should be an obvious problem in our society, especially for places like ours, with relatively tiny populations and huge interdependency for success. Yet, we still manage to do it. What sort of harvest does this bring us? What yields could be worth acting out against our own? If […] Read more
Chains so heavy they float
Doleco has introduced two products that are expected to take equipment transport two giant steps forward: a unique compact load binder and a textile chain that’s stronger than steel yet so light it floats on water. “Fabric technology has improved over the year, leaps forward, making this possible. If you can do it with chain, […] Read more
Don’t stop, keep baling – a new way to round
Round bales offer a lot of functionality to the farm, especially if poly wrapping is part of the plan for forages. But not having to stop and drop a bale would make round baling more efficient. Kubota is offering its new European Kverneland continuous round baler, the world’s first fixed-chamber continuous baling platform, in Canada […] Read more
Farmers obtain info remotely
A new internet tool brings together agricultural experts and farmers as they learn to live in the new COVID-19 reality
Rob Saik had some ideas about agronomy and husbandry delivery, coming out of the sale of his Agritrend company to technology giant Trimble. “I had learned a lot over the years about what we could do to deliver information to farmers. And what farmers are willing to pay for and when,” he said in a […] Read more
