Crop Management
Adopting the latest in agricultural tools might have benefits, but proving them takes a special kind of year
AIRDRIE, Alta. — Changing up a whole suite of main machinery was a bit daunting as the year started. With 9,000 acres to seed in a few weeks, Larry Woolliams began the year by cutting his drills in half. And then it rained 20 inches or so. Woolliams moved out of two precision drills to […] Read more
Crop Management
DumpDek force feeds forage blower’s blast
WOODSTOCK, Ont. — Keeping expensive equipment running during peak season is vital in all types of farming operations, including hay harvest. A forage hauler sitting waiting for something to happen is not good. In a typical forage harvest, the forage-collecting tandem trucks and trailers are sometimes seen waiting to dump their load so it can […] Read more
AgriStability under review as feds, provinces make minor tweaks to program
OTTAWA – Minor changes are coming to AgriStability following a meeting of Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau and her provincial counterparts. Major changes will have to wait. A full review of federal Business Risk Management (BRM) will be completed in April, with the findings discussed when the federal, provincial and territorial ministers meet again in […] Read more
Drop in India’s pulse production may see lower import duties
WINNIPEG (MarketsFarm) – There’s a possibility the government of India could lower its import duties on pulses, including those from Canada, according to reports. With India’s monsoon rains having continued longer than usual, production of the country’s kharif (summer) pulse production fell by almost two million tonnes. Prior to the monsoons, market expectations called for […] Read more
Mid-December Prairie wheat bids mixed
Winnipeg (MarketsFarm) – Hard red spring wheat bids in Western Canada were mixed during the week ended Dec. 12, with small gains in some areas and small losses in others as the market adjusted in a narrow range. Average Canada Western Red Spring (13.5 percent) wheat prices were down by as much as C$2 per […] Read more
Corn approaches one million acres on Prairies
Cool weather resulted in disappointing yields for producers this year, but they don’t appear to be giving up on the crop
SASKATOON — Monsanto made a bold announcement about corn in June 2013, promising to invest $100 million in breeding programs to develop corn hybrids suitable for Western Canada. The company’s ambition was massive as it set a goal of eight to 10 million acres of corn on the Prairies by 2025. That’s not going to […] Read more
U.S. sugar beet farmers face frozen harvest
HALLOCK, Minn. (Reuters) — Weather during harvest season in the U.S. Red River Valley, a fertile sugar beet region in Minnesota and North Dakota, has felt like a series of plagues to many farmers. Rain and snow pelted crops in September and October. That was followed by a blizzard and then warm temperatures that left […] Read more
Swing blade sawmill makes money
Woodstock, Ont. — Portable sawmills come in three varieties: Band saws, chain saws and those historical six-foot diameter big blade saws. More recently, manufacturers have developed small blade mills as a viable option. I spent a year working at a bush mill where we mainly produced railroad ties, along with dimension lumber with the side […] Read more
Big forage wagon makes play of hay day
WOODSTOCK, Ont. — One major advantage of self-loading forage wagons is they can be fitted with a variety of different conditioners and crimpers, allowing the forage producer to get his hay harvested sooner. Johnathon Scholton brought his Bergmann shuttle 980K self-loading wagon to the Outdoor Farm Show to show off the features of the new […] Read more
Canadian honey production down 15.4 per cent on the year
Winnipeg, (MarketsFarm) – Cool and wet summer conditions caused Canadian honey production to drop to its lowest level in seven years in 2019, according to a report from Statistics Canada. At 80.4 million pounds, production of the sweetener was down by 15.4 per cent from the previous year. Alberta saw the largest drop, with production […] Read more
