The Moser family are geocaching geeks. They have stopped at remote locations in Alberta and British Columbia to search for hidden caches and have hidden their own caches in both provinces. “We’re good geocachers,” said eight-year-old Carson Moser. The family recently moved to Camrose and have found that using their GPS unit to search for […] Read more
News
Treasure hunting goes high tech
Timing must be bang on for mustard desiccant
Roundup Weathermax has been approved as a pre-harvest desiccant on tame mustard crops in Canada, but producers are warned that the wrong timing could mean higher than allowed residue levels for export. The pre-harvest application of Weathermax consists of applying 0.67 litres per acre of the 540 grams per litre formulation when pods are green […] Read more
Litter is good when under the grass
STRATHMORE, Alta. — When Charley Orchard clears away the litter from a patch of grass and sees the layer of litter in Rod Vergouwen’s pasture, he knows new soil is being built. After 10 years of intensive grazing management, Vergouwen has created pastures with knee high grass that ripples in the wind on his farm […] Read more
Crop futures resilient in economic turmoil
World stock markets have plunged and commodity markets have slumped with them. But crop markets have been more resilient than most and some analysts think they will hold up, even in the face of worldwide worry. “We hear that some foreign buyers will use this dip to get some coverage up,” said analyst Rich Nelson […] Read more
Spectacular hailstorm flattens crops
Lee Moats took a crop tour on the weekend he won’t forget anytime soon. The Riceton, Sask., farmer wanted to see what kind of damage was caused by an Aug. 6 hailstorm that unleashed its wrath about five kilometres north of his home quarter. When Moats and his family arrived at the epicentre of the […] Read more
Feds allow tax deferral on sale of breeding animals due to flood
Livestock producers in Manitoba and Saskatchewan coping with excess moisture have been offered federal tax deferrals if they were forced to sell breeding animals. Producers in designated areas are allowed to defer income tax on the sale of breeding livestock for one year if they had to reduce their herds by 15 percent. If the […] Read more
Recent strong basis to unwind as canola harvest nears
Canola basis levels have been great, but they shouldn’t be taken for granted, analysts say. “They won’t last,” said Derek Squair of Agri-Trend Marketing. “The window will close as the new crop comes in.” Squair said he has seen basis levels as good as $11 over and often between $5 and $9 over recently. Especially […] Read more
Benefits of Vegemite clearer than outcome of Australian Wheat Board demise
Last week I had an extended lunch with a group of young Australian farm women. More than just a chance to discuss their claims of the high virtues of Vegemite — something they were passionate about — it was a chance to ask them about what happens when a grain exporting monopoly is broken and […] Read more
Hitting the target key to successful, safe implants
Like real estate, proper implanting technique boils down to location, location, location. During a presentation at the Western Canadian Feedlot Management School, an annual series of courses put on by the University of Saskatchewan, representatives from implant makers Merck Animal Health and Elanco Animal Health both said implants should be injected with the entry point […] Read more
Weather key to North American wheat, durum
The turmoil in Washington over how to reduce the United States federal government’s deficit pressured almost all markets lower last week. However, crop markets would likely have been weaker anyway with the return of mild weather to North America. The Midwest received rain, helping to lessen crop damage caused by the previous week’s punishing heat. […] Read more
