The new chief executive officer at Alberta’s Agriculture Financial Services Corp. (AFSC) has had the job before. Darryl Kay, who began his job as CEO on Oct. 1, was interim CEO in 2017, has been with the corporation for nearly 10 years and most recently held the title of chief financial and innovation officer. “When […] Read more
News
Railways set grain records
WINNIPEG (MarketsFarm) — Canada’s top two rail companies moved record amounts of grain during the third quarter of 2020. Canadian National Railway reported Oct. 5 that it shipped 7.76 million tonnes of grain by rail, and Canadian Pacific Railway said Oct. 2 that it moved 7.72 million tonnes. For CN, it marked a record amount […] Read more
Sessions focus on holistic ag
Ranchers and other producers can participate in a free regenerative agriculture conference next month. The Manitoba Forage and Grasslands Association was planning to hold its Regen Ag conference in Brandon this November, but COVID-19 has made that impossible. The farm group, like many others, has adjusted to the pandemic and is hosting four online presentations […] Read more
Seed company bets on short stature corn
Bayer says benefits of dwarf varieties include higher plant counts per acre and tighter rows that better protect the soil
Shorter and denser: that’s the path to better sustainability for corn crops, Bayer crop scientists believe. As they work with commercial growers in Mexico and plan to roll out a range of short-stature corn crops in the United States, Europe and around the Asia-Pacific region, the company’s developers think dwarf corn varieties will be a […] Read more
Book delivers a scathing indictment of Big Ag
Perilous Bounty takes a hard look at the paradoxical world of modern American agriculture and attempts to offer solutions on how to fix it
Two downsizing moves in the last 15 years have pared my library to a few shelves of books I need and a few shelves of books I want. The books I need include dictionaries; the books I want are works by John McPhee, David Halberstam, Wendell Berry and David McCullough. Tom Philpott’s newly published book, […] Read more
Alta. combine crew ruled by women
At C.G. Paulgaard Farms, the women run the combines during harvest. When they do, things tend to run fairly smoothly on the 15,000 acre crop and livestock operation, according to Joanne Paulgaard, who runs the operation along with her husband, Rod, children Kyle and Shelby and Rod’s mother, Norma. An operation their size requires a […] Read more
Farm ends up with all-women crew this year
Saskatchewan producer says it wasn’t intentional but fewer mishaps and positive attitudes made the season enjoyable
Circumstances, not design, led Todd Moen to an all-female farm crew this year. But the Elrose, Sask., farmer says he would hire one again anytime. Fewer mishaps and positive attitudes made the season enjoyable, he said. Sometimes men want to do things their way or have an attitude about an aspect of the job, he […] Read more
Wheat field harvest uses vintage equipment
Aficionados of old farm equipment get together in Westlock, Alta., to take off a crop the way it was done in the old days
The Vintage Tractor and Machinery Club in Westlock, Alta., plants a small field of wheat every year on the Westlock and District Ag Society grounds. In the fall, a portion of the crop is harvested with a binder and two loads of bundles are stored for the harvest demonstration at the show the following year. […] Read more
Spuds harvested for food banks
It wasn’t quite an old-time gathering of “bringing in the sheaves,” but Jim and Lynne Van Wert recently hosted a Food Bank Potato Harvest that featured several aspects of those old-fashioned work efforts: hard labour, hearty appetites and common goals. Their farm, six kilometres northwest of Carstairs, Alta., became a hub of activity Oct. 3. […] Read more
U of S research gets support
BASF’s contribution to the university’s Crop Development Centre is for plant breeding infrastructure upgrades
BASF is making a $100,000 contribution to the University of Saskatchewan’s Crop Development Centre for infrastructure upgrades. The life science company’s $100,000 contribution is expected to support CDC plant breeding efforts by reducing plant cycle times and allowing plant breeders to select early-generation breeding materials more quickly and more efficiently. CDC officials declined to share […] Read more
