WINNIPEG — In November 2021, Canada’s agriculture minister and provincial agriculture ministers made an announcement that, at the time, seemed like just one more in the usual stream of announcements. It wasn’t. Other stories in this Special Report: The leaders were in Guelph, Ont., to finalize negotiations for the next federal-provincial funding partnership to support […] Read more
Tag Archives productivity — page 2
What will it take to realize the promise of digital agriculture?
Canada is positioned to lead in this technology sector but is hampered by scattered funding and information sources
Digital agriculture can help Canada’s farms manage the increasing pressure to produce food, minimize environmental impact and provide a living for farmers, but only if scattered research dollars and talent are brought together. “We need to do a lot better if we want a food system that is more productive, that is more sustainable, and […] Read more
Focus on productivity has high cost: Vilsack
U.S. agriculture secretary says the drive to increase production has taken a heavy toll on the country’s rural communities
SASKATOON — The pendulum has swung too far in favour of production agriculture, says the U.S. agriculture secretary. Tom Vilsack said the landscape of U.S. agriculture forever changed in the 1970s when the federal government decided it no longer wanted to manage supply and instead let the market dictate what would happen. Related stories: Grain […] Read more
Cloud-based farm technology faces stormy skies
Cloud-based software developers face a dilemma when trying to crack the agricultural market. On one hand, integrating all the on-farm data they can gather with government systems, equipment manufacturers and other software companies could help farmers manage productivity and make decisions easier. On the other hand, farmers worry that those same developers might turn the […] Read more
Ag productivity growth may not be predictable
WINNIPEG — Many economists fear that agricultural productivity has slumped into a long-term trend of disappointingly slow growth, while others think recent weather shocks have temporarily disguised a better growth trend that will reappear once better growing conditions return. Still others warn that decades of reduced agricultural research growth will continue for years unless funding […] Read more
New members bolster national network of smart farms
Lethbridge College and Innovation Farms Powered by AgExpert have joined an initiative to promote smart farming
The initiative aims to improve productivity and sustainability of farmers and ranchers by encouraging greater technology use. The network was partly launched in 2021 by the Olds College Smart Farm and the Lakeland College Student-Managed Farm in Vermilion, Alta.
Soil erosion causes problems on irrigated land
Five-year research project will test practices that improve crop production systems in areas such as southern Alberta
Soil erosion is affecting some of the most expensive land in the province, with farmers permanently losing soil in a day that took hundreds, if not thousands, of years to build up, said Ken Coles, executive director of Farming Smarter.
