Columns & Production Tips

Canola plant stand counts: part of next year’s plan

By Christine Spasoff October 17, 2016

Seeding rates are important to achieving your target plant stands, and fall is a great time to check your fields to see how your stand fared. If you’re unhappy with your yield, assessing the plant stand can help you prepare for next season. Plant counts are pretty easy to do after harvest, and you can […] Read more

Toban Dyck’s wheat yielded well. Toban and his father are running the equipment — Toban stepped out of the truck to take this picture.

Columns, Crops

Making the big move

Living in limbo is hard, but so is making a huge change

By Toban Dyck October 17, 2016

Things are changing for my wife and me. We moved back to the farm in our 30s with a rough plan for how taking over the family operation could unfold. That was in 2012. That plan has changed, and it’s currently unfolding. At least, in part. I’ve been here before. I know how to compose […] Read more

Ontario realtor Murray Gibbons says we’ll see some British farmers relocating to Canada after Britain leaves the European Union.

Columns, Guarding Wealth

Guarding Wealth: Heading to the colonies

After Brexit, some Brits may be taking a look at Canadian farmland

By Andrew Allentuck October 12, 2016

British farmers’ interest in moving to Canada is rising in the wake of the U.K.’s June vote to leave the European Union. The Economist, a British newsweekly, reported that the urge to move somewhere else among all residents of the United Kingdom is at “an all-time high,” spiking dramatically as it became obvious that Britain’s […] Read more

FarmLife, Wheat & Chaff

Protect your health for the future

By Canadian Agricultural Safety Association October 7, 2016

When we talk about safety, we often talk about immediate consequences. For example, getting too close to a running power take off can result in immediate, and often catastrophic consequences. It’s important to talk about preventing these life-altering incidents, but it’s also important to talk about how exposure to things in your environment can affect […] Read more

Sarah Hoffman shares a picker truck, a heavy harrow and yes, even this sprayer with various neighbours.

Columns

The neighbours that spray together…

How we make sharing a crucial piece of farm equipment work on our farm

By Sarah Hoffmann October 4, 2016

I’m not dead, I’m just married!” These were my words to Grainews editor Leeann when she wondered if I was writing another column anytime soon. That was several weeks ago. Being married and also farming in two different locations has certainly blown my hair back these last several months. The logistical challenges, not to mention […] Read more

Columns, Markets

Bumper crops bring on the bears

World events and good world production are putting pressure on grain prices

By Brian Wittal September 28, 2016

Several world events are underway that could impact markets. The U.S. Federal Reserve is still saying it will raise interest rates this fall. This would further depress the Canadian dollar, which should help on the price competitive side of things when we’re selling our grains into world markets. Earlier this summer, the effects of Brexit […] Read more

Researcher Tim McAllister says agriculture is a minimal contributor to global warming, but still needs to demonstrate it is running the safest, cleanest operation possible.

Columns, Hart Attacks

A crippled old cow and the killdeer nest

Hart Attacks: Agriculture is under scrutiny, and under public pressure to do the right thing

By Lee Hart September 23, 2016

I remember a few years ago, one spring day, being at the farm of Brian Otto in southern Alberta and I suspect he wanted to bend my ear about how some politicians and agencies (read CWB) had their heads up their butts when it comes to grain marketing. Later we went out to a field […] Read more

News, Wheat & Chaff

Farm Safety: Is your attitude a barrier to a safe farm?

By Canadian Agricultural Safety Association September 23, 2016

I can’t.” “I don’t want to.” “You can’t make me.” If this came from a child talking about a math problem or a chore, adults would accuse that child of having a negative attitude. But children are not the only ones that can suffer from a negative attitude. Could a negative attitude be preventing you […] Read more

Prairie dog standing next to its hole. These animals native to the grasslands of North America

Columns, Crops

Mystery of the missing acres

Gophers and cutworms joined forces on Toban Dyck's newly-broken land

By Toban Dyck September 22, 2016

Have you heard the one about that farmer who lost five acres of soybeans to gophers and cutworms? And then how those gophers refused to go away? It’s a doozy, and this story isn’t done. To bring you up to speed, here’s a quick briefing: I’m currently renting pastureland, and I began the process of […] Read more

Columns, Guarding Wealth

Guarding Wealth: Owning a piece of the business

Roller coaster or reliable investment? Consider both sides of the stock market

By Andrew Allentuck September 21, 2016

It is a fact of life that we need money to grease the wheels of commerce, to buy seed, machinery, trucks to move the grain, and so on. It is also a fact of life that the people wanting to do all of this stuff don’t have the money. How they get it is the […] Read more

Alberta Crop Report: Higher-than-average yields expected

U.S. livestock: Tight cattle supply helps CME futures rebound from collapse

U.S. grains: Soy futures post weekly loss on expectations for big U.S. crop

GFM Network News