What happened to those co-op grain elevator companies? Part 3

What happened to those co-op grain elevator companies? Part 3

Grain co-op history and what marked the beginning of the end of those companies

The establishment of co-op organizations came out of the realization that people needed to work together for the benefit and betterment of everyone and the ability to join together to either sell or purchase needed products at fair value to ensure a decent living and livelihood for all involved. When the First World War broke […] Read more

Hopefully I’m not Zooming on the golf course this year

Hopefully I’m not Zooming on the golf course this year

My game is much like a solitary nature walk, narrated by swear words

It makes sense during this pandemic to cancel many routine gatherings, such as NHL hockey games, the House of Commons, church assemblies, bingo nights and the Olympics. I hope physical distancing requirements don’t impact two of my important summer pastimes — field days and golf. The field day season is just around the corner. There […] Read more


Toban Dyck: Daily update

This quick note is not profound, but it does amazing work

I send my dad a farm update every weekday morning. This is a new habit, and I love it. I suspect he doesn’t mind, either. I’m proud to be at a stage in my farming trajectory where I am able to observe and articulate priorities in a way that lets those around me know I’ve […] Read more

Plenty of new life on the Eppich farm - mom Heather, with son Joseph and brand new baby James John Eppich, born in late February.

New baby boy joins the family

With calves also arriving, it’s a hectic time in the Eppich household

The temperatures were fairly mild at the beginning of February. Gregory and John were able to haul the last of the straw bales home from Landis. It worked out well because by this time we had pretty much fed all of the slough bales and the bales that were not quite dry when they were […] Read more


Mycorrhizal linkage to crop plants in normal soils have been shown to supply phosphate, copper and zinc to growing crops.

Facts about phosphorus you should know

Highly-manured soils, wet growing conditions and lodging in cereal crops

Phosphorus or phosphate (P) is the most complex of the big four macronutrients in crop production. When you buy phosphate fertilizer, you are actually buying P2O5 the oxidized version, which is 62 parts actual P and 80 parts oxygen. Your actual P is only 43 per cent by weight. The phosphate in all soils is […] Read more



Toban Dyck: Do you know your cost of production?

Toban Dyck: Do you know your cost of production?

If there ever was a year for a detailed budget, it’s this one

He leaned over and said, “Do you know what one of the biggest issues facing farmers is?” I’m paraphrasing. I didn’t have my notepad out and open. I had no way of knowing that I would be talking about such heady stuff, given where we were. We were both waiting for the same prop plane […] Read more

Bears, bulls, corrections, pull-backs

Bears, bulls, corrections, pull-backs

Economic downturns can have benefits too

We all love a good bull market, but are uptrending markets always the best for long-term investors? We spend from ages 20 to 60 or even 70 accumulating assets, and only the last 10-30 years cashing them in to live on. Why would we worry about a correction or bear market, unless we are at […] Read more


When weeds are spotted in fields, best management practices like rotating crops, applying herbicides and controlling weeds when they are small are recommended.

How weed seeds move into your fields

Q & A with an expert

Q: Where are all these weeds coming from? A: Despite our best management practices, we will never eliminate weeds from our fields. Weed seeds will continue to find their way onto our fields in not so mysterious ways. Excluding volunteer crops, the most significant ways new weeds move onto our fields is by wind, water, […] Read more