File photo of a cow grazing near Leader, Sask., about 85 km south of Kindersley. (James_Gabbert/iStock/Getty Images)

Saskatchewan holds Crown grazing rents at last year’s levels

Also, leaseholders on drought-downgraded land eligible for rate cut

Cattle producers leasing Crown land for grazing in Saskatchewan won’t see a rate hike this year and may be eligible for a significant rate cut. The provincial government announced Wednesday it has frozen the rates charged to producers who lease Crown grazing land in 2023 at their 2022 level. The freeze will apply to all […] Read more

Siddika Mithani — shown here in an illustration from a series of “superhero trading cards” published in 2022 featuring CFIA researchers and staff — has retired from her post as CFIA president. (CFIA via Twitter)

CFIA president retires

NFU calls for next agency boss to prevent 'regulatory capture'

Canada’s federal regulator for the food and animal and plant health sectors is in the market for a new president following the incumbent’s retirement. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has confirmed its president, Dr. Siddika Mithani, has retired from the federal public service effective Jan. 20. Mithani has led CFIA since February 2019, having served […] Read more


On a 325-cow dairy, these are some of the dry cows fed a two-stage feed ration as they recover from milking and also prepare to deliver a new calf. The faraway cows are fed a modest-energy, forage-based diet, while the close-ups receive similar forages mixed with a couple of pounds of corn silage and a few pounds of a palatable dry cow pellet.

Consider a two-stage dry cow feeding program

Dairy Corner with Peter Vitti: Meeting all of the dry cow’s nutritional needs goes a long way toward success

Whether dairy producers provide a single or two-stage dry cow feeding program, it is important that it maintains or puts the right amount of body condition to prepare cows for a successful lactation. A closer review of any of these dry cow feeding programs (with proper management) will find certain similarities. Plus, they should dovetail […] Read more

A submerged and abandoned car is seen in floodwaters near a vineyard after winter storms at Forestville, California on Jan. 13, 2023. (Photo: Reuters/Fred Greaves)

California rainstorms fade as death toll reaches 20

Drought to remain an issue for much of state

Reuters — The parade of atmospheric rivers that pounded California for three weeks finally faded on Monday, enabling the state to begin lengthy repairs to roads and levees as the White House announced U.S. President Joe Biden planned to survey the damage. The nine consecutive rainstorms that inundated California in succession since Dec. 26 killed […] Read more


File photo of Rabobank’s office building in Utrecht. (Rabobank.com)

Rabobank to offer Canadian farm-level lending

Dutch co-operative bank's Canadian arm to loan directly to farmers, starting on Prairies

Updated — A global financing firm operating at higher altitudes in Canada’s food and agrifood sector now plans to expand its business down to the farm and ranch level. The Canadian arm of Rabobank — an Amsterdam-based farmer co-operative lender, providing banking, leasing and real estate services in more than 38 countries — announced Tuesday […] Read more

Flooding from the Salinas River forces the closure of a road at Salinas, California on Jan. 12, 2023. (Photo: Reuters/Nathan Frandino)

California picks up debris from latest storm, braces for next

Also: Why all this rain won't end California's drought

Sacramento | Reuters — Rain-soaked Californians took advantage of a break in a weeks-long deluge to haul away dead trees, restore downed power lines and prepare new stacks of sandbags before another series of storms hits the state beginning Friday. In Monterey County along the state’s central coast, communities near the still-rising Salinas River were […] Read more


A drone photo from the Sampona commune of Madagascar on Feb. 11, 2022, shows Zebu cattle drinking water from a large puddle created from Cyclone Batsirai. The island nation’s south has been experiencing severe drought for the past four years, putting it in danger of what the World Food Programme calls “the world’s first climate change famine.” (Photo: Reuters/Alkis Konstantinidis)

Last year tied as world’s fifth-warmest on record, U.S. scientists say

Global CO2 emissions continue to rise

Brussels | Reuters — Last year was the world’s joint fifth-warmest on record and the last nine years were the nine warmest since pre-industrial times, putting the 2015 Paris Agreement’s goal to limit global warming to 1.5 C in serious jeopardy, U.S. scientists said on Thursday. Last year tied with 2015 as the fifth-warmest year […] Read more

Undated image of a participant at the fall ag fair at Rocklyn, Ont., about 40 km southeast of Owen Sound. (Ontario Visited video screengrab via YouTube)

Ontario trims minimum memberships for ag, hort societies

Eligibility thresholds for provincial operating grants lowered

Rules taking effect with the new year are expected to make it easier for Ontario agricultural and horticultural societies to qualify for provincial grants in the face of a membership crunch. The province on Friday confirmed amendments to regulation 16, attached to its Agricultural and Horticultural Organizations Act, kick in effective Sunday (Jan. 1, 2023). […] Read more


Harvesting feed at higher moisture or adding water to the TMR can
increase feed intake prevent a lot of “sorting” by lactating dairy cows at
the feed bunk.

Optimize moisture content of lactation dairy diets

Make sure it is properly measured to avoid being too dry or too wet

The concept of feeding TMR diets formulated with ensiled forage was introduced to dairies across Canada in the early 1990s. Until then, most dairy producers fed their cows dry hay, followed by a scoop or pull (parlour) of grain ration. I remember a visit to Eastern Canada at that time, and I saw newly made […] Read more

Justine Hendricks, shown here in a 2019 video, is the new CEO of Farm Credit Canada. (Elevate International video screengrab video via YouTube)

EDC executive to lead Farm Credit Canada

Justine Hendricks to replace retiring Michael Hoffort

Canada’s federal farm lender is importing its next chief executive from Export Development Canada. Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau on Wednesday announced the appointment of Justine Hendricks, EDC’s senior vice-president and chief corporate sustainability officer since 2019, as FCC’s new CEO effective Jan. 30, 2023. As CEO, Hendricks replaces Michael Hoffort, an FCC staffer since […] Read more