Craig and Jinel Ference relied on diversity to overcome challenges
If you thought your career had a rocky start, imagine returning home to a cow-calf farm in 2003 and being greeted with the industry-changing BSE crisis. As it turns out, Craig and Jinel Ference, the Alberta winners of the Outstanding Young Farmer (OYF) award, don’t have to imagine it; they lived it. When they met […] Read more
Saskatchewan farmers Jordan and Jennifer Lindgren make family a priority
While some industries are dominated by a few large companies, agriculture in Canada is still planted firmly on the family farm. Nowhere is that more evident than at the home of Jordan and Jennifer Lindgren, the 2018 winners of the Saskatchewan Outstanding Young Farmer (OYF) Award. On their 11,500-acre grain and oilseed farm near Norquay […] Read more
Tyler McNaughton and Sacha Bentall produce pasture-finished livestock
Tyler McNaughton and Sacha Bentall aren’t afraid to try something different as they develop their farming operation in southeastern B.C. The winners of the B.C.’s regional finalists for the 2018 Outstanding Young Farmer (OYF) Award took on some different ag enterprises in an area long established as a beef-cattle ranching region. Despite expected start-up challenges […] Read more
Gary and Marie Baars started with a dream, then realized it through hard work
Wanted: Energetic, inexperienced couple to work long days with few days off and no assurance of success. Interested? If not, you’re not alone, and you’re definitely not Gary and Marie Baars. The 2017 Outstanding Young Farmer Award winners from Chilliwack, B.C. didn’t let long odds and a shortage of experience hold them back, and now […] Read more
This award is a feather in the cap of these new turkey farmers
She was new to turkeys and he was new to farming. What could possibly go wrong? As it turns out, not much, which is why Marc and Hinke Therrien of Redwater, Alta., are proud winners as Alberta regional nominees for the Outstanding Young Farmer (OYF) Award. “I’m not a farm kid; I grew up in […] Read more
Derek and Tannis Axten focus on encouraging soil biology
Daring to be different may enrich your spirit, but it can also leave you cash poor. If you’re Derek and Tannis Axten, however, you wind up having your fungicide-free cake and eating it too. While the 2017 Outstanding Young Farmer (OYF) Award winners for Saskatchewan began their farming career on a well-trodden path, the route […] Read more
Fertilizer Canada’s 4R nutrient stewardship research tour delivers valuable information
In the ever-changing world of farming, information is a more valuable commodity than the finest canola crop. Consequently, the recently launched webinar series “Across Canada Tour of 4R Nutrient Stewardship Research” sponsored by Fertilizer Canada is must-see viewing. The tour began last month in Alberta, where co-presenter Dr. Miles Dyck offered an overview of 4R […] Read more
Spray drift can also happen when it’s calm, and the consequences can be dire
As many farmers have found out the hard way, herbicide doesn’t always go where you direct it. “Any time an application of spray is made, there are always small droplets that can move away from the intended target,” said Dr. Tom Wolf, applications specialist with Agrimetrix Research & Training. Generally speaking, herbicide drift is linked […] Read more
The answer to this question is probably yes. Testing can give you a definite answer
Every season more farmers face the challenge of herbicide-resistant weeds. “Herbicide resistance is the genetic capacity of a weed population to survive a herbicide treatment that, under normal use conditions, would effectively control that weed population,” said Dr. Jeanette Gaultier, weed specialist with Manitoba Agriculture. It’s sometimes described as evolution happening at an accelerated pace […] Read more
Wheat buyers want the numbers; the AWC wants falling numbers in grading systems
With apologies to accountants and statisticians, numbers don’t always tell the story. Falling numbers, however, are growing in popularity with farmers around the globe. In an industry where success is equal parts calculation and perspiration, more and more producers are counting on falling numbers to help drive their success. “Falling number is a widely used […] Read more
