Alberta pork producer Arnold Van Ginkel of Rocky Mountain House had to make the tough decision, in the last few days, to cull the entire 2,500-head herd of hogs in his barns, as the only way to eradicate the H1N1 virus, as well as the perception that meat from the hogs in his operation posed […] Read more
Tough call
Let them blubber
It was great to see Governor General Michaelle Jean eating a piece of seal heart this week. I’m not a big fan of raw heart from any source – stuff it and roast it, and that’s a different story. But I gave her top marks for her support of the Canadian sealing industry. Of course, […] Read more
Courageous farmer
I know it is a tough spot, but I was pleased to see Alberta hog producer Arnold Van Ginkel go public this week with his side of how the H1N1 virus has shut down his operation at Rocky Mountain House. Even though he and his family have personally done nothing wrong, I think it is […] Read more
We need a pandemic of common sense
I spent part of the past week with some highly influential people in the Canadian beef industry. The first important group was six southeastern B.C. ranchers, and the second group was guys who work for or have some links to an organization called the Canadian Cattleman’s Association (I had to shower after that session! I’m kidding […] Read more
Top dressing fertilizer over a growing crop could be a good economic strategy in the Brown Soil Zone, where moisture can be hit and miss at seeding time
Whether split applications of fertilizer can improve crop yields or reduce the risk of applying more nutrients than the crop can use may depend largely on the crop and where you farm in Western Canada. In the Black Soil Zone where growing conditions are generally favourable, researchers and farmers have found little value to a […] Read more
They Apply Fertilizer In-Crop
A split fertilizer application, particularly if you live with drier growing conditions, is a good way to manage risk and yield, say producers contacted for the May Grainews farmer panel. It is not always a perfect solution, say some producers. The risk management part applies if conditions remain dry, in which case you may decide […] Read more
Price Was Right For Steel Storage
Ron Thorpe has been using liquid fertilizer on his east central Saskatchewan farm for nearly 30 years. But it wasn’t until this past January when an exceptional deal on the price of fertilizer and a 25 per cent drop in the price of stainless steel coincided to make more on-farm storage both practical and affordable. […] Read more
Cattlemen Have Marketing Options
A long-time market analysis and columnist for Cattleman’s Corner, with a focus on the feedlot industry, is now offering one-on-one consulting services to cow/calf producers across Western Canada. Jerry Klassen, who has worked as a grain and livestock market analyst for different companies for a dozen years, and has been a regular monthly columnist for […] Read more
I’m loving this climate change
It was a couple years ago when former U.S. vice president Al Gore released his film “An Inconvenient Truth” which was all about the impending and undeniable risk of climate change, that there were a couple David Suzuki followers in Canada – Olympic athletes – who declared that global warming was indeed real because when […] Read more
Are you socially connected?
Have you been Tweeting today? I feel like I’m in an episode of Star Wars and I have just gone over to the Dark Side. Yes, I joined Twitter and I have Tweeted. As much as I scoffed at the notion of becoming involved in ‘social networking’, I have been compelled to check out this […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
