I think if there is any organization, in my memory, that has handled a bad situation well it has to be Maple Leaf Foods. They don’t need to be made heroes, but in my view they’ve handled the whole tainted meat issue with compassion and professionalism. This issue that erupted in August 2008 with the […] Read more
Maple Leaf earns my confidence
The benefits of planting crops with treated seed are not always visible
“If the product isn’t applied properly and uniformly over the seed you are wasting chemistry because you’re not getting the benefit out in the field. There’s a fine balance there and it doesn’t take long to lose any advantage.” — Peter Galloway There is a bit of blind faith that comes with using a fungicide […] Read more
And that’s just the hybrids suitable for Western Canada’s shorter season. You’ll notice some for grain specifically, some for silage, and some suitable for both
Improved genetics and lower heat units have generated a lot more interest in corn among Western Canadian producers. Seed companies offer Western growers 21 new corn varieties for 2009. Corn is no longer just for Manitoba’s Red River Valley, or B. C.’s Lower Mainland. And more beef producers, in particular, are looking at the potential […] Read more
8 new soybeans
Western Canadian farmers have eight new soybean varieties to consider for 2009. Hyland Seeds has two Roundup Ready varieties, Dekalb and BrettYoung each have one, and Quarry Seeds has four. Two new types offered by Quarry are called natto varieties, which are specialty human-food, conventional types, intended for the Asian market. Here they are, in […] Read more
Pay attention to marbling
For most cow/calf producers there isn’t much (if anything) they can do to improve the carcass quality of an animal once it leaves farm – that is pretty well in hands of the finishing feedlot. But, if you do finish cattle for your own use or maybe you are getting into direct meat sales, here […] Read more
While hybrids dominate the canola seed business, new OP varieties provide a strong alternative with lower input costs. Your job is to compare profit potential.
Open pollinated canola isn’t out of the picture, yet. After being largely choked out by the shadow of higher-yielding hybrids, several open pollinated (OP) canola varieties continue to play an important part in Western Canadian crop rotations. Overall it is a lower risk canola option, say producers and seed growers such as Robin Fenton of […] Read more
Don’t underestimate the potential of OPs to yield as high as hybrid lines, especially when growing conditions are less than ideal.
“I like the open pollinated (varieties) because of the lower seed costs and also they have a better fit on fields that may not have the same yield potential as other land.” —Bob Gibbons Keeping an open pollinated (OP) canola variety in rotation makes good economic sense to the canola growers interviewed for this month’s […] Read more
Here’s an idea to try at home
Oh, man, you just can’t beat those great producer ideas. Usually the goal of these home-built inventions is to make work simpler, or life easier and that’s what two Alberta producers came up with at the Western Canadian Grazing Conference in Edmonton, recently. The Innovation of the Year Awards were sponsored by Lakeland College of […] Read more
COOL costing $90 per head
According to the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) November/December newsletter Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) is so far costing Canadian cattle feeders and cow/calf producers about $90 per head. There is really no ‘good news’ scenario to this situation. COOL refers to legislation introduced in the U.S. earlier this fall, that requires all meat – beef, pork […] Read more
Merry Friggin’ Christmas and Blah, Blah, Blah for 2009
Not that I am a wise old historian, but I really can’t think of a time in recent history anyway, where the beef industry, the agriculture industry, or the whole economy in general has been in such a state of turmoil. Who and what is going to survive through 2009? It is too easy to […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
