Just about every element possible worked against Dustin Williams’ Nexera canola crop on his southwest Manitoba farm in 2019. Cool, dry conditions at seeding, stagey crop development, multiple insect pressure, hail, poor harvest weather, too much rain, snow and ice. And then, just as the swathed crop was about to be combined, strong winds blew […] Read more
Weather worked against Manitoba grower’s Nexera canola crop
Increased contracting opportunity for high-quality specialty canola for 2020
Drones. How did we farm without them?
Hart Attacks: Drone school explained how flying cameras can change the cattle business
I know I shouldn’t be amazed by anything that has to do with new technology, but it seems I always am. I recently spent part of a day at a central Alberta drone school —primarily geared to beef producers — and came away thinking it just never ends. So there I was in a community […] Read more
Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers heads for New Brunswick
National competition has to select the best from the best
Some of the brightest young minds in Canadian farming will be meeting in Fredericton, N.B., in early December for the 39th annual awards program of Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers (COYF). Seven farm couples, selected as regional winners from across the country earlier this year, will be vying for recognition of the national title, as they […] Read more
Canada’s OYF 2019: Quebec nominees
Re-design of a re-design gets dairy on track for Quebec farmers
Starting their own dairy farm hasn’t exactly been a smooth road for Simon Michaud and Mylene Bourque, but the young Quebec couple’s efforts to establish a productive and efficient farming operation in the heart of tourist country earned them recognition earlier this year as Quebec’s regional finalist for the Outstanding Young Farmer’s program. Born and […] Read more
Greta Thunberg, tearless onions and fond farewells
Hart Attacks: All kinds of people and messages make a difference
I’m writing this column on election day, so it is too early for me to comment if it was either a good, bad or surprising election result. I am just glad it is over. I have often thought the real winners in any federal, provincial or even municipal election are the paper companies. First they […] Read more
25 cents here, 30 cents there…the feed savings do add up
Lee Hart’s note— Not too many farmers and ranchers would deliberately throw $4,000 or $5,000 in cash out the truck window and into the wind. But if you are paying a bit more for winter feed than you need to, that money-out-the-window is really what might be happening, according to a recent Beef Cattle Research […] Read more
BASF launches into a new era
Diversified portfolio and commitment to Canadian growers
[UPDATE: Oct. 29, 2019] Hybrid wheat certainly isn’t the only new product BASF has in the development pipeline, but it is an indicator of the game-changing technology the long time “pulse crop” company plans to deliver to western Canadian farmers in a vastly expanded cropping systems role over the coming years. While field trials of […] Read more
Drone schools and much more ahead this fall
DRONE SCHOOLS FOR BEEF AND CROPS If you have been wondering if a drone can fit into your farm’s beef management program, a two-day ag drone school coming up in early November in Lacombe County Alberta will not only answer those questions but also prepare you for certification as a drone operator. Landview Drones, based […] Read more
The silver lining of a good memorial service
Hart Attacks: A few thoughts about people who make a difference
My dad, later in life, would occasionally lament that he and mom spent too much time going to funerals — regretting too many of his neighbours and fishing buddies had died. While my Aunt Keitha, who turns 100 in November, always enjoyed a good funeral, giving her a chance to see and visit with people […] Read more
Taking the midnight train to Fairbanks
Hart Attacks: I don’t think I have to rush to pack for a ride on the first train north
While it is good news the first grain shipments in about four years are moving by rail to the Port of Churchill in northern Manitoba this fall — all destined for eastern markets — it was a couple of other railway projects on the other side of the prairies with plans to ship commodities west […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
