It was great to receive a letter from retired Manitoba farmer, Francis Poulsen, that described some of the problem-solving “fixes” he applied to equipment and the land during more than 50 years of farming near Elm Creek, 50 km west of Winnipeg and about 35 km southeast of Portage la Prairie. Now retired for about […] Read more
Hart Attacks: Long-time reader shares many good ideas
Now-retired mixed farmer is a man of many talents
Ag in Motion ramps up for its fifth show
Popular outdoor farm show runs from July 16 to 18, northwest of Saskatoon
It’s hard to believe it possible to pack more iron and information onto 320 acres of good Saskatchewan farmland, but that’s what organizers of the 2019 Ag in Motion (AIM) farm show are promising as they gear up for the fifth annual show that will be rolling July 16 to 19, just northwest of Saskatoon. […] Read more
Learning continues at Farm Forum
While there will be plenty to see and learn at the Ag in Motion farm show, organizers hope it doesn’t end there, as learning will continue at the Farm Forum conference in Saskatoon in early December. The two events, organized by Glacier FarmMedia have a symbiotic relationship this year, says Rob O’Connor, AIM show manager. […] Read more
Some days the news ain’t great
Well it is not exactly the weather forecast Prairie farmers were hoping to hear, but AccuWeather is predicting a hot, dry summer across most of Western Canada. Actually the west side of Alberta will be hot, dry and smoky and the rest of the prairies will just be hot and dry, according to AccuWeather Senior […] Read more
Disease-free boots and a testing tool
Spotted in the field: homemade ideas that don't cost a lot, but work
They are two separate topics completely, but here are a couple of good ideas that western Canadian field specialists came up with for sanitizing rubber boots to reduce the risk of spreading clubroot (or any soil borne disease), and a handy homemade sample collection tool for measuring spray volumes when calibrating a field sprayer. Boot […] Read more
Canola trade conflict at a standstill
If Canadian farmers were hoping to hear today there is a quick fix in sight to the resumption of canola exports to China, they would have been disappointed. There is little change on the efforts of the Canadian canola industry and federal government in getting the canola market to China re-opened — everyone on this side […] Read more
Hart Attacks: No end to researcher ingenuity
I think I was sick the day we learned about this stuff in high school
I am often in awe of the agricultural researchers, which shouldn’t be surprising since I really have no understanding of 99.9999 per cent of what they do, or how they do it. Yet they manage to come up with answers. Recently I was speaking with three researchers in Alberta working to identify and quantify the […] Read more
Breeding program favours short-gestation bulls
Little or no calving difficulty as calves get off to a good start
For southwest Saskatchewan ranchers Barry and Anne Wasko, switching the heifer-breeding program a few years ago to select for shorter-gestation bulls is producing smaller but vigorous calves while reducing concerns about calving difficulty. By breeding their Hereford/Red Angus-cross heifers to Black Angus bulls selected for EPDs showing shorter gestation, heifers are calving about 10 days […] Read more
Emptying the tool box on fusarium head blight
There are no silver bullets, but these 11 agronomic practices can help
While there is no so-called cure for fusarium head blight a whole series of proper agronomic practices can be applied to stave off the impact of the disease, say Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada researchers. Using FHB-resistant cereal varieties and applying registered fungicides is part of the story say Kelly Turkington, plant pathology researcher in Lacombe, Alta., and […] Read more
Update on canola and shrimp
CANOLA: NO NEWS IS, WELL, NOT SURPRISING I just finished sitting in on the second Canola Council of Canada (CCC) and Canola Growers of Canada webinar with an update on the China-doesn’t-want-our-canola situation and really there is no news or little change. On the Canadian side all players are looking at all options, but honestly […] Read more
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