I remember a few years ago, one spring day, being at the farm of Brian Otto in southern Alberta and I suspect he wanted to bend my ear about how some politicians and agencies (read CWB) had their heads up their butts when it comes to grain marketing. Later we went out to a field […] Read more
A crippled old cow and the killdeer nest
Hart Attacks: Agriculture is under scrutiny, and under public pressure to do the right thing
Summer moisture was either too much or just right
While it will be a struggle to get crop harvested in some parts of Western Canada, other farmers say they are looking at one of their best crops ever
Despite some early season concerns that 2016 might be a dry year, no one is talking about lack of moisture now as western Canadian farmers head into harvest. Producers contacted for the late-August Farmer Panel report everything from excessive moisture bordering on a wreck to just about perfect conditions with “exceptional” looking crops depending on […] Read more
Being ready for the harvest window
It was a good Monday afternoon on the Leslie farm at Sedgewick —central Alberta, about an hour southeast of Camrose. It didn’t rain, the sun came out, pea harvest continued. It has been a slow start to the harvest says Joel Leslie who was swathing peas Monday on the family farm. Joel farms with his […] Read more
Keeping Central Alberta harvest workers fed
If you happen to be in harvest mode somewhere in central Alberta and are feeling a bit hungry, give Mic’s a call… that’s short of Michele Wright. (Yes she’s a singer, but not THAT singer.) Her number to call or text is 1 780 210 0935 (don’t lose it.) The long-time cook, and occasional karaoke […] Read more
A fish story, involving fish
When you're having fun, catching something is beside the point
Here’s a new idea — go fishing and actually catch something. I know it is different, but I am an outside-the-box kind of thinker. As part of my personal Canada Day celebrations I hired a fly fishing guide with a boat and did a float trip on the Bow River east of Calgary. I had […] Read more
Either a great dog or a dumb gopher
The general consensus was that this is a good dog, although no one was sure who it belonged to. So here was a field day near Camrose, AB talking about producing corn for silage or winter grazing, there were about 50 people standing around and this dog which looks to me to be perhaps a […] Read more
Keep corn as an option when feeding cattle
Don’t be afraid of growing corn for silage or grazing. It is cost effective and an excellent winter grazing or feed source…that was the take home message for me from a corn field day near Camrose in central Alberta this week. I spent a couple hours at the Corn Ranches customer appreciation and demo plots […] Read more
China wants “clean” Canadian canola
It will be interesting to see if Canada can produce sufficiently “clean” canola to meet the specifications of Chinese buyers. At the moment, it sounds like exports of Canadian canola seed to China will be stopped as of September 1 (just a couple weeks away) because the dockage is too high. This is a […] Read more
Ugly, ugly hay year, pasture problems too
It is no news to beef and forage producers in many parts of Western Canada that it has been a poor, bad, ugly, frustrating hay year. After what seemed like a dry start to the growing season, it started to rain and it just won’t stop. In talking with my brother-in-law Joe Masi at Kootenay […] Read more
Improved tool to determine green canola seed count
A hand-held roller works, but this device cranks out ready-to-read samples
It looks a bit like a meat grinder, but a new device developed by Manitoba farmer Gerry Devloo is specifically designed to crank out information on the quality of canola being harvested. Devloo, who along with family members farms near Somerset in south-central Manitoba, has developed a canola seed crusher that measures and crushes a […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
