With cattle out on pasture, and crops growing it probably doesn’t mean you can take the summer off, but perhaps you can get away for a day or two here and there to attend some important events happening in Western Canada. FARM PROGRESS SHOW, REGINA June 18 to 20, 2014 Certainly if you’re producing crops […] Read more
Summer events you shouldn’t miss
GMO crops and dairy cattle hit the spotlight
A U.S. based organization called Center For Food Safety is keeping the public and the media advised of challenges against genetically modified crops and animal welfare issue. I just read an article from the Center reporting that two counties in Oregon have now voted to ban production and growing of genetically engineered crops. Voters in […] Read more
Farmers tweak rotations to reflect markets
Farmer panel: Farmers contacted for the February Farmer Panel are making changes to get the most from a falling market in 2014
While the high rolling wheat, barley and canola prices of the past couple years are into a market slump in 2014, that doesn’t mean western Canadian farmers are making major changes to their cropping plans this coming year. Some adjustments, yes, as they consider crops with lower inputs, or bring back specialty crops they haven’t […] Read more
The definitive world fieldwork tour
I just returned from the definitive world fieldwork tour assessing the state of seeding and pasture progress on farmland surrounded by the Tri-City area of Balzac, Beiseker, and Nightingale (just north and east of Calgary). The executive summary — it is very quiet out there folks. Tractors and air seeders waiting for drier fields and […] Read more
Network brings local products to the marketplace
Market Network
Rudy Knitel and Corne Mans need to make a living, but neither has expectations of becoming millionaires as they follow a philosophy of bringing quality, locally grown food products to consumers, while being fair to the farmers who produce it. Knitel, 73, has been building the Galimax Trading business out of Nobleford in southern Alberta […] Read more
Farmwomen shouldn’t live in a Doris Day world
I always remember watching an old Rock Hudson and Doris Day movie, and Rock came home one day to announce to his movie wife, Doris Day, start packing — he’d just bought a new house and they were moving. It was all news to her. And she batted her eyes, smiled, gave him a […] Read more
Using BIXS just got a whole lot better
If you thought accessing and using the original BIXS program was just okay (or maybe you didn’t think it was really that great), don’t make any further judgments until you check out the new updated version BIXS 2.0. After wide spread consultation across the industry and a few months of redesign, the new BIXS 2.0 […] Read more
Fighting the renewable fuel devil
I don’t believe I have seen any studies yet challenging the value of motherhood, but I am sure one is underway somewhere. In that vane, it was interesting to read this week that scientists are working to develop a more mechanical means to produce ethanol, which could replace the nasty practice of producing biofuels from […] Read more
Winter cereals pressed into double duty
Scott Lehr’s winter cereal seeding plays a double-header. It serves as winter pasture for his bred cow herd, and the next summer he usually harvests a productive silage crop off the same stand as feed for backgrounding calves. It’s a system that may not work in all areas of Western Canada, but for the southeast […] Read more
In search of Nutsedge and long lost bridesmaids
It has been another exciting week here at the Grainews foreign office in Calgary. First, I received a news release about a new-to-Canada herbicide that will end all your worries over purple and yellow nutsedge. I thought, “this is great news, except I have never heard of purple and yellow nutsedge…I obviously have been in […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
