I believe all is getting better in the beef world, but may not be perfect yet. I understand the XL Beef plant at Brooks, Alta is nearly firing on all cylinders, although Jerry Klassen in his marketing column on page 40 says as of late November, the slaughter pace was still a bit behind the […] Read more
WSGA calling for XL inquiry
Atlantic Canada’s outstanding young farmers
Organic crop production initially made good business sense, but Mark and Sally Bernard, have now also come to appreciate the philosophy of working more closely with nature as they continue to expand their Prince Edward Island farming operation. Both grew up on conventional farms — Mark’s family was involved in dairy and then potato production, while Sally grew up […] Read more
Alberta / NWT’s outstanding young farmers
Farm more acres, expand the custom-fertilizer application business, or perhaps look at other options. Those are some of the choices ahead for Alberta farmers Robert and Angela Semeniuk, as they look at where their farm business is headed over the next five years. Strong commodity prices are keeping land prices high, and there also appears […] Read more
Quebec’s outstanding young farmers
It took hard work, planning and patience, but after many years of renting land, and working with make-shift facilities, Martin Brodeur Choquette and Johanne Cameron, have turned their dream of having a successful sheep farm into a reality. Choquette and Cameron, who farm in southwest Quebec, started from scratch in their early 20s. Martin started […] Read more
JBS in Canada more of treat than a trick
It is Halloween as I write this and XL Foods is back to work, so all is right with the world. That might be a bit of an overstatement, but it is good to see the meat packer get back into operation after being shut down for a month, amid one of the largest meat […] Read more
Ontario’s outstanding young farmers
Cory and Heidi Van Groningen have built their well-established southwest Ontario beef operation around the long-standing agricultural axiom “produce what the customer wants.” The Van Groningens not only raise good quality cattle on their 400 head cross-bred cow-calf operation, but along with family members they see those animals through to processing, retail and consumer levels […] Read more
B.C./Yukon’s outstanding young farmers
After going through a farm expansion phase over the past few years, Peter and Nicole Tuytel of Chilliwack, B.C. are looking to fine tune efficiencies on their dairy operation, and also maintain time in their day for raising a young family. Those are the priorities ahead over the next few years for the B.C. couple […] Read more
Seed growers always working on next year
While Western Canadian farmers are still several weeks away from seeding the 2013 crop, most seed growers are already thinking about the 2014 season. Seed growers, most who have commercial or commodity crops as well, are making plans on what to seed this coming spring — variety comparisons, new production practices, doing their own on-farm variety trials […] Read more
There is real life here after all
It took a lot of driving but I finally found a beef animal in Arizona. I saw lots of fenced desert, where I am sure nothing lives, but finally as I traveled through the northern part of the state toward the Grand Canyon, I finally saw some grass growing between the brush and figured there […] Read more
Eugene Whelan was IP in a political crop
I was sorry to read this week that Eugene Whelan, one of the most colorful federal Agriculture Ministers in the last 100 years had died. He was 88. My one notable claim is that I covered Whelan’s first speaking engagement after he was appointed agriculture minister in 1972. It was in the community of Avonmore, […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
