I spent most of the Sunday of the Labor Day weekend in the intensive care unit (ICU) waiting room at the Foothills Hospital in Calgary joining family members from south eastern B.C. in a vigil for a young man, who just a few hours before was a vital, living-the-moment teenager, but now lay hooked up […] Read more
Waiting with Bryce
We’re Going To Sterilize Ourselves To Death – for Sep. 6, 2010
Never mind nuclear weapons or natural disasters, I believe the greatest threat to civilization as we know it today is hand sanitizers. Yes, those handy little pump dispensers we see on just about every office counter and public washroom wall, will be the death of us. We will pursue this winless war against germs and […] Read more
Here Comes Harvest – for Sep. 6, 2010
Few farmers can talk about the 2010 harvest without first mentioning the impact of the wet growing season. Crops that did make it through the 50 to 100 per cent above average moisture in many parts of Western Canada are looking not too bad, although — as is quickly pointed out — any above-average yields […] Read more
New Dairy Corner Page – for Sep. 6, 2010
No, Cattleman’s Corner hasn’t forsaken the beef industry, but in broadening appeal and being more inclusive we’ve decided, starting with this September issue, to devote a page of this livestock section each month to the dairy industry in Western Canada. Dairy farmers are livestock producers too. While their primary product is different from that of […] Read more
Genetics, Management Combo Builds Successful Alta. Dairy – for Sep. 6, 2010
Gert and Sonja Schrijver declare once a new calf barn is built this fall, that is the last of the construction projects they will undertake for their central Alberta dairy farm for a while. But then they knowingly look at each other for a second and realize they have said that before. But this time […] Read more
Control Downy Brome This Fall – for Sep. 6, 2010
If think you have Japanese brome germinating in your fields this fall, it’s likely not Japanese but downy brome, says an Alberta researcher and weed specialist. Downy brome is a fall-germinating weed, most often found and controlled in winter wheat fields, says Bill Hamman, of Hamman AG Research and a senior coach with AgriTrend, based […] Read more
Deep Tillage Lets Soil “Breathe” – for Sep. 6, 2010
Mark and Dennis Pashovitz figure they may have hit on a solution for soil that wasn’t producing crops to its full potential. And it’s all about air. They had been applying a good fertility package to the grain and oilseed crops on their Perdue-area farms in central Saskatchewan, but even on better soils in years […] Read more
Supply managed beef industry?
I know many Canadian beef producers have been reluctant to consider the concept of supply managed beef production, but there may come a day when egos have to bite the bullet and seriously look at that option. I understand the last rancher who used the words “supply management” at a producer meeting mysteriously ended up […] Read more
The world’s most comprehensive crop report
A quick trip from Calgary to Saskatoon, last week, cross country through Hanna then to Kindersley and Rosetown, to Perdue and then Saskatoon, gave me a 110-kph snapshot of what’s happening with crops in that part of the world. I wasn’t driving. There was everything from some excellent wheat, canola and pea crops north of […] Read more
A year to top up sulphur during canola bloom
The canola crop may be in bloom, but if the flower petals look small or pale instead of that nice vibrant yellow, the crop may be suffering from sulphur deficiency, says a soil fertility specialist. The window to correct the deficiency is closing quickly, says Elston Solberg, a senior Agri-Coach with Agri-Trend Agrology, but if […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
