“I think the Polarstar is going to do well. It is a newer malt variety produced under an IP system for Sapporro Breweries in Japan. They have been taking CDC Kendall barley, but now it appears they prefer Polarstar.” —KRIS MAYERLE Yield and quality results seem to be all over the board, but the farmers […] Read more
Great September Salvages Year
11 New Cereal Varieties
A high-yielding barley, a new midge resistant wheat and the first herbicide tolerant wheat with good disease resistance, are among the 11 new cereal varieties available to Western Canadian farmers for 2010. Here is what’s new for 2010, listed in alphabetical order: BARLEY CDC Mindon Two-row feed SeCan Key features: CDC Mindon is a strong […] Read more
Switching From Beef To Banquets
Doug and Cheryl Livingstone and family have been producing grain and purebred Hereford cattle on their Vermillion, Alberta area farm for many years. But, as Doug recently noted, speaking to the Canadian Farm Writers Federation conference in Edmonton, “food doesn’t gain any real value until after it leaves the farm gate.” So the Livingstones have […] Read more
B. C. Regional Finalists: Ian And Jennifer Woike
A focus on innovation, diversification and agricultural education earned Ian and Jennifer Woike of Running W Egg Farm and Farmer Ben’s Eggs of Duncan the 2009 B. C. Outstanding Young Farmer Award. Ian’s father, Ben, began Running W Eggs in 1981, with Ian joining the operation following his graduation from Malaspina College in 1992. Ten […] Read more
Ontario Regional Finalists: Jason And Christina Pyke
Farming, family and community are three words which sum up the 2009 Ontario Outstanding Young Farmers, Jason and Christina Pyke. The Pykes of Pykeview Meadows www.pykeviewmeadows.com,a bison and field crop operation on Wolfe Island, received the top honour at the provincial awards ceremony held in London earlier this year. Jason and Christina Pyke, who were […] Read more
All you didn’t know about the Canadian beef business, but were afraid to ask
Spots are still open for the November 2009 and May 2010 Canadian Beef School at Olds College, Olds, Alberta. It is a great learning experience for anyone involved in the Canadian beef industry – whether you are a producer, or feeder, or processor or involved in a related service industry, such as the animal health […] Read more
Can't keep the grass for the trees
When I first received a news release this morning, announcing that Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers is preparing for the complete dispersal of Northern Black Angus ranch at Kamloops, I thought, ‘oh, oh, here’s another ranching operation fed up with the economics of the beef industry and getting out.’ But I was wrong. Trevor White is closing […] Read more
Don’t pet the skunks (or St. Bernards)
If you are like me, you probably cruised right through World Rabies Day without even noticing. It was September 28. When I first saw a notice about this from University of Calgary, I thought ‘you’ve got to be kidding’. For anyone who watches The Office sitcom on TV, they had an episode last year where […] Read more
Some Varieties Shine In Tough Going
Amid descriptions that ranged from “not bad” to a simple six-letter word summary that begins with “SH” and ends with “TY” (fill in the blank), the 2009 growing season is over and Prairie farmers are well into harvest. How did the year go? What crop varieties did you like or not like? Those are the […] Read more
Give Your Banker A Call
Whether it is good times or lean times, financially speaking, Prairie producers are urged to keep in touch with their lenders, says an ag lending specialist with the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) in Alberta. With a mostly cool, dry growing season on the crops side, and poor markets in the livestock sector, it could […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
