Ryan Boyd uses farming practices that rebuild his soil without breaking the ban
When he came back to the farm, Ryan Boyd was looking for a lower-risk farming scenario. As a young farmer, “I didn’t want to stick my neck out and have a large loss in one year,” he told reporters and communications professionals gathered on the approach to one of his fields near Brandon, Manitoba in […] Read more
Lisa Guenther writes her last Grainews column, and moves on to another pasture
This column is a goodbye of sorts. I’m moving over to Canadian Cattlemen magazine, which is also owned by Glacier FarmMedia. Right now I’m working with Gren Winslow, the long-time Cattlemen editor, to learn the ropes of editing. Cattlemen is a solid magazine, which I appreciate as an apprentice editor. I’m looking forward to learning […] Read more
In Part 3 of a three-part series, these farmers with long rotations catch a few breaks in a tough year
This article is the last in a series looking at how three farmers manage longer crop rotations through the growing season. The original plan was to interview all three once they’d finished harvest. But, unsurprisingly, western Canadian weather has no respect for deadlines. All three farmers saw a wet September and two were still harvesting […] Read more
Farmers Business Network is a new grower network that connects farmers digitally
A company that began as a Silicon Valley start-up is hoping to change the way farmers do business by leveraging technology and farmer networks. When people think about data, they often think about how to get a better prescription or make something narrowly useful on the farm, says Charles Baron, co-found of Farmers Business Network […] Read more
This has been a long harvest. Know how to find support, and don’t hesitate to use it
It’s been a rough harvest. If you didn’t have a miserable harvest, you may have been stricken by drought. If you weren’t worried about the weather, there were the NAFTA renegotiations to keep you up at night. The House of Commons Ag Committee has been studying mental health issues among farmers and livestock producers. The […] Read more
A new CPSR, AAC Crossfield, comes out of a new partnership in wheat breeding
A breeding program with public, private and producer stakeholders has yielded its first commercial wheat variety. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Canterra Seeds and the Alberta Wheat Commission pooled their resources and expertise to develop and commercialize new Canadian Prairie Spring Red (CPSR) wheat varieties for the Prairies, says Brent Derkatch, Canterra’s director of operations and […] Read more
Customers can access agronomy, business information and past purchases online
A major ag input dealers aims to go beyond selling fertilizer and seed by providing easy access to business and agronomic information for its customers through a digital platform. “We think this is where the world is going and we want to offer that service to our customers,” says Mike Frank, president of Nutrien Ag […] Read more
From Freemasons to farm families. There have been several legacies built in Manitoba
Recently I was in Winnipeg for the Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation annual conference. Winnipeg is probably not on too many bucket lists, but the downtown core has some interesting old buildings and attractions around the Forks. One of the most interesting buildings is the Manitoba legislature. Years ago, Frank Albo was driving by the leg […] Read more
Dow and Dupont products will be sold by Corteva, but branded as Brevant
Farmers looking for their usual Dow and DuPont products will have to get used to some new brands as company officials prepare for more change. Corteva Agriscience formed when Dow and DuPont merged last year. Currently Corteva is the ag division of the newly merged company, but DowDuPont plans to launch Corteva as a separate, […] Read more
A new app from Bayer’s digital farming company, Xarvio, puts the smart in smartphone
Wondering which disease is damaging your crop or which weed is growing in your field? There’s an app for that. “Xarvio is a digital farming company with the ambition to deliver a healthy field,” said Warren Bills, business development manager. Xarvio was launched and owned by Bayer. BASF recently acquired the company as one of […] Read more
