Should a farmer who regularly practises a one-in-four-year rotation of canola in an area without confirmed clubroot be growing clubroot-resistant (CR) cultivars of canola? This was a question I asked at a canola agronomy meeting last November. At that time, I was describing my own farm and I thought the answer would be straightforward, but I received conflicting responses. One canola company representative said […] Read more
Resistant to resistance?
If you don’t have clubroot, should you be planting clubroot-resistant canola?
The straight up on straight cut canola
Lessons learned after straight cutting canola on an Alberta farm for six growing seasons
Since 2013 we have exclusively straight cut canola on our farm and we’ve learned a lot along the way. Some years the “straw” came out of the back of the combine looking more like silage and we learned that if the soil moisture profile was still full at the end of August we should desiccate […] Read more
Bring back the Western Canadian Deduction
Ensuring producer funding for variety development is fair, transparent and market driven
I attended the value creation meeting in Edmonton on December 6, 2018. I went as a farmer, seed grower and a person deeply interested in the policies that shape the success of the cropping industry in Western Canada. As a professional writer, I am used to reporting what other people have to say about an […] Read more
Producer contributions to variety development
After reading through numerous consultation reports and reviewing expenditures in the annual reports of producer organizations I have come to two conclusions: producers have and continue to make significant contributions to variety development and it’s very difficult to pin down the exact amount they contribute through various channels including royalties, check-off dollars that go to […] Read more
Paying for new crop variety research
Consultations around new producer funding models for variety development are underway
Throughout November and December 2018, officials from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) consulted in Winnipeg, Ottawa, Saskatoon and Edmonton about a new framework for plant- breeding institutions to collect a return on their investment for the varieties they develop. The consultations began with some discussion on the concept […] Read more
Lesson 3: From tree planting to farming
When you get your own feet under you, that’s the time to pull others up
Over my last two columns relating my experience as a cook at a tree planting camp to my life as a farmer, I explored two aspects of tree planting that seem to be an opposite ends of the balance beam: the immediacy of the task at hand and the need for rest. Through my work […] Read more
Lesson 2: You can’t make supper tomorrow
For camp cooks, or farmers, there’s no such thing as a last-minute vacation day
In my last column I talked about the need for rest, even idleness as a tree planting cook. I needed to rest because I needed to be on top of my game every single day. I was the backstop in the kitchen and as the cook you end up feeling like a vital backstop for […] Read more
Lesson 1: Everyone needs a cigarette break
The lessons Sarah Hoffmann learned at a tree planting camp have paid off on the farm
I was a cook in a tree planting camp for three summers in my early 20s. It’s been 10 years since I first packed up my Pontiac Sunfire and headed north from Vancouver to Prince George, B.C. No experience in my adult life has had such a profound impact on me. It’s one of the […] Read more
You must take courage, farmers
Courage, and discipline, are job requirements for farmers in these risky times
This summer the world watched as “Brexit,” the United Kingdom’s historic vote to leave the European Union, unfolded. While the chattering class pondered what this meant for the British people and the European vision, a name familiar to Canadians was helping to steer the world’s fifth largest economy through tumultuous times. It isn’t the first […] Read more
The neighbours that spray together…
How we make sharing a crucial piece of farm equipment work on our farm
I’m not dead, I’m just married!” These were my words to Grainews editor Leeann when she wondered if I was writing another column anytime soon. That was several weeks ago. Being married and also farming in two different locations has certainly blown my hair back these last several months. The logistical challenges, not to mention […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
