A $75,000 Lesson: Use Your Yield Monitor

Josh Fankhauser figures a lesson learned from a 100-acre pea plot on his southern Alberta farm is potentially either saving or making him an extra $75,000 a year every time he grows peas. That sounds like a pretty exceptional return, but Fankhauser discovered paying attention to information collected by a simple yield monitor (and the […] Read more

Wheat &Chaff – for Feb. 7, 2011

A MAN AFTER MY OWN HEART This issue’s cover story was chosen for a specific reason. If you follow along with this column, you should know by now that I just love on-farm field trials. Maybe the word “trial” makes some of you want to quickly turn away, envisioning flagged plots, endless measuring and counting […] Read more


Win This Book!

We’re lucky enough, here atGrainews, to get a peek at some fine books. Every now and again, we even get a copy to give away. Which is exactly what happened. Those that love the old iron will get a kick out of w, part of the Voyageur Press Tractor Legacy series, examines these Big Green […] Read more

Move Up (And Down) Ladders Safely

Data from the Canadian Agricultural Injury Reporting program (CAIR) lists the frequency of deaths from falls on the farm well behind machinery and animal causes. About as many people drown on the farm as die from a fall. But data from a soon-to- be-released economic analysis of injury and deaths in rural Canada ranks falls […] Read more


Remembering John Harapiak

John Harapiak dedicated a good part of his working career to improving farmer knowledge on fertilizer placement. It’s a topic that may never earn much space in history books, but thousands of Prairie farmers can thank John for the relative peace of mind they have each spring, to go out and place seed and band […] Read more

Apps For Agriculture

With farmers across Canada and the U.S. embracing mobile technologies and devices, a new Guelph, Ontario based company, AgNition Inc., will design, build and deliver mobile-enabled tools to farmers, according to the company’s latest press release. Smartphone uptake in agriculture is predicted to surpass 40 per cent in North America by the end of 2011. […] Read more


Tips On Building Calf Barns

Calving barns are as individual as the ranchers who build them. There are many innovations worth looking at before you build your own. The ideal barn is different for every ranch. In some situations it may be a simple shed with room for two or three cows — just the ones that need assistance. In […] Read more

3-Day School To Improve Grazing Management

A well-known Western Canada pasture management specialist is offering prairie livestock producers two opportunities to learn how to get more production and profit out of their pastures. Steven Kenyon, of Greener Pastures Ranching Ltd, based at Westlock, Alta. is offering a threeday school in March as well as a one-day pasture walk in July. The […] Read more


A Few Final Comments On Tags

I wouldn’t say the phone has been ringing off the wall, but I have had a few more producers call or email with concerns about the reliability of RFID ear tags. And I can’t devote this space to every last person who may have experienced a problem with lost tags, but I thought I would […] Read more

Use The Quiet Yet Firm Approach

Helping a calf nurse his mama is relatively easy in a small pen or stall, if the cow or heifer is not too wild and you have someone to help you. Our cows know and trust us and are easy to handle. One person can monitor the cow to keep her from moving away while […] Read more


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