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

Hog Futures Off The Lows

2008 6024 5593 5632 6098 2009 5811 5488 5635 6005 2010 5685 5400 n/a n/a Lean hog futures have been trending higher in September, which is a counter seasonal price rally. Given the economic turmoil over the past year, seasonal price trends don’t hold water like they use to. North America appears to be moving […] Read more


…which is the north end of the Peace River Region, it can probably work anywhere on the Prairies. You can use the versatile and high-yield crop for silage, grain or grazing

If you’re going to grow corn in northwestern Canada, you’d better . have these three things: the right variety, weed control and the right field. An increasing amount of farmers have it figured out and are producing corn successfully where no one used to grow it. New short season varieties, more weed control options and […] Read more

The Tradition Of Holding Onto Tradition

It’s been a year-plus since I wrote about the Dragonflies, Butterflies, Bumblebees and Ants. If you recall, in that column, I described how these different personality types perceive their world; better yet, how they perceive change and how they react to it. More recently I read another book, SWAY — the irresistible pull of irrational […] Read more


Bentley Barley Worth The Wait

Bentley has arrived. The new two-row, rough-awned multi-purpose barley variety (previously known as TR05669) has been in the making for more than a decade. By all accounts, Bentley has been worth the wait. In trials, Bentley yields about 10 per cent more than AC Metcalfe. Patricia Juskiw, a plant breeder at the Alberta Field Crop […] 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


Compensate For Those Senior Senses

On the farm, it’s relatively easy to make sure young people aren’t in a job that’s over their heads. It’s much harder to curb eager helpers over 60! But it’s just as necessary. The most up-to-date Canadian Agricultural Injury Surveillance (CAISP) data on farm deaths in Canada shows that in the 16 years from 1990 […] Read more

Saskatchewan Regional Finalists: Art And Elaine Pruim

Art and Elaine Pruim, Saskatchewan’s Outstanding Young Farmers (OYF) for 2009, will be in Ottawa in early December to represent Saskatchewan at the national awards competition. The Pruims run Matvale Holsteins of Plum Blossom Farms Ltd. at Osler, north of Saskatoon. Originally from British Columbia, they moved to Saskatchewan in 1998, and began building a […] Read more


Get A Tax Credit For On-Farm Inventing

If you pay a checkoff to an organization, you are eligible to claim part of that checkoff — the percentage that goes to support research projects — as a tax credit under the Scientific Research & Experimental Development (SR&ED) program. If your checkoff is $150 and 50 per cent goes to research, you can claim […] Read more

Manitoba Regional Finalists: Grant And Colleen Dyck

Grain farmers Grant and Colleen Dyck, Manitoba’s 2009 Outstanding Young Farmers, will be among six other regional finalists from across Canada competing at the national OYF awards event in Ottawa in early December. The southern Manitoba couple operate a 13,000-acre grain and oilseed operation called Artel Farms near Niverville, just south of Winnipeg. Entrepreneurs from […] Read more


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