Dakar | Reuters — Development partners have committed US$30 billion to boost food production in Africa over the next five years, the president of the African Development Bank said on Friday at the close of a summit on food security on the continent. The continent is facing its worst food crisis ever, with more than […] Read more
Development partners commit US$30 billion to food production in Africa
Continent facing record-level hunger
Mosaic says stockpiles too high to restart Saskatchewan mine
Company expects Russia, Belarus 2023 potash exports at 2022 level
Winnipeg | Reuters — Fertilizer producer Mosaic Co. does not currently see the right market conditions to restart its idled Saskatchewan potash mine, with high inventories in the U.S. and Brazil and cold weather slowing trains from Canada, CEO Joc O’Rourke said Wednesday. Mosaic curtailed potash production in December at its Colonsay, Sask. mine, but […] Read more
Venture capitalists urged to check out Alberta ag tech
Hempalta and Livestock Water Recycling are two companies featured on influential Top 50 list
Reading Time: 3 minutes Two Alberta companies — one making hemp products and the other recycling livestock manure — are among the most investable clean tech ventures in the country. Hempalta Inc. and Livestock Water Recycling, both headquartered in Calgary, are two of eight ag-focused technology companies on the 2022 Foresight 50 list. The list is compiled annually by […] Read more
Find the best bang for your fertilizer buck
Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta’s wheat and barley commissions have a nitrogen rate of return calculator available on their website. The calculator, developed by well-known research agronomist Rigas Karamanos, “can be used to evaluate different net return per acre scenarios which compare different N sources and costs, various crop prices and soil test N levels,” Alberta Wheat and Barley […] Read more
Rabobank to offer Canadian farm-level lending
Dutch co-operative bank's Canadian arm to loan directly to farmers, starting on Prairies
Updated — A global financing firm operating at higher altitudes in Canada’s food and agrifood sector now plans to expand its business down to the farm and ranch level. The Canadian arm of Rabobank — an Amsterdam-based farmer co-operative lender, providing banking, leasing and real estate services in more than 38 countries — announced Tuesday […] Read more
Reduce NO2 emissions 30 per cent? No problem, says expert
Nitrification inhibitors and legumes are clear winners but split application not effective in much of Alberta
Reading Time: 3 minutes Achieving a 30 per cent reduction in nitrous oxide emissions from nitrogen fertilizer shouldn’t be a tall order for a crop sector or even individual farms, says a leader in 4R nutrient management research. “Research across the Prairies has shown that it is possible to reduce emissions quite significantly without the need to drop the […] Read more
Cutting fertilizer emissions can be profitable if done sensibly
Report says farmers can boost the bottom line with 4R, but Ottawa’s goal is too much, too fast
Reading Time: 5 minutes [UPDATED: Jan. 17, 2023] Canadian crop producers can reduce emissions from nitrogen fertilizer by double digits and still turn a healthy profit, says a report prepared for the country’s leading fertilizer advocate. However, even that will still fall short of the federal government’s nitrous oxide emissions goals. “To put it in broad strokes, the crop […] Read more
LIFE ON THE EDGE: Three farmers share their experiences with precision ag
It’s not just the tech, but finding a way to make the farm more efficient and the decisions better
Reading Time: 5 minutes There were undoubtedly a lot of double takes when folks drove by Rob Stone’s farm last summer when he was out scouting. That’s because the Saskatchewan producer was accompanied by a robot that wouldn’t look out of place on a lunar expedition, although it’s also been described as looking like a “glorified card table” on […] Read more
War and inflation named the top two food stories of 2022
Labelling rule, climate-driven produce shortage and lab-grown meat also make the list by research institute
Reading Time: 2 minutes The invasion of Ukraine and inflation top the list of food stories in 2022 for a leading food research institute, but front-of-package labelling, a shortage of California lettuce and U.S. approval of lab-grown chicken also made its Top 10 list. While the war in Ukraine has dominated headlines since the Feb. 24 invasion, “many Canadians […] Read more
Excess crop residue a yield-robbing issue on many farms
It’s a problem everywhere – mismatched choppers and harrows that don’t fix the problem, says agronomist
Reading Time: 4 minutes Throughout his travels as a consultant, Phil Needham has noticed producers continue to struggle with residue management to the detriment of crop emergence, plant counts and yield. Many residue management woes come down to two pieces of equipment: harrows and mismatched choppers on combines, said Needham, who operates an agronomy services company in Kentucky. “I […] Read more