Reading Time: 4 minutes Cover crops aren’t a magic bullet but they’re worth a try. That was the message an American expert delivered to a group of Alberta producers who considered whether the much-hyped soil health practice can work during the short growing season. “Cover crops don’t solve everything,” said soil scientist Abbey Wick. “It’s not all puppies and […] Read more
Give cover crops a shot and have some fun, says soil health expert
Despite challenges in our climate, there are ways to profit from this much- discussed practice
Rajapaksa dynasty draws to humiliating close in Sri Lanka
Food shortages, fertilizer ban among flashpoints
Colombo | Reuters — The Rajapaksa dynasty dominated Sri Lankan politics until April when street protests against fuel and food shortages began to slip out of control. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country early on Wednesday, leaving no one from the once-illustrious family in a position of power. The president vowed last month to stay […] Read more
STICKER SHOCK: Plant 2022 has been unlike any other, say farmers
The sky-high prices are bad enough, but availability issues are also upping the stress levels for many
Reading Time: 4 minutes They’re calling it the most expensive crop that Alberta farmers have ever planted. But the skyrocketing price of fertilizer, fuel, herbicides and other inputs isn’t the only worry. Lately it’s often been about getting your hands on products you’ve paid an arm and a leg for. Clint Jacula thought he had the bases covered. He […] Read more
Market value alone is selling nature short, governments told
Economic valuations needed but 'not sufficient,' co-chair says
Reuters — What is the value of a river? Is it for the nutritional content of the fish it sustains? The economic benefit of the local livelihoods it supports? Or does the river have its own value which humans cannot measure? Such questions may seem removed from the issues the world faces, from deepening climate […] Read more
Baltic Dry Index at three-month lows
Demand for ocean freight seen backing off
MarketsFarm — Ocean freight rates have come under pressure over the past month as demand for freight backs away, which could be seen as a sign of the slowing global economy. The Baltic Dry Index (BDI), which is a major indicator of shipping rates, settled at 2,081 points on Monday, up 14 points from Friday’s […] Read more
Thunder Bay grain exports picking up
MarketsFarm — Grain movement through the Port of Thunder Bay picked up in June, although total grain exports through the facility on the north shore of Lake Superior remain well off the year-ago level. A total of 625,741 tonnes of grain were shipped during the month, marking the first time of the season that grain […] Read more
CN signals staff to return to work Wednesday
IBEW, railway to go to binding arbitration
Signals and communications workers at Canadian National Railway (CN) are set to end their 17-day strike and return to work Wednesday morning. CN, in a statement Monday, said the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) System Council 11, which represents about 750 of the company’s employees across the country, had agreed to take its labour […] Read more
Cash advances’ interest-free portion temporarily raised
APP funds now interest-free for first $250K
The federal government’s low-interest loan guarantee program for Canadian farmers will sweeten the interest-free portion of its offer for the next two program years to help with farm cash flow. Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau on Thursday announced a temporary increase in the interest-free portion of the Advance Payments Program to $250,000, up from the usual […] Read more
Learning from McCain’s regenerative farming practices
Potato processing giant aims to 'de-risk' practices for growers
In 2021 McCain said it was going to launch three regenerative potato farming operations by 2025 and would label them “Farms of the Future.” The first, just outside of Florenceville-Bristol, N.B., now offers data to reflect on the effectiveness of the practices at the potato farm after its first fully operational season. “If we don’t […] Read more
Soil sensing goes radioactive with gamma ray spectrometry
A geiger counter for your fields is one of the latest innovations for mapping soil
Reading Time: 4 minutes Scanning your field with what is essentially a geiger counter may seem like a strange way to find out which areas might yield the most, but it works pretty well, says a digital ag expert. “In combination with soil sampling, gamma ray measurement can be used for soil modelling, creation of site-specific nutrient maps and […] Read more