Reading Time: 3 minutes There is a lot of buzz in beef and forage production systems around the concepts of sustainability and soil health, and the numerous different production practices that can support those ideas. Intercropping is one strategy that can improve efficiency and soil health. Manitoba producer Alan MacKenzie considers intercropping to be two crops that are grown […] Read more
Intercropping can be a win win for mixed operations
The practice comes with a learning curve, but can increase grazing options while boosting soil health
Railways overshoot grain revenue limits for 2019-20
Grain revenues run $5.3 million over caps, CTA rules
Canada’s big two railways have about two more weeks to hand over about $5.6 million in Prairie grain revenue overages and related penalties for the 2019-20 crop year. The Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) on Dec. 22 ruled Canadian National Railway (CN) and Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) each overshot their maximum revenue entitlements (MREs) for the […] Read more
Superstar or stinker? Merits of new seed varieties can all depend on your farm
There are lots of new varieties with ‘really, really good genetics’ but they might not be a fit for you
Reading Time: 6 minutes It’s that time of year again. With a pen in hand, you flip through the pages, circling what looks good, hoping you’ll get what you want and praying that what you get will be as good as it looks on paper. Poring over the new Alberta Seed Guide may feel a little like flipping through […] Read more
Let’s get intense — cattle producer amps the density in his system
Ryan Boyd will put 400 yearlings on a quarter-acre as part of a system to boost forage productivity
Reading Time: 3 minutes Ryan Boyd has travelled the world to see how producers graze their cattle, and has figured out how to make his cattle work for him. Strip grazing, high stocking densities and a diverse range of plant species are at the core of the system developed by the Manitoba farmer, who as a 2019 Nuffield Scholar […] Read more
Improving soil is a long process involving lots of trial and error
Soil health principles are well known but putting them into practice takes time and patience
Reading Time: 4 minutes Everyone is in favour of improving soil health and there are a lot of recommended practices for doing that. But it’s when the rubber meets the road that things get complicated — and change takes time and patience. That was a major theme of Alberta producer Andy Kirschenman’s virtual presentation at the recent Farm Forum […] Read more
Four-way Seeds Canada merger approved
Four organizations to amalgamate in February without CSGA on board
A merger of four Canadian seed industry organizations has been cleared to proceed without its fifth partner. Members of the Canadian Plant Technology Agency (CPTA), Commercial Seed Analysts Association of Canada (CSAAC), Canadian Seed Institute (CSI) and Canadian Seed Trade Association (CSTA) have voted in favour of amalgamation, the groups announced Wednesday. An inaugural board […] Read more
Beware of Kazakhs wanting to buy seed, agency says
Seed growers and farmers alike are being warned such sales breach breeders' rights rules
Western Canadian seed growers, seed retailers and commercial farmers are being urged not to sell seed to Kazakhs or their agents because it breaches plant breeders’ rights rules. “The basic fact is no Canadian breeder has given permission for their genetics to go to Kazakhstan,” Lorne Hadley, executive director of the Canadian Plant Technology Agency, […] Read more
Flax facing tightening supplies
MarketsFarm — Solid export demand has pushed Canadian flax prices up sharply over the past month, with the market working to ration demand amid expectations for tightening supplies. The flax market in general is “just gone crazy. We’re up 50 per cent since the start of harvest,” Scott Shiels of Grain Millers Canada at Yorkton, […] Read more
Do the math before adding more grain storage
Lots of bin space can help you wait out low prices at harvest, but the cost of storage is rising
Reading Time: 2 minutes Having more grain storage can be a big plus, but it’s not a slam dunk, says a market analyst with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry. “Farmers in Alberta along with growers in other Prairie provinces have more grain storage than most of their worldwide competitors,” said Ryan Furtas. “However, having storage capacity can be a marketing […] Read more
Happy accident: Researchers discover promising new seed treatment
How it works is still a mystery, but new compound boosts germination, root development, and resistance
Reading Time: 5 minutes Good things generally don’t happen by accident in science — they’re the result of countless hours of trial and error, replication and peer review. However, University of Saskatchewan researchers may be looking at the closest thing to a scientific miracle: A natural seed treatment that increases germination in just about any crop you can name, […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
