Winslow, Neb./Chicago | Reuters — Midwestern farmers have been gambling they could ride out the U.S.-China trade war by storing their corn and soybeans anywhere they could — in bins, plastic tubes, in barns or even outside. Now, the unthinkable has happened. Record floods have devastated a wide swath of the Farm Belt across Iowa, […] Read more
U.S. farmers face devastation following Midwest floods
Manitoba farmers unfazed by flood reports
MarketsFarm — As experts forecast a spring flood to hit southern Manitoba, farmers in the Red River Valley won’t be caught off guard. Manitoba’s Emergency Measures Organization held flood preparedness seminars in Morris, Brandon, and Selkirk throughout the week of March 11. Topics covered included the forecast, flood outlook, preparedness and response and disaster financial […] Read more
Manitoba to prepare for spring flooding
Some major waterways in agricultural Manitoba are expected to spill their banks this spring, according to the provincial infrastructure department’s first official flood outlook for the year. Assuming normal weather conditions for the season, southern Manitobans can expect levels on the Red River south of the floodway to peak near 2011 levels, the department said. […] Read more
Don’t worry — drones aren’t built for spying
Despite what you may have heard, drones are too noisy, too tricky to manoeuvre, and too low resolution for spying
Reading Time: 3 minutes Markus Weber was out in the countryside taking aerial shots of some wind turbines when a gun-toting farmer drove up and accused him of spying with his drone. “It had occurred to me before the people might have privacy concerns, but that really drove home how little understanding there is of the capabilities of these […] Read more
Ag balance sheet points to stable farm economy
CNS Canada — Canadian farmers saw their farm equity climb almost seven per cent last year compared to the year before — and Farm Credit Canada’s principal agricultural economist said that falls in line with FCC’s analysis. Data released by Statistics Canada on Wednesday showed 2017 farm equity climbed to $535.3 billion, up $34.6 billion […] Read more
Algeria to open farming concessions to foreigners
Algiers | Reuters — Algeria plans to offer foreign investors concessions for farm land for the first time, according to an official document, as the oil producer seeks to boost food output and reduce reliance on imports. Under the plan, which is expected to be discussed by the cabinet this week before being submitted to […] Read more
Farmland values rise, but interest rates curb market
CNS Canada — Prices of Canadian farmland were seen rising in 2017, with most sales happening in the first half of 2017 before interest rate increases and the drought in Western Canada hit. That’s according to the annual Farmland Values Report released Monday by Farm Credit Canada (FCC), based on 90 per cent of farmland […] Read more
Southern Ontario median farmland price jumps in 2017
The threat of interest rate increases hasn’t dampened the prices southern Ontario farmers are paying for land. The annual Valco study of land values showed an increase in value of 9.76 per cent for farmland sold in 2017 over 2016. This increase is the largest since 2013. The median price for land in the surveyed […] Read more
G3 co-owner SALIC looking at Iraq farmland
Dubai | Reuters –– The Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company (SALIC) is looking at more farmland investment opportunities and has its neighbour Iraq on the list. SALIC, an arm of the country’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), said it was also looking to expand its investments in the Black Sea region, which already includes almost […] Read more
Zimbabwe to give white farmers 99-year leases
Harare | Reuters — Zimbabwe will issue 99-year leases to white farmers, according to a government circular, after new President Emmerson Mnangagwa said he would end discrimination along racial lines in agriculture. Fewer than 400 white farmers are still operating in the southern African nation, after former president Robert Mugabe’s government evicted more than 4,000 […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
