Reading Time: 2 minutes Focus on food, not farming. Health is both a huge global issue and a deeply personal matter, and farmers should be focusing on that and nutrition, said Pulse Canada CEO Gordon Bacon. “The variety registration program covers 50 tests to have a variety registered for production — none has to do with nutrition, let alone […] Read more
Look past farming — you’re in the food business
FarmTech: Pulse leader says improving health and the nutrition of people who eat your food should be a top priority
The dilemma of transferring land
FarmTech: The successor needs land to farm, but the parents need money for retirement and a way to keep everyone happy
Reading Time: 3 minutes There’s a perfectly good reason why so many farmers are reluctant to hand the reins to the younger generation. “With land, you need it for the farm and you need it to run the business, but it’s also your largest contributor to the family wealth,” said Greg Gartner, a partner at Moodys Gartner Tax Law […] Read more
A quick and easy crystal ball? Popular books
Reading Time: < 1 minute Ever wonder if there’s a way to predict what’s going to happen in commodity markets? John DePutter has a quick and easy method that won’t cost you a cent. “Look at when oil was over $100 (a barrel),” the president of DePutter Publishing told attendees at FarmTech. “Books were on the shelves in Chapters saying the […] Read more
Hang on, market turbulence ahead
FarmTech: Currency wars, actual wars, China, ocean freight, Russia, and oil are just a few of the things roiling grain markets these days
Reading Time: 4 minutes Tough times are here to stay. This was the message that Errol Anderson delivered to a silent, sombre room during a session at FarmTech. “There is no sense kidding ourselves about what is going on,” said Anderson, a market analyst and president of ProMarket Communications. “What we’re going through right now is a correction. There’s […] Read more
Canola and barley markets offer opportunities in a time of low crop prices
Fundamentals favourable for canola and barley but not other grains and oilseeds, says commodity strategist Moe Agostino
Reading Time: 2 minutes In a time of flat or falling prices, canola and barley offer a little ray of hope, according to Moe Agostino, chief commodity strategist with Farms.com Risk Management. Tight supply is positive for canola, but the key is strong demand fuelled by the plunge in the Canadian dollar, Agostino told a packed room at FarmTech. […] Read more
Crop prices tied to petroleum and that’s not good for farmers
British economist says the biofuel boom led to a massive increase in production of grains and oilseeds, which firmly linked agriculture to energy markets
Reading Time: 2 minutes Producers in the FarmTech conference room looked crestfallen after David Jackson told them the global oilseed market is tied to petroleum — and that oil prices will remain low for a long time. “A lot of it is out of your control,” said the British economist and director of oilseeds at LMC International, a global […] Read more
Federal official says UPOV ’91 will benefit farmers
Commissioner of plant breeders’ rights says enhanced intellectual property protection will bring more investment, better varieties, and greater choice
Reading Time: 2 minutes It’s a mistake to think that enhanced plant breeders’ rights only benefit seed companies, says the commissioner of plant breeders’ rights with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. “The net benefit, at the end of the day, is really going to be for farmers,” said Anthony Parker at FarmTech in January. The federal government is poised […] Read more
The recipe has to be just right when fertilizing your crops
Phosphorus and potassium work well when placed in the seed row — but nitrogen and sulphur are mobile
Reading Time: 3 minutes Nitrogen may be the first thing producers think of when they want to bump up their yield — but don’t neglect the other nutrients. “In order to get the maximum benefit out of all of our fertilizer nutrients, we need to have a balanced supply,” said University of Saskatchewan soil scientist Jeff Schoenau, who drew […] Read more
Farmers key in effort to win hearts and minds of consumers
American expert says the public tunes out scientists, so it’s up to producers to convince consumers that they produce safe, wholesome food
Reading Time: 3 minutes Like it or not, it’s up to you, farmers. Producers must lead the line in the battle to convince consumers that GM crops, pesticides, and other ag technologies are good things, FarmTech attendees were told. “We in the ag sector have made a big mistake in not getting in front of this,” said Julie Borlaug, […] Read more
Grab the info you need on your farm
It’s easy to get information overload at FarmTech so look for one or two key learning experiences, says one longtime attendee
Reading Time: 2 minutes Kent Erickson is one of FarmTech’s biggest fans. The Irma-area farmer began attending the event in 2001 as a university student, has only missed one conference, and since 2007 has served on the planning committee, including a stint as the group’s chair. “FarmTech is important because it focuses on the education side (of farming),” said […] Read more
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