I learned the patience game,” says Lauchie, “especially nearing the end of the seven years when I wanted to get things moving.”

Lessons from a non-family farm succession

For Lauchie and Jolene MacEachern, a seven-year dream becomes a reality

Reading Time: 10 minutes Is it still possible to start farming from scratch? “If scratch means no farm assets and a good work ethic with a passion for agriculture, yes it can be done,” says Elaine Froese, farm succession coach from Boissevain, Man. But how? Especially when the capital assets needed to be competitive have become so huge? Today, […] Read more

(Bobcat.com)

B.C. pulls PST for farm telehandlers, skid steers

Reading Time: < 1 minute Qualifying farmers in British Columbia are now able to buy telehandlers, skid steers and polycarbonate greenhouse panels for farm use without paying the province’s seven per cent sales tax. The province on Thursday announced the additions, effective Feb. 17, to its list of goods, equipment and services for which eligible farmers are PST-exempt. Farmers wanting […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

Wal-Mart jumps into milk processing

Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Wal-Mart said it will build a dairy processing plant in Indiana to supply private-label milk to about 600 stores, curtailing business with some suppliers in the retailer’s sole foray into food processing in the U.S. The move — announced by Wal-Mart last Friday but not widely reported by media until Tuesday — helped […] Read more



A Western blot analysis, used to confirm BSE in bovine brain tissue. (Peggy Greb photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

France confirms new BSE case

Reading Time: 2 minutes Paris | Reuters –– France’s agriculture ministry confirmed Thursday a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) had been discovered in the northeastern region of Ardennes. The suspected case, found in a five-year-old cow, was identified last week during a test carried out on cattle older than 48 months after slaughter. The farm ministry said there […] Read more

(Producer.com/WhyAgMatters)

Debate: Sask. farmers aim to bridge digital gap

Reading Time: 2 minutes Infrastructure has always been top of mind for many rural Saskatchewan residents — but rural infrastructure needs in 2016 can’t all be met with gravel, graders and culverts. With a provincial election around the corner, improving digital and cellular service was a focal point in an ag leaders’ debate held in Saskatoon Tuesday. The Why […] Read more


Will van Roessel reported a 15-bushel yield from Guttino rye harvested this fall.

Rye takes an innovation jump

Hybrid varieties and new specialty markets are breathing new life into what had become the poor cousin of the Prairie cereal family

Reading Time: 5 minutes Some new varieties and new markets may signal the end of a long decline in Western Canada’s rye production. The 1990s started with rye area pushing the 1.3-million-acre mark, yet this year only 220,000 acres went into the ground. But some of those acres were planted with new hybrid varieties that have produced some eye-popping […] Read more

Knowledge: The next agricultural ‘commodity’

Knowledge: The next agricultural ‘commodity’

It doesn’t take a genius to haul megs and megs of farm-based info off the ’net. But actually using that information to build a better business? It turns out you can get good at that too

Reading Time: 8 minutes So you get Country Guide. Probably you also subscribe to other publications too, on top of the ones that your commodity associations send you. Maybe you get freebie updates from your machinery and chem companies as well, plus all the e-newsletters from marketing analysts, bankers and accountants, not to mention everything you get from the […] Read more


(NeilsonDairy.com)

Saputo to shut three dairy plants in East

Reading Time: 2 minutes Quebec dairy giant Saputo hopes to eventually cut about $7 million in annual costs by closing three dairy plants in Eastern Canada before the end of next year. The Montreal company announced Tuesday it will close the former Scotsburn milk plant at Sydney, N.S. in June, the Fromagerie Madame Chevre specialty cheese plant at Princeville, […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Budget to boost ag research infrastructure, rural broadband

Reading Time: 3 minutes Funds to fix up Canada’s agricultural research stations and food safety labs and a new program to boost rural broadband coverage are among the nuggets for the farming sector in Tuesday’s federal budget. Overall, the Liberals’ first budget is based on $287.7 billion in revenues for 2016-17, against $291.4 billion in program expenses and $25.7 […] Read more