David Kayi, a Hello Tractor engineer, installs an application on a John Deere 5503 tractor, using the Hello Tractor technology that connects farmers with vehicles’ owners, at a hay farm at Umande village in Nanyuki, Kenya on Feb. 4, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Njeri Mwangi)

Deere taps tractor-hailing tech in bid to break ground in Africa

Low incomes, lack of credit hobble African mechanization

Reading Time: 3 minutes Nanyuki, Kenya/Johannesburg | Reuters — It’s ride-hailing, farm style. Deere and Co. is teaming up with the “Uber of tractors” in Africa and betting on a future where farmers summon machines with the touch of a button. The world’s leading farm equipment maker is outfitting its tractors with startup Hello Tractor’s technology, which allows farmers […] Read more


More tax deferral zones announced for ranchers

More tax deferral zones announced for ranchers

Final list released for 2019 tax year

Reading Time: 2 minutes More ranchers who were up against a dry 2019 may now be eligible to defer some income from their livestock sales for the income tax year. The federal government on Tuesday released the “final list” of designated regions where income tax deferral on sales of breeding livestock has been authorized for 2019. In a prescribed […] Read more

Taste-testing during a Canadian Beef Advantage Seminar in Shanghai in 2013. (Canada Beef via YouTube)

Klassen: Uncertain beef demand weighs on feeder market

Reading Time: 2 minutes Compared to last week, western Canadian prices for yearling and heavier calves were down $2-$4 on average. The calf market was hard to define; Alberta markets traded $3 lower to $4 higher but notable strength was evident in Saskatchewan and Manitoba where values were steady to $4 higher. Favourable weather contributed to higher auction market […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Manitoba reviewing underused forage insurance plans

About 18 per cent of forage acres insured

Reading Time: < 1 minute The Manitoba government is taking a look at its Crown crop insurance agency’s relatively under-subscribed offerings to forage growers. The provincial ag department said Tuesday it has launched a review “to better understand the purchasing decisions of Manitoba producers when it comes to forage insurance products” available via Manitoba Agricultural Services Corp. (MASC). Over 1,200 […] Read more

File photo of a pumpjack in an Alberta field. (ImagineGolf/E+/Getty Images)

Alberta farmers warned against oil well tampering

Advocate warns off 'reckless advice'

Reading Time: 2 minutes Alberta’s Farmers’ Advocate Office (FAO) is warning any farmers and ranchers in dispute with resource companies over compensation for well sites not to go in and tamper with the taps. The FAO last week issued a statement reminding the public that “interfering with any oil and gas infrastructure or that of an electrical distribution utility […] Read more


(Screengrab from Canadian Agricultural Youth Council video via YouTube)

Younger aggies sought for new Canada-wide council

Reading Time: 2 minutes Twentysomethings and 18- and 19-year-olds who are working in Canadian agriculture and agri-food and “interested in shaping the future of the sector” are being sought for a new federal ag policy advisory council. Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau on Friday launched the application process for membership in a new Canadian Agricultural Youth Council, setting the […] Read more

Forecaster Drew Lerner, shown here at Ag Days 2020 in Brandon, sees a cooler-than-normal spring ahead for the Prairies. (Manitoba Co-operator photo by Alexis Stockford)

Variable Prairie weather makes for uncertain spring ahead

If nothing else, a rainy harvest season helped replenish topsoil moisture

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Late-season rains wreaked havoc on the 2019 harvest season but were helpful in restoring topsoil moisture to key growing regions in the Prairies. Since snow coverage has been variable across the Prairies so far in 2020, however, the growing season may get off to a rocky start. “If we take a look at […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Hay disaster benefit kicks in for Manitoba growers

Reading Time: < 1 minute Eligible Manitoba forage growers can expect to share in a $5 million hay disaster benefit (HDB) for the 2019 crop year. Manitoba Agricultural Services Corp. (MASC), the provincial crop insurance agency, announced Friday that the HDB has been activated and benefit payments to eligible forage producers on about 1,500 claims will begin “shortly.” The HDB, […] Read more

A 2018 Ford Super Duty F-250 Lariat. (Ford.com)

Ford recalls Super Duty pickups on post-crash fire risk

Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters — Ford Motor Co. said Friday it would recall 547,538 of its Ford Super Duty pickup trucks across the U.S., Canada and Mexico, citing the risk of a post-crash interior fire. The second-largest U.S. automaker said the recall covers certain models between the years 2017 and 2019 with carpet flooring that could experience a […] Read more