Reading Time: 3 minutes Chatham, Ont. — Henry Denotter’s farms near Kingsville, Ont. are close to the Wigle Creek, which flows into Lake Erie and takes with it any residues it pulls from nature and farmers’ fields. The Wigle Creek subwatershed, west of Leamington, has turned into ground zero in long-term research on how farmers can reduce phosphorus running […] Read more
Phosphorus program aims to reduce Lake Erie nutrients
Corn/soy price ratio favours soybean acres, analyst says
Reading Time: 3 minutes Chatham, Ont. — Most underpinnings for higher corn, soybean and wheat prices appear to have fallen away — leaving biodiesel the only area that could drive higher prices. A growth mandate for U.S. ethanol production ends in 2017, and oil prices continue to stagnate well below the highs of a few years ago, according to […] Read more
How much money is enough?
It’s happening on more farms. Is your working capital reserve dangerously low?
Reading Time: 4 minutes It’s no surprise that as farms get larger and more complicated, they need more working capital. There must be money available to handle large expenses, and to manage your way through cash-flow swings brought about by volatile commodity prices. Besides, in an era when it is so costly to grow or expand, it’s prudent to […] Read more
Greig: A year of farm policy decisions ahead for Ontario
Reading Time: 4 minutes Ontario’s agriculture minister stands by his decision to halt a process that was expected to open up how processing tomatoes are priced in the province. Jeff Leal’s decision, announced in August, resulted in a Dec. 21 threat from Ontario’s largest tomato processors to significantly cut back their tomato purchases from Ontario farmers in 2017. Processing […] Read more
Ontario dairy sector optimistic with expanding demand
Reading Time: 4 minutes Ontario’s dairy industry is in a period of unprecedented growth, with over 15 per cent more quota going to dairy farmers in less than two years. There are almost certainly more quota increases to come, in order to increase milk production to displace significant volumes of butter now being imported. “It’s an absolutely great time […] Read more
Clubroot arrives in Ontario canola
Reading Time: 2 minutes Ontario has its first case of clubroot disease in canola — and further testing has confirmed clubroot in canola fields across the province. During the 2016 growing season an agronomist in the Verner area of northern Ontario examined a canola field and found the distinctive clubbed roots, said Meghan Moran, canola and edible bean specialist […] Read more
Greig: Lessons learned from Ontario crops’ pest pressures
Reading Time: 4 minutes The warmer winter and subsequent drought defined the 2016 cropping season in Ontario, resulting in more disease and insect pressures and then challenges managing them. Three agronomists gave an overview of the 2016 cropping season at the SouthWest Agricultural Conference in Ridgetown, outlining challenges and wins for the year. Leanne Freitag, Cargill’s manager of agronomy […] Read more
New OVC vet rotation focuses on dairy animal welfare
Reading Time: 2 minutes The Ontario Veterinary College has added a dairy animal welfare rotation to its fourth-year curriculum, as part of an increased focus on animal well-being. The rotation is offered through the Campbell Centre for the Study of Animal Welfare at the University of Guelph, where research has been conducted on animal welfare for 25 years. Montreal-based […] Read more
Ontario names new top ag bureaucrat
Reading Time: < 1 minute Ontario’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) has a new deputy minister. Greg Meredith will become deputy minister on Jan. 9. A deputy minister is a ministry’s chief civil servant, managing its implementation of government policy. Meredith replaces Dr. Deb Stark, who recently retired as deputy minister, capping a 30-year career in public […] Read more
StatsCan confirms drought impact on Ontario yield
Reading Time: 3 minutes Statistics Canada has confirmed what most farmers in Ontario knew this past summer: Hot and droughty conditions drove production of corn and soybeans almost 10 per cent lower than 2015 levels. StatsCan’s harvest report, released this week, also showed the large wheat crop in Ontario was a record, with a 56 per cent increase in […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
