Reading Time: 6 minutes Some call it serendipity. Others say it merely proves the old adage that you make your own luck. Either way, some of the world’s biggest scientific breakthroughs have come when the researcher was actually looking for something else. Think penicillin, for example. Matt O’Neal is more a member of the group that says it all […] Read more
Researchers abuzz about soybean yields
The research is preliminary, but early results suggest that some bees might be good for soybean crops
All in a day’s work
The Van Kessel family redefines what it means to ‘stay busy’
Reading Time: 4 minutes In the old days, farmers were kept busy finding enough hours in a day to get the planting and harvesting done, as well as all the other chores that went with running a farm and keeping up with the demands of day-to-day living. It was simply a fact of life in agriculture. If you don’t […] Read more
Small tractors nimble, but no shortage of power
Machinery Guide: John Deere 6R, Challenger MT500E, Massey Ferguson 7700, and Fendt 700 Series
Reading Time: 3 minutes The fall of 2014 will be remembered for all the improvements that manufacturers are making in small commercial tractors in the 120- to 220-horsepower class. Despite the trend towards “bigger, wider and more powerful,” these tractors are showing they can compete based on nimbleness, adaptability and durability. Below, we feature offerings from four different manufacturers, […] Read more
Working together to find solutions to algal blooms
Yes, farming is part of the Great Lakes pollution story, but let’s get the facts straight
Reading Time: 9 minutes Once again, agriculture in Eastern Canada is under fire, this time in the Great Lakes basin. Already bearing media scorn for neonicotinoid seed treatments and biotech innovations, now farmers are getting blamed for Great Lakes pollution. To be specific, the type of pollution in the headlines is eutrophication. It’s a phosphorus enrichment of waterways, and it […] Read more
Pearce: Short-term price rally may be just that
Reading Time: 2 minutes In most circumstances in business and farming, the saying “slow and steady wins the race” is true more often than not. Since the start of 2014, farmers have been hearing about a downturn in commodity prices. A high carryout from the 2013 crop in the U.S. (and continued growth in other parts of the world) […] Read more
Satellites and ag drones link up
By targeting their strengths, these two technologies can complement each other
Reading Time: 5 minutes For “eye-in-the-sky” technology, the last three years have seen some stunning advances, especially in the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and satellite imaging systems. Yet while both made headlines about the same time in 2011, both also had limited success on the farm, as is often the case when new technologies first get into […] Read more
The big boys on the block
Machinery Guide: The powerful, high-powered tractor market has several new entries
Reading Time: 3 minutes The high-powered parade in tractor technology continues. With each year, more manufacturers are rolling out more entries for this growing tractor segment. These machines are bigger and more powerful, and they are more capable than ever before. They work larger tracts of land, haul heavier loads and deliver on a longer list of heavy- weight […] Read more
Another story on Canada fleabane?
Yes, because the message isn’t getting through, and the situation is getting serious
Reading Time: 4 minutes It may seem repetitive, but that’s because the message isn’t changing. Canada fleabane keeps becoming a bigger problem with each passing year. The weed has been the topic of presentations at the Southwest Agricultural Conference dating back to 2012, as well as at FarmSmart Conferences and in a steady stream of weed and herbicide bulletins. […] Read more
The path to bigger wheat yields
Partly it’s genetics. Partly it’s agronomics too. But mainly it’s management
Reading Time: 7 minutes Too often, talk about wheat yields in Eastern Canada turns to what’s happening in places like Kansas, the United Kingdom or northern Europe, as if our best hope to increase our productivity here is to use the ideas they’re developing there. Increasingly, however, the smart money is on taking a harder look at our own […] Read more
Four middle-range tractors to get the job done
John Deere 7R, Massey Ferguson 8700, Fendt 800 and 900, and Case IH Puma series models
Reading Time: 3 minutes In an era when everything seems to be getting bigger, equipment manufacturers are investing heavily in updating and upgrading the middle of the pack. These are tractors in the 220- to 325-horsepower category, which means they’re big enough to haul and to load, and to dig into most of the toughest jobs on the farm, […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
