Reading Time: 5 minutes The truth of farmland ownership is changing, especially the picture of who owns farmland in the United States, where the numbers are a bit clearer than here in Canada, and where the shift has been underway for decades. The questions are simple enough: How many women own farmland in the U.S.? What are the parameters […] Read more
U.S. women own it
When we think ‘farmer,’ we often also think ‘male.’ Because it’s men who own the farmland, right?
Flax opportunities
Agronomics and yield are the big priorities for flax growers in Western Canada
Reading Time: 9 minutes Flax acres have started to rebound over the past few years, with Saskatchewan still accounting for most of the flax grown on the Prairies. In order to entice more growers to flax, however, yields will need to increase. Average flax yields have hovered around 22 bu./ac. for many years, and although growers in some areas […] Read more
U.S. stance on autos sows more doubt about NAFTA overhaul
Reading Time: 3 minutes Arlington, Va. | Reuters — The Trump administration on Friday demanded that U.S.-made content account for half the value of the cars and trucks sold under the North American Free Trade Agreement, raising further doubts about any potential deal to renew the pact. Three sources briefed on the protectionist U.S. proposal, which is in line […] Read more
EU, Canada settle cattle battle at the WTO
Reading Time: 2 minutes Geneva | Reuters — The European Union and Canada have ended a 21-year dispute over hormone-treated meat after agreeing a wider trade agreement, they said in a filing published by the World Trade Organization on Tuesday. The settlement of the dispute at the WTO, which began in 1996, was facilitated by a liberalization of trade […] Read more
The case for managing magnesium
Like sulphur, Mg is moving into the foreground
Reading Time: 4 minutes No one is taking anything away from “The Big Three.” Clearly, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (N, P and K) have a direct and powerful influence on yield, and must be managed with great skill. Increasingly, though, we’re learning that secondary nutrients and micronutrients are also worth paying attention to. In 2016, for instance, agronomists began […] Read more
Winning at the border
It may be Donald Trump who is re-opening NAFTA. But today, more farmers north of the border are seeing some solid wins for Canada
Reading Time: 8 minutes Ron Davidson calls in from a hotel room in Washington, D.C., with NAFTA on his mind. As senior vice-president of international trade and public affairs for the Canadian Meat Council, he’s no stranger to the U.S. capital. And with the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement in process, there are more cross-border trips […] Read more
Right from the farm
Farmer-owned Capricorn Bay bridges the planter-drill divide
Reading Time: 4 minutes The Prince family runs a large-scale family farm in southwestern Manitoba, where for years they have wished for a single, effective piece of seeding equipment that they could use for all of their crops. Now, they’ve turned that dream into a market-ready implement and a fledgling equipment brand. Their on-farm creation, the PPS planter, can […] Read more
NAFTA talks resume in Mexico City
Reading Time: 3 minutes Mexico City | Reuters — Trade negotiators from Canada and the U.S. gathered under rainy skies in Mexico City on Friday to discuss the North American Free Trade Agreement, with the mood darkened by U.S. President Donald Trump’s persistent threats to pull out. Teams from the three countries were due to kick off a second […] Read more
Farm groups want modernized NAFTA
Farm groups from Canada, Mexico and the U.S. are calling for key reforms
Reading Time: 3 minutes NAFTA should be modernized through five significant reforms rather than dismantled, say national farm organizations from Canada, the United States and Mexico. Agriculture represents one of NAFTA’s biggest success stories, the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, the American Farm Bureau and Consejo Nacional Agropecuario said in a joint letter to the leaders of the three countries. […] Read more
Rudy honoured for career in soil conservation
Reading Time: 2 minutes When Harold Rudy joined the soil conservation movement, he says he got the job not because of his University of Guelph degrees in agriculture economics and business, or his background growing up on his family’s farm, but because of his burgeoning computer skills. Being hired as part of a group of 20 soil conservation advisors […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
