Reading Time: 3 minutes London/Shanghai/New York | Reuters — Post Holdings is buying leading British breakfast cereal brand Weetabix from China’s Bright Food Group for 1.4 billion pounds (C$2.4 billion), giving the U.S.-focused company a European base on which to build. The combination will help Post’s existing brands, which include Honey Bunches of Oats and Grape-Nuts, to expand overseas, […] Read more
Post tucks into British breakfast cereal Weetabix
Trade sees record Canadian canola acres as possibility
Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — Canadian farmers could be set to seed record-large canola acres in 2017, while wheat area is generally expected to be down on the year when Statistics Canada releases its first survey-based acreage estimates of the year on Friday. From a purely economic standpoint, “canola is historically the commodity that pays the bills,” […] Read more
Crown rust comes after oats
Part of the management challenge comes from its sources and its choice as a cover crop
Reading Time: 5 minutes In a production agriculture world where corn and soybeans have dominated the scene for much of the last 25 years, oats are supposedly one of the forgotten crops. There have been attempts to revive the grain’s standing, including the formation of the Oat and Barley Council of Ontario back in the early 2000s, as well […] Read more
Seven deadly sins of grain marketing
Brian Voth has been telling producers about the “seven deadly sins of grain marketing” for several years, and although the catchy title gets them through the door to listen to him, the advice they go away with is invaluable. “What I talk about is, essentially, how to make marketing plans by doing it in reverse,[...]
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Eight things to look for in your soil test report
When you understand your soil reports, you’re in a better position to develop fertilizer plans with your agronomist. All soil testing labs report the same basic information, but each lab has its own unique format. No matter what your report looks like, first, check the information at the top: your name, address, field name, etc.[...]
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Top three marketing resolutions for 2017
This year, instead of making a New Year’s resolution to lose some weight or save some money, consider resolving to improve your marketing plan. PI Financial’s David Derwin has three simple marketing resolutions to get you started.
New in spring cereals
They may not be large-acre crops, but their growers are dedicated
Reading Time: 3 minutes Production of spring wheat, oats and barley follows some rather rigid realities from one year to the next. It’s true that spring cereals are a tougher sell across most of Eastern Canada; there are more acres of soybeans or corn than there are of spring cereals combined. Yet it’s also a fact that those who[...]
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Four steps to a fair land rental agreement
As land values increase, so do land rental rates, but commodity prices don’t always follow the same trajectory, although input costs might. So how do you come to an arrangement to rent land that is fair and profitable for both parties, because that’s the number one consideration if both want a stable, long-term deal. “Communication[...]
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Pest Patrol: Farmers are reducing weed seed return after cereal harvest
#PestPatrol with Mike Cowbrough, OMAFRA
Reading Time: 3 minutes I was driving down a long country road and noticed two large fields where winter wheat had been harvested almost eight weeks earlier. Each had a beautiful thick canopy of oats. Figure 1 (at top). An oat cover crop planted almost eight weeks ago following winter wheat harvest. That same day, when I came across[...]
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Seven steps to accurate soil testing
Many Prairie farmers spend $250,000 or more on fertilizer each year. Are you getting your moneys worth? Applying fertilizer nutrient that is not needed is a waste of money. If you don’t apply a needed fertilizer, you’ll see a loss in yield and revenue. Soil testing can provide an excellent picture of the nutrient levels[...]
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A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
