Reading Time: 5 minutes For years farmers have questioned and complained about the rebate and reward programs offered on agricultural inputs. Most complaints focus on the complexity of the programs and the inability for farmers to calculate the value of the rebate when making pesticide purchase decisions. Farmers need to know the after-rebate cost of pesticides if they are […] Read more
Rebates: The ‘gift’ that has gone too far
Are retailers focused on selling the best product to meet a grower’s needs, or the product that will maximize their own business returns?
Driving up the cost of seed
Is the new Seeds Canada getting foisted on farmers just to make us boost seed company profits?
Reading Time: 6 minutes The summer of 2020 will go down in history for changing the fundamentals of grain production in Canada. And it seems many farmers are not even aware this is happening. I am talking about the ratification of Seeds Canada. I hear you ask, “Who, or what, is Seeds Canada?” Seeds Canada is the proposed name […] Read more
Who’s getting educated?
It’s time for ag suppliers to get as good as farmers at technology, and to treat us with the respect we have earned
Reading Time: 6 minutes Technology and big data have changed nearly every facet of agriculture. My tractor performance is continually monitored, not only by the operator but by the manufacturer. If the operator slips the clutch or stalls the tractor while under load, I can expect an immediate notification on my cell phone. If it’s anything more serious, a […] Read more
The carbon tax and how farmers can truly mitigate climate change
Take a deep breath. The real numbers don’t come close to justifying the anger of groups like APAS
Reading Time: 7 minutes “If the treatment doesn’t kill you, the disease will!” I can’t remember when I first heard this saying, or who said it but given the recent carbon tax costing by the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS), it seems an apt analogy. First, some background. In 2017, APAS hosted the Prairie Agricultural Carbon Summit, where […] Read more
Defining the culture for a successful female in agriculture (Part 2)
“By knowing my own value, I hold my own space.” These wise words from one interviewee can be a mantra for Canada’s farm women
Reading Time: 4 minutes In the last two columns, I have reported on my research into the lives of successful women professionals in farming and agricultural business. Their honest and engaging stories are varied, and they outline how we can create a culture of inclusion. An inclusive culture starts with parenting that offers boys and girls the same opportunities, […] Read more
How farmers can adapt to the new weather abnormal
The stable weather patterns of the ’80s and ’90s are gone, so we ask three climate scientists how to farm when the weather is unreliable
Reading Time: 6 minutes For many western Canadian farmers this is the fourth consecutive year with harvest progress seriously stymied by weather issues. Fall rains and snows have resulted in significant loss of crop quality and/or an increased reliance on costly drying of crops in each of those years. For some farmers, inclement weather has even resulted in crops […] Read more
Is western separation a real possibility? The cost of Alberta secession
Why is it farmers will tour countless variety plots and study mounds of test data to find a one or two per cent yield advantage, yet are willing to bet the farm on key structural changes based on nothing more than political slogans?
Reading Time: 4 minutes Case in point: Once again western separation has become a hot topic. Many readers will argue this shouldn’t be taken seriously; it’s just coffee-shop talk. But is it? In February an Angus Reid Institute poll showed 50 per cent of Albertans would support secession from Canada. Since then Premier Jason Kenney on multiple occasions has […] Read more
Why I farm
The message is essentially your mission statement
Reading Time: 5 minutes The primary role of a farm manager is to find the best solution to the myriad questions and problems encountered each and every day. Farmers regularly fret over questions like: What will the markets do? Should I buy, contract, or sell today? Has a pest reached threshold levels, and is a pesticide application justifiable economically? […] Read more
Trailblazing (Part 2)
The curious leader — trailblazing women farmers
Reading Time: 3 minutes When talking leadership for Country Guide, female trailblazers have repeatedly told me it was a real benefit to them that they had a curious parent in their earlier years. They also rank their own curiosity as a key contributor to their success. The value of curiosity also came up repeatedly when I spoke to global […] Read more
Oh FUD!
This new anti-farm marketing strategy makes even farmers feel like swearing. But here’s a better way to fight back
Reading Time: 6 minutes The food industry used to market food products on the basis of nutrition, quality and value. Companies spoke of the care farmers took to provide the healthiest, safest, best food in the world. Oh, how times have changed. Today, food branding often focuses on Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt (FUD). The nutritional label is overshadowed by […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
