Reading Time: 11 minutes Coming from the west, it’s unexpected. You pass out of the Prairies just east of Winnipeg, then drive through mile after mile of rocks, trees and water — the typical geography of the Canadian Shield. But somewhere east of Kenora, something begins to happen… small meadows start to appear, finally broadening out and breaking up […] Read more
North of Superior, in ‘livestock country’
A northern Ontario mill town with a proud agricultural past and lots of essentially free land isn’t quite ready to call it quits yet
Pest Patrol: Do we have Palmer amaranth in Ontario?
#PestPatrol with Mike Cowbrough, OMAFRA
Reading Time: 2 minutes Do we have Palmer amaranth in Ontario? How do I tell it apart from other pigweeds? Thankfully, Ontario does not have Palmer amaranth, a pigweed species that in the U.S. is resistant to five different herbicide modes of action (Table 1 below). However, we do have waterhemp, another pigweed species that is often confused with […] Read more
Big data in Canadian agriculture? Not yet
Precision agriculture proponents are convinced that the technology will pay off, but that data collection needs to be standardized and not require farmers’ time during the busy seasons
Reading Time: 6 minutes Watching over the fencerow to see how the neighbour is growing that nice crop is a long tradition in farming. Are we heading into an era where you can look over the digital fencerow to look at the neighbour’s data on nutrient placement, seeding rates, variety selection and combine speed? Increasingly each piece of equipment […] Read more
New in spring cereal crop varieties
Developments in the public breeding sector are generating excitement in spring cereals
Reading Time: 2 minutes The world of spring cereals may never be the same in Eastern Canada, especially in the next few years. In the past 12 months, two new positions have been filled within the public breeding sector, with new breaders at the University of Guelph and at Agriculture and Agri-Food’s Eastern Cereal and Oilseed Research Centre (AAFC-ECORC) […] Read more
Farm management groups have benefits
This farm finds that belonging to a farm management group improves their decision-making, and reduces their stress
Reading Time: 5 minutes Alain Lavigne has belonged to a farm management group for 25 years and says he couldn’t imagine farming without it. “It puts the picture of the whole farm in front of you… it helps us evaluate our strengths and weaknesses,” says Lavigne, who farms with his family in Ontario, an hour east of Ottawa. “It […] Read more
Built on the basis
For this farm, finding a way to participate in how local grain prices get calculated has opened the door for growth and success
Reading Time: 6 minutes Top marketers know that marketing isn’t only the act of selling, it’s the act of knowing. In particular, top farm marketers not only know their own strategies, strengths and needs, they also know how they can make them mesh with the strategies, strengths and needs of their customer, whether that’s an elevator down the road […] Read more
Court to hear growers’ appeal of Ontario neonic rules
Reading Time: 2 minutes Ontario’s soybean and corn growers have been granted an appeal hearing in their bid to delay the province’s new limits on neonicotinoid seed treatments. Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO), the body for the province’s corn, soy, wheat, barley and oat growers, said Tuesday the Ontario Court of Appeal has agreed to hear its case on March […] Read more
The case for long-term weed programs
With Enlist soybeans and Roundup Ready Xtend coming, the time to start stretching your weed control horizon is right now
Reading Time: 5 minutes As a concept, a long-term weed management plan may be nothing new. Even so, however, the reasons to adopt it are looking stronger than ever thanks to a combination of new technologies and a weed-resistance threat that keeps intensifying. The concept certainly has merit, says Dr. Peter Sikkema, professor of weed science with the University […] Read more
Thunder Bay ag research station gets stay
Reading Time: 2 minutes More time has been bought for a northern Ontario agricultural research station on the brink of closing to come up with a new operating plan. The Ontario government on Monday announced $350,000 in bridge funding for the not-for-profit Thunder Bay Agricultural Research Association, operator of the Thunder Bay Agricultural Research Station (TBARS), to “develop a […] Read more
Leap into 2016 with these agricultural meetings and conferences
There are great learning opportunities in the meetings, conferences and information sessions early in the new year, so here’s help to maximize your take-homes
Reading Time: 6 minutes It’s no secret that margins, timing and opportunity are all pretty tight these days. Quite simply, there’s more riding on your performance, both in the office and in the field. That’s why the winter season, with its multitude of offerings for meeting, networking and learning has become so important. It’s also why Country Guide is […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
