Reading Time: 6 minutes High land prices and persistent problems with haying weather in Western Canada are prompting more cattle producers to consider corn silage. Acreage has increased steadily in for the past five years, especially in Alberta where producers seeded 110,000 acres of silage corn in 2016, up from 70,000 acres in 2012. “New genetics have made corn […] Read more
Corn silage moves west
The prospect of more tons per acre and fewer worries about harvest weather is prompting some cattle producers to park the baler
Diversification the name of the game for Lewis Farms
Change Makers: From potatoes to grain to a commercial bull business, Lewis Farms has diversified to manage risk and accommodate market challenges
Reading Time: 7 minutes “Sometimes, progress simply isn’t possible without change,” says Ken Lewis, general manager of Lewis Farms in Spruce Grove, just west of Edmonton, Alta. Which means that ignoring opportunities to change, or actively resisting change when it arrives can actually be the paths of greatest risk. Because change will happen. In fact, like other farmers, Lewis […] Read more
New life for triticale
High yield, high nutrition, disease resistance and swath grazing potential are among the attractions of this wheat/rye hybrid
Reading Time: 6 minutes Triticale was introduced to Canada in the 1960s and got a bit of extra fanfare from a mention in the famous Star Trek episode “The Trouble With Tribbles.” Interest soon waned, but the wheat-rye hybrid is now getting some renewed attention as a versatile crop with potential for grain, forage and ethanol production. Breeding programs […] Read more
Silage the latest candidate for yield monitors
The technology offers the prospect of tracking not only yield, but moisture and nutrient quality
Reading Time: 4 minutes Yield monitors are now common on grain and oilseed farms, though you’re not likely to find one on a dairy operation. But yield monitor technology for silage corn is now a reality, and it shows promise for adaptation to forages as well. The concept of precision farming was initially adopted with great enthusiasm by some […] Read more
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