By Terry Betker When the planets align and the growing season weather is perfect, and there are production shortfalls in other parts of the world and the markets respond positively, and when you’re able to price into market highs, life on the farm can be very rewarding. A possible scenario? Perhaps, but likely it’ll only… Read More

I suspect there will be a lot of angst over the new federal farm review and forecast – even though statistically, it’s a good news story. The report, released last week, showed farmers produced 96.5 million tonnes of grain in 2013. That’s a major leap over the previous year’s relatively dismal 76.7-million tonne crop, which… Read More

It’s time for another edition of AgNerds, where Shaun Haney and someone else equally tech-savvy talk about gizmos, gadgets and other techie things! And, yes, for this edition we do indeed have the one and only Peter Gredig back in the saddle/tradeshow chair to talk about, of all things, the cloud. The what, you say?… Read More

It’s like a scene from an old-timey western movie. A grizzled cowboy squints into the horizon and says “I don’t like the look of those clouds. Storm is a’ brewin.” I’ve witnessed similar body language as I cross the country talking to farmers about mobile technology and the new world of data management, but it’s… Read More

As news of the sixth and seventh confirmed on-farm case of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus was announced (as of February 5, 2014), the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food and the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association is urging farmers to make use of a special biosecurity intake for farmers impacted by the devastating disease. The… Read More

Maintaining good relationships should be a priority in any succession plan, but sometimes it’s hard to get past the financial and legal jargon associated with the process. For both reasons, a farm business should consider appointing a third party to mediate discussions. And, in the meantime, it doesn’t hurt to learn about some of your… Read More