Agriculture has key role in climate change solution   
Posted 14 days ago
Canadian farmers have been leaders in adopting technologies and production methods when a true improvement can be seen on the bottom line. [more]

Kerr named Lambton County's Outstanding Farmer of the Year   
Posted 14 days ago
St. Clair Township farmer Joe Kerr says when he got word he would the recipient of the Lambton Soil and Crop Association's Outstanding Farmer of the Year Award, he was at first shocked and then honoured. [more]

Caldwells to develop urban reserve in Leamington   
Posted 14 days ago
The Caldwell First Nation has received $105-million land claim settlement offer that will provide the reserve they have wanted for several years. [more]

Genetically modified crops partly to blame for smaller Monarch butterfly colony, professor says   
Posted 14 days ago
The widespread use of genetically modified crops in Canada and the U.S. is being partly blamed for a smaller monarch butterfly colony in Mexico this winter. The Globe and Mail reports that the annual monarch colony in Mexico is only 1. [more]

Cover crops bring major benefits to your soil, says Iowa-based USDA researcher   
Posted 14 days ago
Cover crops are not widely grown by farmers in Iowa, but those who do, find it easier to control erosion and keep nutrients in their soils. USDA researcher Tom Kaspar spoke at the Southwest Agriculture Conference in Ridgetown and outlined his research in cover crops in his home state of Iowa. [more]

Lots of room for expansion, Elmwood sheep meeting told   
Posted 14 days ago
Raising sheep is environmentally friendly because they are mostly on pasture, use marginal lands and the industry is not dependent on the export market that uses so much fossil fuel to ship commodities. [more]

AGRIS posted agronomy sales of $57 million in '09   
Posted 14 days ago
AGRIS Co-operative Ltd. reported a $2.3-million before tax income for 2009, at its annual meeting in Chatham. The co-operative recorded agronomy sales of more than $57 million for fiscal 2009. [more]

Sarnia researchers making gas from grass   
Posted 14 days ago
Sarnia researchers will soon be raiding compost piles for a tank of gas. Pending the arrival of high-temperature heating equipment, an updated version of a carbon cracker now at the University of Western Ontario will soon start churning out gas from grass at the Wellington Street labs. [more]

Fields clean as the driven snow on this farm   
Posted 14 days ago
The snow on Mike Buis' Chatham-area farm used to have a brown tinge to it. But not anymore. After years of practising several conservation and environmental measures, Buis reports that the snow on his 700-acre operation is as white. [more]

Farm Calendar   
Posted 14 days ago
Jan. 26: Grain Farmers of Ontario meeting in Middlesex County, 9 a.m. at Coldstream Community Centre, Coldstream. Jan. 26, 27: Ontario Processing Vegetable Industry Conference, Hilton Hotel and London Convention Centre. [more]

Cattlemen’s group calling for risk management plan   
Posted 14 days ago
The development of a business risk management program has been a hot topic across Ontario as county cattle organizations hold their annual meetings. [more]

Farmers optimistic bunch: FCC   
Posted 14 days ago
Optimism is staying steady among farmers here in Ontario, according to a new report Farm Credit Canada. On the whole, 55% of Canadian farmers said they were optimistic about the future of agriculture, up slightly from 2007. [more]

Co-ops add value to products... and growers   
Posted 14 days ago
Developing a co-operative to market farm products can provide farmers with an avenue to add value to their products and return more revenue to their farming operations. But Tom Cox, the chair and founding member of Integrated Grain Processors Co-operative Inc. [more]

Tavistock-area producer boosts goat milk, meat   
Posted 14 days ago
Ontario farmers should take note of demand for goat meat and milk, the president of the Ontario Goat Breeders Association told a group of Bruce-Grey farmers earlier this month. An estimated 741 million goats are raised worldwide to meet demand, which also exists in Ontario, said Tobin Schlegel. [more]

Bigger soy yields a common goal for Ontario and Pennsylvania growers   
Posted 14 days ago
When it comes to growing soybeans, the differences among growers in Ontario and Pennsylvania are few and far between. The challenges are almost the same — and so are the goals. And perhaps the most common goal is a desire for larger yields. [more]

Farmers want to be recognized for the societal benefits they provide   
Posted 14 days ago
Few would disagree with the suggestion that farmers contribute significant ecological and environmental benefits for the greater good of society -- for which they receive little or no compensation. [more]

Growing biomass requires balance, says researcher   
Posted 14 days ago
As the world appears to be moving closer to replacing fossil fuels by burning more renewable, agricultural biomass, a USDA researcher warns that the agricultural community must be aware of the environmental risks inherent in not returning a significant part of that material to the earth. [more]

Don’t give up on no-till soys, says Bohner   
Posted 14 days ago
For most growers 2009 was a poor year for no-till soybeans. But Ontario's provincial soybean specialist isn't giving up. "In terms of the overall no-till situation in Ontario, 2009 was a pretty tough year for most of us," agrees Horst Bohner. [more]

USDA report helps spur commodity price decline   
Posted 14 days ago
Grain prices have dropped sharply since the beginning of the year. The price plunge accelerated after the Jan. 12 USDA crop report, where corn supplies, in particular, were estimated sharply above what traders thought they would be. [more]

Ontario's provincial Green leader a ‘knowledgeable, well spoken guy’   
Posted 14 days ago
It looks like the Grey-Bruce Farmers Week was another outstanding success. On the days I was there, attendance seemed very strong and the discussion and information lively and interesting. [more]

USDA keeps score, and moves the goalposts   
Posted 14 days ago
It was a stunner! You might even argue that it was a game changer with regard to agricultural markets for 2010 — and the year is only 12 days old. When the USDA came out on Jan. 12 and said we will have 13. [more]

Aftershocks will linger in Haiti   
Posted 14 days ago
Long before there was an earthquake in Haiti, the people of that Caribbean nation suffered from a chronic lack of food, shelter, education and health services. [more]

Plenty of interest in on-farm solar projects   
Posted 14 days ago
Bert Rammelaere represents the vanguard of a new alternative energy movement in Ontario. The long-time farmer had a large solar panel installed on his Tilbury-area property in late 2008, and now he's harvesting dollars from the sun. [more]

Huron-Bruce MPP named ag minister   
Posted 14 days ago
Carol Mitchell was handed a new job on Jan. 18 — as Ontario's minister of agriculture, food and rural affairs. She replaces Leona Dombrowsky, who was named education minister. Dombrowsky had been agriculture minister since 2005 when she replaced Elgin MPP Steve Peters. [more]

Livestock sector facing higher feed costs   
Posted 14 days ago
The ethanol industry's increasing demand for corn — coupled with commodity fund speculation and a weakening U.S. dollar — doesn't stack up well for Canada's livestock sector, says Victor Aideyan, senior risk management consultant with HISGRAIN Commodities Inc. [more]

Former Springford grain elevator set to become plant for biomass production   
Posted 14 days ago
The community of Norwich in south Oxford County is getting a sneak peak at plans for the area's first alternative energy manufacturer. [more]