At Kutz Farms LLC in Wisconsin, the Kutz family decided that planting corn on corn repeatedly may be good short-term economics, but it was bad long term for their soil’s health. As a result, John Kutz, his father and father-in-law created a new system that gives them three crops in two years, but doesn’t include
Intercropping wheat and soys makes for tighter rotation
The Kutz family has had to improvise but their ideas are working
Bernier makes supply management an issue
Dairy farmers are taking out Conservative memberships to vote against him
The future of Canada’s supply management system for milk, eggs and poultry has been thrust onto the national political agenda like never before by leading candidate for the Conservative party leadership, Maxime Bernier. Bernier is calling for the abolition of the system after a new levy on dairy products builds up enough funds to reimburse
British no-tillers worry about potential loss of glyphosate
But Tom Sewell says he’ll still find a way to continue his no-till system
A pioneer in British no-till farming said there’s a good chance European farmers will lose access to glyphosate. “It’s a French and German thing,” said Tom Sewell at the Innovative Farmers Association of Ontario conference recently in London. The politics of those two countries mean that there is pressure to ban the herbicide which is
Changing the discussion on genetic engineering
A genetic engineering researcher who is married to an organic farmer is trying to bridge the gap between consumers and science
The evolution of genetic engineering will continue, with more diverse options, giving scientists more flexibility to breed crops better for farmers and human nutrition. But farmers and researchers will continue to have to explain the technology to consumers focused on the genetic level, said Pamela Ronald. Ronald, a genetic engineering researcher at the University of
Technology, co-operation to result in long-desired dairy genetic indices
Low heritability traits have been hard to measure but genomics are increasing the availability of data
The Canadian Dairy Network (CDN) is taking aim at some of the most important, but toughest-to-measure genetic traits for dairy cows. The organization that aggregates vast amounts of information on dairy cattle and creates genetic indices that farmers use to make breeding decisions, is using genomics and global co-operation to create the new indices. “Genomics
Ontario tomato farmers to get less on higher yields
The agreement between Ontario growers and tomato processors for the 2017 growing season is expected to drop the price tomato farmers are paid as their yields increase. The agreement, announced last week, maintains the contracted tonnage of 2016 and follows the five-year pricing agreement set by growers and processors last year. Final prices, however, aren’t
Ontario greenhouse growers get competitiveness fund
The Ontario government is putting $19 million into a new initiative to support the competitiveness of the greenhouse sector in the province. Provincial Agriculture Minister Jeff Leal announced the funding on Thursday at Link Greenhouse near Bowmanville, just east of Oshawa. The Greenhouse Competitiveness and Innovation Initiative aims to provide funding for the creation of
Ontario processing tomato contracts set
An agreement has been reached between growers and processors of Ontario tomatoes for the 2017 growing season, maintaining the 2016 pricing agreement and 2016 contract tonnage. Final prices, however, weren’t released Friday, as they historically have been on the website of the Ontario Processing Vegetable Growers (OPVG). According to the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Processing
Take advantage of growth, guard against risk with new U.S. regime: Frum
Political commentator David Frum says there’s good, bad and potentially ugly for Canadian farmers in the United States’ new and unpredictable Trump administration. Frum, a senior editor at The Atlantic magazine and, more recently, an owner of Ontario farmland, told the Grain Farmers of Ontario March Classic in London recently that global markets have been
Ontario cereals lab filling nationwide demand
Grain Farmers of Ontario and SGS Canada took a risk in creating the Grains Analytical Testing Laboratory, as a partnership bringing wheat testing to a province with a comparatively small wheat crop. After eight months, and a first harvest of wheat analytics, the Guelph lab’s manager says they have found there is interest in the
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