Glacier FarmMedia – Slow-swimming bull sperm will have no place to hide. A Scottish company, Dyneval, has created a new semen analyzer that measures a wider range of concentrations of semen than previous testing methods. This will allow veterinarians, beef and dairy producers to have more control over semen quality. The Dynescanl analyzer is also
At Ag in Motion: New tester monitors bull fertility
At Ag in Motion: Water trough monitoring made easier
Glacier FarmMedia – Imagine being able to run to the lake without worrying about water trough levels for grazing cattle. That’s the scenario that drove Katlin and his brother Dustin Lang, of Vibank, Sask., to found a company to provide a water trough monitoring system. Designed for troughs that are connected to solar systems out
In an era of high demand, Canada could be a food giant — if it has the will
In an era of high demand, Canada could be a food giant — if it has the will
[UPDATED: Feb. 14, 2023] Canada needs a new agriculture and food strategy as political, pandemic and economic shocks to the global food system render current methods unviable. That was the message at a Jan. 31 conference in Ottawa hosted by leading agriculture policy think tanks and attended by agriculture leaders in government, industry and farm organizations. The new world,
Guest Editorial: Tiny tech now dominant in agriculture
A giant hole was punched through the berm around the dam on the Maitland River in the small southern Ontario community of Gorrie during a flood a few years ago. I grew up on my family’s farm near Gorrie and it’s strange to see the whole dam now gone as the decision was made to
(Guest) Editorial: Choices in autonomy grow
John Deere’s recent announcement that it will be selling autonomous 8R tractors for tillage this year elicited a not-surprising reaction from farmers. It was a mixed response, as is often the case for new technology, especially technology that might significantly change something they’ve been doing and, in many cases, liked doing, for generations. This isn’t
Guest Editorial: The thorny issue of people on your land
There are more people roaming around rural Canada during the pandemic and that’s increased concerns about trespassing and trash that finds its way onto farms. We live on a corner property and one of the side roads that runs along our farm is a no-winter maintenance road. Early in the pandemic it became a magnet
Guest Editorial: Carbon questions loom
The march to some sort of agricultural carbon economy is on and it’s integral that we get it right if we go down this road. Policy can’t be driven by politics and ideology. Unfortunately, the science of carbon sequestration continues to be fuzzy, which leaves open the opportunity for opinion to guide the policy. There
Comment: The pandemic has shown governments can make decisions quickly
Too often, bureaucratic entropy takes over and that makes us less competitive in the global marketplace
One of the lessons of the pandemic and response to it by governments and regulatory agencies is that regulatory agility is possible. COVID-19 vaccines have been approved with record speed, and from what I can find, the government says that the same vigour of process has also been applied. The only point missing is long-term studies
Disease can reach hog herds through feed
Research says disease travels on feed.The hog sector is working to limit the risks
North America’s livestock feed system continues to change to manage the risk of disease travelling on feed. The changes have meant world-leading restrictions on feed imports to Canada and a decline in imports of soybean meal into the U.S. from areas of major swine diseases. It’s also meant that some large farms are adopting supplier-to-farm
Data hackers coming to a farm near you
Recent attacks on computer systems show that agriculture isn’t immune to hackers
Agriculture pays little attention to computer system security, but it will be an increasing threat as farms gets larger, technology use increases and global actors look to disrupt food systems. That means that agriculture is well behind other important sectors of the economy in protecting its computer networks, says a cybersecurity researcher. It’s a reality
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
