The importance of planning to be safe on the farm can ever be overemphasized in agriculture. Rural culture is such that for far too long farm families have lived a risky lifestyle, accepting and even celebrating obsessive work habits in the name of staying one step ahead of the weather, saving money or earning more.
Business Risk Management
Fusarium resistant Wheat Gets Nod
At first glance, WW 454 looked like it would be a ho-hum addition to the stable of winter wheat varieties competing for acres on Prairie farms. Its parents, McClintock and CDC Osprey, were a decent sort, but decidedly average. And the breeder that brought them together 11 years ago was a rookie recruit making his
New Hard White Spring Wheat Gains Interim Registration
Canada is inching closer to the kind of wheat quality that could give it an edge in the lucrative Asian noodle markets. The Wheat, Rye and Triticale Registration Recommending Committee granted approval for an interim registration Feb. 24 to a Hard White Spring wheat line developed by Gavin Humphreys, a wheat breeder with the federal
Committee Approves 14 New Varieties
The federal decision in 2009 to axe kernel visual distinguishability as a requirement for registering wheat varieties in Canada prompted lots of frowns among grain handlers and farmers. But at least one plant breeder is smiling. Anita Brlé-Babel, a winter wheat breeder from the University of Manitoba, received approval from the Prairie Wheat, Rye and
Hard To Sink This Deal
The reaction to last week’s announcement that the Canadian Wheat Board is investing in lake freighters was for the most part predictable. Some farm groups actually think it’s a wise investment and a practical thing for the board to do. It’s certainly not the first time the board has invested in transportation infrastructure. And in
A Change In Thinking
Acomprehensive new report released by the Canadian Agri- Food Policy Institute (CAPI) is bound to ruffle a few feathers in farm country. It won’t be the section on increasing Canada’s production and exports, or the parts that say agriculture, food and health policies should be linked. Nor will it be the calls to buy more
Is Cheap Food Something To Celebrate?
There were three storms making headlines over the past week, and only two of them were weather related. While the storm dubbed “Stormageddon” spread a wintry blast across 30 U.S. states, the Australian coast was hit by a major cyclone. But the storm that had all the world on edge last week was taking place
Delaying The Drainage
As Manitoba braces for what could be another Flood of the Century a mere 14 years after the last one, the calls are mounting across the province for governments to do something about this province’s ongoing and seasonal excess moisture situation. It doesn’t help that Manitoba has had significant floods in 2001, 2002, 2006, 2009
Changing Of The Guard At Deerwood
Local lore has it that one of the reasons Bill Turner devoted more than two decades of his life to seemingly mundane tasks such as capping off abandoned wells dates back to his childhood. As a nine-year-old, Turner was peering down an old well shaft when a mischievous older schoolboy gave him a little nudge
Price Outlook Good — But Jumpy
It doesn’t seem to matter whether analysts are studying the market fundamentals, technical charts or the stars these days, they all agree on one thing. Prices are strong and there is plenty of potential for them to get stronger. But there was a caveat attached to the bullish outlook analysts dangled tantalizingly in front of