Iran poised to buy feed grains

hamburg / london / reuters / Iran’s government is expected to start buying hundreds of thousands of tonnes of feed grains to help its farmers deal with a shortage of feed for livestock. Western sanctions have made it increasingly difficult for private-sector grain importers to arrange payments because they are frozen out of the global

Some federal budget cuts don’t add up for farmers: CFA

Some program cuts at Agriculture Canada resulting from the 2012 budget aren’t in the best interest of farmers and the Canadian Federation of Agriculture is going to press for changes. “Some of the cuts do make sense because they get rid of duplication,” president Ron Bonnett said in an interview. But terminating regional adaptation councils


USDA surprises by standing pat on corn stocks

chicago / reuters / The U.S. Department of Agriculture pegged U.S. corn ending stocks in the 2011-12 marketing year (Sept./Aug.) at 801 million bushels, April 10. That’s above trade estimates for 721 million and unchanged from its March estimate. USDA estimated U.S. soybean ending stocks at 250 million bushels, above trade estimates for 246 million



Seed early with caution

Whether they survive or fail, these early seeding plots will provide some valuable data on seeding dates

Extension agronomist Anastasia Kubinec wasn’t heeding her own advice to farmers the first week of April. She was seeding — but not because she’s banking on pulling in a bin-buster. Rather, she’s betting on a bust. Kubinec, Manitoba Agriculture and Rural Initiatives’ oilseed specialist, wants to demonstrate the risks of seeding too early, especially frost-sensitive

Cereal Research Centre axed

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Cereal Research Centre will be shuttered within two years, but a senior department official says much of its work will continue. Industry leaders are less confident in the wake of last week’s announcement to close the facility that earned Western Canada its breadbasket reputation as part of a five to 10


What’s the message here?

According to Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz, ending the wheat board monopoly will mean “the sky will be the limit” for wheat, prompting farmers to plant more acres. That presumably means a need for more and better varieties, so you might expect that the government would back up its claim by continuing support for public research,

Wet on top, dry down below

Notoriously wet country looks to better grazing management to solve chronic water infiltration problems

Saskatchewan grazier Neil Dennis figures five centuries of continuous grazing has more to do with the drought affecting the British Isles than a lack of rainfall. “When you get 70 inches of rain, and the water table is dropping, there’s sure something wrong,” said Dennis, who just returned from a U.K. tour where he had


Young farmer champions the soil

It’s the kind of story that the farming industry takes great pride in today. A young producer, recently graduated with an agriculture degree, recently married, joining his family farm, and building a farming future on high principles of conservation and sustainable management. Ryan Boyd, who farms with wife Sarah and parents Jim and Joanne Boyd,

Naked oats tested for organic chickens

Scientists with Ohio State University have received a four-year, US$896,000 Department of Agriculture grant to study the feasibility of incorporating “naked oats” into organic farming rotations as a way to cut the cost of producing organic chicken. The oats, which have a unique protein and amino acid balance, will be tested in the diets of