Taking A Position On Agriculture And Climate Change

At its 66th annual international conference in July, the Soil and Water Conservation Society released this position statement on climate change and soil and water conservation. SWCS is a scientific organization with chapters throughout the U.S. and Canada, and which has over 5,000 members around the world. The Soil and Water Conservation Society finds that

Agriculture Hall Of Fame – for Jul. 28, 2011

Vernon McIntyre was born in 1919 in Neepawa, Man. and was raised in Kelwood along with his brother and sister. In 1930, the family moved to a farm near Elphinstone. Due to his father’s poor health, Vernon took over the farm duties while still in his teens. Vernon completed his schooling by correspondence. In 1950


Manure Expo Showcases Management Advances

What’s your idea of a fun outdoor activity on a day with temperatures topping 35 C? How about a manure show? Norfolk, Nebraska, the hometown of the late U.S. television personality Johnny Carson, hosted the 2011 North American Manure Expo in the midst of the recent heat wave. The trade show was billed as the

Perils Of Broadcast Seeding Outlined At Crop Tour

A Carman-area canola field offers dramatic proof that agronomists weren’t kidding last spring when they advised farmers not to broadcast seed canola unless they could follow up with harrows. Provincial weed specialist Nasir Shaikh said the field was aerially seeded with a Clearfield herbicide-tolerant variety by air and the producer was able to cover part


Carrying Capacity Is Not Just About Numbers

Assessing the carrying capacity of your pasture is about more than just stocking rate. Calculating the carrying capacity of the land will help you stock to a level that maintains the health and productivity of both the land and the animals that feed on it. But how do you make that calculation? The 13 participants

The Business Of Sustainability In Dairy

Sustainability may be the new buzzword in agribusiness, but it’s not a simple subject. Dairy Farmers of Canada guest panellists provided delegates to the annual conference held in Winnipeg July 12 and 13 with three perspectives on sustainability. According to Petra Kassun- Mutch, founder of Fifth Town Artisan Cheese Company in Ontario, sustainability isn’t just


It’s Not Too Late To Seed Some Forages

Most farmers have parked the seeder by mid-July, but this year, thanks to abundant moisture and a program offered by Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) and Viterra, there are a few more reasons to plant some late forages. The Forage Incentive Program offers conservation-minded farmers up to $30 an acre to seed any of a number

Think-Tank Creates Food Price-Volatility Detector

Anew statistical tool will help world leaders identify when food prices become dangerously volatile and help hunger fighters decide when to release food reserves to feed the poor, said a think-tank July 7. The tool developed by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) could answer two goals of agriculture ministers from the Group of


Crop Report – for Jul. 14, 2011

SOUTHWEST REGION There was minimal rainfall in the southwest region over the past week. Producers took advantage of the drier weather to plant greenfeed and spray unseeded land. Winter wheat crops are heading and majority of fungicide applications have been completed. The crop looks to be average. Fall rye is heading and looks to be

UN Expert Urges Huge Investment In Small Farmers

Asenior United Nations food expert appealed June 20 for a massive investment in smallholder farming to end poverty and hunger. In an interview before the G20 meeting of farm ministers, Josef Schmidhuber, deputy director of the statistics division of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), said local poverty was the root cause of hunger, not