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News — page 332

Whether to spray or not can be a difficult decision and in the end it lies with the operator.
Crops, News

To spray or not to spray

Documentation and transparency are keys to heading off spray drift conflicts

By
The Ontario Professional Agri-Contractors Association (OPACA) brought stakeholders to the table for a candid discussion about spray drift.  Deb Campbell, agronomist and owner of Agronomy Advantage near Dundalk, has seen first-hand the results of off-target movement of crop protection products. She has reviewed six insurance claims and has attended several driveshed meetings of angry neighbours. […] Read more
Genetic precision and new modes of action a focus for Bayer
News

Genetic precision and new modes of action a focus for Bayer

Company aims to solve crop production, sustainability problems on farms

By
Bayer is driving ahead with an array of investments designed to reckon with coming environmental, economic, and social issues in crop production.  Already spending approximately two billion Euros each year on agricultural science initiatives, the company is further emphasizing its investments in expectation of massive growth in several key areas – plant breeding, biotechnology, chemistry, […] Read more
“No Trespassing” signs aren’t required on farmland, but they are recommended so there’s no ambiguity.
News

Bill 156 sees court challenge from animal activist groups

Special farmland provisions not new in law

By
Last year’s passage of the Security of Trespass and Protecting Food Safety Act granted special protection to many Ontario livestock producers, but as attendees at the recent 2021 London Farm Show were reminded, it’s nothing new for farmland to be singled out under the law. Nonetheless, several provisions of the new law, Bill 156, are […] Read more
The issues facing livestock agriculture are big and no one organization has the resources needed to do a good job of dealing with them.
News

Opinion: It’s time for a livestock manifesto

All species groups need to work together to tackle big issues in a coordinated way

By
In his book The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell outlines how change can start small, and then creep imperceptibly toward a point beyond which everything changes. That is the tipping point.  Anyone 60 years or older will recall, as a child, attending social functions where the air was blue with smoke. Attitudes toward smoking changed slowly […] Read more
Marc Comtois, Kathleen Comtois, France Lemieux, Julie Comtois, Julien Turmel, and Steve Comtois in their new automated milking barn.
Livestock, News

Holstein breeder puts focus on milk in new barn

Comestar Holsteins aims to fill 1000 kg of quota from cows in 586 stalls in the automated milking barn

By
The evolution of elite dairy breeder Comestar Holsteins is a good indicator of the future of Canadian dairy farming, with greater focus on milk production instead of genetics. Comestar, the Victoriaville, Que. dairy farm, has been a prodigious provider of top dairy females and bulls around the world over the past 30 years and recently […] Read more
News

Pascal Bouilly returns as veal farmers board chair

By
Veal Farmers of Ontario (VFO) recently announced the re-election of Pascal Bouilly as chair and the election of Cameron Knip as vice chair, at a recent meeting of the board of directors. Bouilly, the dairy calf supply chain manager with Delft Blue Veal in Cambridge, was appointed to the VFO Board of Directors in 2015 […] Read more
Deborah Vanberkel is a dairy farmer and psychotherapist who treats farmers.
News

Rivoire award won by farmer and therapist

The Farmer Wellness Program has expanded to five counties

By
Odessa dairy farmer Deborah Vanberkel recently won a national award for an initiative she started that combines both her professions – agriculture and psychotherapy. Working with the Lennox & Addington Federation of Agriculture (as well as the Ontario Federation of Agriculture), Vanberkel started the Farmer Wellness Program as a pilot in 2019. Now a permanent […] Read more
The loss of agri-tourism, hospitality and wedding sales have left some wineries teetering on the edge, says the CEO of Grape Growers of Ontario.
News

Ontario winery sector gets $10 million grant

Funds aim to keep wineries afloat after COVID-19 shut many of them

By
A one-time provincial grant of $10 million could buoy 280 Ontario wineries whose livelihood got corked by the pandemic. “It is certainly a welcome relief to many, many wineries that have been shuttered,” said Debbie Zimmerman.  “They’re the backbone of the small communities across Prince Edward County, southwestern Ontario, and of course Niagara. They’re the […] Read more
Ontario farmland value growth lower than national average
News

Ontario farmland value growth lower than national average

Some areas of the province, especially around cities, saw higher farmland value increase

By
A tight market for farmland in Canada and good crop prices continue to drive increasing land value, although the increase in Ontario in 2020 was lower than in 2019. Farm Credit Canada (FCC) recently released its 2020 farmland value report, which showed a 4.7 per cent increase in Ontario values, compared to a 6.7 per […] Read more
News

Editorial: Lessons from political speeches

By
There’s rarely enough news in politician visits to farmer group meetings to justify a report. Sometimes there’s an announcement to be made and then they let the farm media know in advance that we need to pay attention. The script is usually similar: Tell farmers, with exact numbers, how many members they have in their […] Read more

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