AGCO Challenger tractors will now be offered in Fendt colours, but the new 16.2 liter MAN engine provides a horsepower bump to the biggest tractors in these lineups.

New Fendt tractors receive major upgrades

The 1100 Vario MT is the highest h.p. two-track to offer a CVT transmission and is the company’s largest tractor

Glacier FarmMedia – The paint, joystick and warranty are all that differentiates the newly branded Fendt 1100 Vario MT and 900 Vario MT tractor lines from the latest Challenger models, but there have been some significant upgrades to the tractors. The 1100 Vario MT is the highest horsepower two-track tractors to offer a CVT transmission […] Read more

AgriSpirit fund helps 92 community projects

Farm Credit Canada (FCC) is giving $1.5 million through its FCC AgriSpirit Fund to 92 community groups across Canada to support rural capital projects. “The FCC AgriSpirit Fund supports rural communities at the heart of Canadian agriculture,” said Sophie Perreault, FCC executive vice-president and chief operating officer. “We are honoured to support the projects that […] Read more

A Monarch butterfly only lays its eggs on milkweed plants.

Milkweed key to building monarch butterfly numbers

Science Notes: Monarchs appear to successfully migrate, but there’s concern about declining numbers

A recently published analysis of data on tagged monarch butterflies migrating from the United States to Mexico emphasizes the importance of creating new habitat to ensure the future of the species’ iconic migratory pattern. The study, published recently in the peer-reviewed journal Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, drew on data collected on 1.4 million monarch butterflies […] Read more

There will be some tagging differences after DairyTrace starts on Oct. 5, including changes to dairy animals destined for meat.

Dairy-specific tags central to DairyTrace implementation

Developers try to minimize impacts for farmers and processors

Canada’s dairy sector will begin reporting all cattle movements to the national database DairyTrace starting Oct. 5, but administrators say the impact on day-to-day management should be minimal. What is DairyTrace? The database-to-be is described as a single, common framework for dairy farmers to track animal identity and movements. It’s a copy of a pre-existing […] Read more

Seed growers will take some time to decide on the next step in the process of merging.

Lessons from a rejected seed deal

Seed growers found enough to avoid accepting a deal tying them to other seed groups, despite a five-year process

Glacier FarmMedia – Canada’s seed industry is taking a step back to ponder farmers’ stunning rejection of a cross-industry organization merger. “We’re disappointed,” said Lorne Hadley, executive director of the Canadian Plant Technology Agency and a key proponent of the five-organization merger idea. “This was a very, very long process.” Why it matters: Farmer concern […] Read more


Russell Mackay walked 125 kilometres and in the process raised over $120,000 for the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario

Retired farmer quadruples fundraising goal

Donations still being accepted until Sept. 30

Russell Mackay, an 82-year-old retired farmer, from Beachburg, Ont., met his goal to walk 125 km from the town to Ottawa’s Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO). Along the way he raised more than $120,000 to support children at the hospital. His initial goal was to raise $25,000. Mackay, who is diabetic and legally blind, […] Read more

Two Ontarians win 4-H scholarships

4-H Canada has announced the recipients of the 2020 TD 4-H Agriculture Scholarship and they include two students from Ontario. Hanna Reid, from Ontario, is studying Animals Science Technology – Dairy Science at Lakeland College and Tanya Regimbald, also from Ontario, is studying Agriculture Business Management and Technology at Institut de technologie agroalimentaire. TD Bank […] Read more

North American business development manager for Dairypower Equipment, Adam Steward, explained the features of the company’s Smart Manure Aeration System during a barn tour at Sigview Farms near Moorefield.

Continually agitated manure system launches in North America

Irish-developed system installed in new Wellington County dairy barn

In an innovative new dairy barn near Moorefield, the centuries-old practice of composting solid manure is being combined with a new-to-North-America approach to continually agitating liquid manure. On May 12, Kristina and Simon Signer moved their 53 Brown Swiss from a tie-stall set-up in the Sigview Farms bank barn to a new composting bedded pack […] Read more


Understanding and managing low pH knolls

Understanding and managing low pH knolls

The OMAFRA Field Crop Team wants farmers to get to know their knolls

While high pH knolls tend to be more common in Ontario, often caused by soil erosion leaving higher pH calcareous subsoils, this is not the case for all regions. How do low pH knolls develop? Low pH knolls can develop on undulating landscapes where surface soils formed from deposits of sand, such as where glacial […] Read more

Agricultural societies, like the Paris Fair, have access to funding even without hosting a 2020 fair.

Fair funds help Ontario ag societies survive

Larger organizations that host many events in a year are hurting financially

Recent OMAFRA funding for agricultural and horticultural societies will help, but larger exhibitions are having serious challenges. The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) expanded the eligibility for agriculture societies’ annual grant application to help offset the financial losses brought on by COVID-19. For 2020 nearly $1 million are available to all […] Read more