Tech companies are raising hundreds of millions of dollars, including backing from agriculture heavyweights like Bayer AG, to develop farm products that use living things like microbes and seaweed to nourish crops and lessen the need for synthetic fertilizer. Microbes, including fungi and viruses, have been available for decades as treatments to protect plants from […] Read more
Farmers test microbes to nourish crops as climate pressure grows, costs rise
Soil biologicals are getting a lot of attention and research money
Watershed studies trickle down, but slowly
Vermont researchers testing flows from tens of thousands of acres in on-farm research program
Joshua Faulkner is a firm believer in the power of on-farm research to influence policymakers and agricultural practices. As program co-ordinator for the University of Vermont Extension Center for Sustainable Agriculture Farming and Climate Change, he says multiple-scale monitoring, evaluation and modelling from paired watershed studies and small-scale plots could guide state and federal policy […] Read more
Time to rethink equipment parts and service
Farmers may have to learn to live with greater parts scarcity
When the pandemic really started to bite in 2020, Mark Brock, a Perth County grain grower, did a risk assessment on his farm. He and his colleagues highlighted a lack of backup inputs and machinery parts as major vulnerabilities. In response, they increased stocks of both vital components. Parts inventory went from $20,000 or $30,000 […] Read more
New task force to focus on shipping containers
Initiative that grew out of recent national supply chain summit welcomed by major agricultural commodity groups
Glacier FarmMedia – The national supply chain summit held in late January was a good first step toward fixing issues within agriculture, particularly when it comes to container shipments, according to several participating organizations. President Greg Cherewyk said Pulse Canada has been calling for a national dialogue on shipping issues since the fall of 2019, […] Read more
New research effort to target dairy sustainability
Carbon footprint, feed efficiency, nutritional traits will all be studied
University of Guelph professor Dr. Gisèle LaPointe has secured $3.5 million in federal funding to lead a collaborative research effort into the future competitiveness and sustainability of Canada’s dairy sector. The project also leverages a $1 million commitment from the Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO) marketing board. LaPointe’s Dairy Alliance proposal was among successful applicants for […] Read more
Antibiotic boosters to help treat BRD could use more investigation
Researcher says Vitamin C is proved, but other ancillary therapies are not
Are ancillary therapies often prescribed by veterinarians to enhance bovine respiratory disease (BRD) antibiotic treatment worth the investment? That’s the question Dr. Jenna Funk, a beef cattle veterinarian at Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences’ (CVMBS) Veterinary Education, Research, & Outreach (VERO), posed during Grey Bruce Farmers’ Week in January. An ancillary […] Read more
Comment: Protests could be a PR disaster for rural Canada
Urban Canadians, policy makers should take rural Canada seriously, but discussion has to be reasonable
There are cultural and political divisions between Canada’s rural and urban populations at the best of times, but the past 12 to 24 months have not been the best of times. Though the border and Ottawa protests are now over, the fallout from the events has the potential to reinforce divisions with rebar and concrete. […] Read more
ONFARM launches new data dashboard for Ontario soils
Project brings together extensive on-farm research data
A new online data dashboard launched by ONFARM allows the agriculture sector access to results from 25 trial sites across Ontario. The On-Farm Applied Research and Monitoring (ONFARM) applied research initiative has the task of monitoring, and modelling priority sub-watersheds, establishing in-field paired trials identifying soil health indicators and testing the effectiveness of best management […] Read more
Lactanet releases new herd reports for A2 milk
Organization pleased with over 600 downloads in first week
There have been more than 100,000 dairy cattle genotyped for the A2 beta casein in milk and that’s allowed geneticists to create new reports for farmers. “Beta casein is a protein that represents approximately 30 per cent of all milk proteins,” said Lactanet’s Chief Services Brian Van Doormal in an article about the release of […] Read more
Investing in details can guide fertilizer decisions
Soil tests are a baseline, but there are other options on which to judge best use of expensive fertilizer
For those who want to reduce fertilizer costs, certified crop adviser and Renfrew County farmer Jennifer Doelman has some tips. Fertilizer availability has fluctuated in recent months, she notes. Staff shortages and other factors have also contributed to disruptions within normal supply channels. With limited capacity and high demand, suppliers might have to prioritize regular […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
