A farmer friend challenged me about what he considered alarming statements related to climate change. He sighed and said “a temperature bump of 1.5 C probably won’t bother me.” There is a difference between climate and weather. For example, the climate in July 2023 was 1.5 C higher on average, around the globe, than pre-industrial […] Read more
Tag Archives Other — page 9
Opinion: Cropping with wonky weather
Unlike other regions, Ontario has been spared from severe weather, but that doesn’t mean farmers shouldn’t be prepared
Opinion: Ottawa’s social media feud may make info harder to find
Glacier FarmMedia – Rich and powerful men can be silly. It’s been easy to laugh at the antics of Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter’s Elon Musk as they swing handbags at each other and challenge each other to a mixed martial arts “cage match.” But the more significant actions of the tech giants are deadly […] Read more
Cost of borrowed money continues to rise on farms
The peak is coming, but Canadians could yet see another rate hike tomorrow
After the hustle of the 2023 harvest season settles, a lot of Ontario farmers will examine their business’s financial numbers and be surprised at the impact of rising interest rates, says Shawn Brenn, chair of the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association. Despite early 2023 predictions that the Bank of Canada would curtail its two-year-long […] Read more
Corteva cuts sales forecast on weak demand for crop protection products
Net seed sales rose eight per cent from a year ago, aided by strong prices and increased corn acres
Reuters – Agricultural chemical and seed company Corteva CTVA.N cut its annual sales expectations as demand for its crop protection products showed signs of contraction. Rise in carrying cost of stock for distributors driven by higher interest rates and improved product availability have taken a toll on demand for crop protection products such as herbicide […] Read more
Russia strikes Ukraine’s Danube port, sending global grain prices higher
Port hit on Danube opposite NATO-member Romania; Kyiv says aim is to intimidate shippers considering return
Kyiv | Reuters – Russia attacked Ukraine’s main inland port across the Danube River from Romania on Wednesday, sending global food prices higher as it ramps up its use of force to prevent Ukraine from exporting grain. The attacks destroyed buildings in the port of Izmail and halted ships in their tracks as they prepared […] Read more
Feds, Manitoba pledge $6.4M to ag research facility
The new facility will modernize crop and soil research and training at the University of Manitoba
The Federal and Manitoba governments have thrown their weight behind development of a facility touted to become Canada’s pre-eminent resource for field crop research. “A great deal of our agriculture industry’s success comes from research and skill development,” said federal ag minister Marie-Claude Bibeau in a news release, Tuesday. Bibeau and Derek Johnson, Manitoba’s minister […] Read more
Homesteader-based Thornbury Acres could signal future for rural-ag development
Proposed plans will combine small scale farming and rural living
Harley Valentine is passionate about Thornbury Acres, Castlepoint Numa’s first-ever farm-based homesteader condominium project with an integrated farm-to-fork lifestyle. When Valentine and his brother-in-law, a Castlepoint Numa partner, purchased the 100-acre parcel on the outskirts of Thornbury in 2018, it was to “selfishly” build two homes and develop a farm. “We very quickly realized that […] Read more
Balancing farm severances with the need for housing
CFFO supports intensified housing within existing settlement boundaries
The debate on balancing housing demand with agricultural land protection continues to build as agricultural associations draft provincial planning statement letters. It was a hot policy topic at the Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario’s June provincial meeting in Elora, where members shared their concerns before the Aug. 4 comment deadline. Why it matters: Housing continues […] Read more
At Ag in Motion: ‘Small iron’ revolution brings bikes to farms
There’s a “small iron revolution” happening on farms across Canada. Even though most farmers and people in agriculture probably see “fat bikes” and “e-bikes” as urban phenomena, these new versions of bicycles are leaping into the farmyards and farm fields in hundreds of places. “I have some farm friends who have e-bikes (or) big fat […] Read more
Peggy Brekveld named CAHRC chair
Ontario dairy farmer looks forward to addressing labour shortages
The Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council (CAHRC) acclaimed Peggy Brekveld for a two-year term as chair on June 20. The northern Ontario dairy farmer and Ontario Federation of Agriculture president will join vice-chair Stefan Larrass representing Flowers Canada Growers; Canadian Aquaculture Industry Association’s Cyr Couturier as treasurer; Brenna Mahoney of Manitoba’s Keystone Agricultural Producers; and […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
