Archive for March, 2010
National Farm Safety Week – March 14 to 20
It’s safety week for Canada’s farmers! The awareness-raising event takes place from March 14 to 20 and, according to Canada Safety Council, will encourage everyone in the farming industry to be safe and to plan ahead.
The agriculture industry is one of the most dangerous industries in Canada, prompting Canada Safety Council to launch National Farm [...]
Last Year’s Corn May Be Nutritionally Deficient
Last year’s corn crop ended up being a bumper crop despite early expectations, thanks in part to the extended warm weather in the fall, but the wet conditions during the growing season and throughout harvest may have reduced the nutritional value of the crop, according to the Poultry Science Association.
“Adverse growing conditions and the potential [...]
Shamrock Soup for St. Patrick’s Day
The Dairy Farmers of Canada (www.dairygoodness.ca) have a fun tip for anyone who plans to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day this year – a recipe for Shamrock Soup! Broccoli gives the soup a green colour that’s in keeping with the celebration, and the addition of shamrock-shaped cheese croutons makes it a source of vegetables that’s fun [...]
Grazing and Forage Will Need Special Care This Year
The outlook for pasture and grazing looks less promising than last year, with a slow start and lower production levels than the 2009 crop year, due to low moisture levels in soil as well as climactic factors.
According to Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development’s Grazing, Forage and Beef Specialist, Grant Lastiwka, planning ahead is the key [...]
Start Thinking About Crop Insurance Now
Now is the time to start thinking about insurance for your spring crops and making key seeding decisions, especially in areas where moisture levels might be a concern.
The prairies have seen a very dry winter. In some regions, in fact, the dry climate has broken records, specifically in northeast Alberta and northwest Saskatchewan. The dry [...]
Prevent Milk Fever with High Quality Forage
Preventing milk fever in cows could be made easier by using farm-grown forage in the transition period instead of anionic salt supplements in feed, says a researcher with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.
Milk fever can cause paralysis after freshening, as the demand for calcium increases by four times as much as normal when lactation begins. [...]
New John Deere RTK System
John Deere has got new ways to provide GPS correction signals for precision farm equipment – a new mobile RTK (real-time kinematic) system that’s got an exclusive “fall-back” feature, and a unique way to extend GPS signals reliably from the RTK base station.
John Deere’s new StarFire RTK system can achieve accuracy of +/- 2cm, providing [...]
U.S. Biofuels Policies Hurt Livestock Sector, Say Analysts
Two US analysts made a case against the U.S. biofuels policy at the 2010 Banff Pork Seminar, saying that the policy will wreak havoc on corn, oil, North America’s livestock sector, and everything in between.
Steve Meyer and Ken Grier has nothing good to say about the impact of the U.S. biofuels policy on North America’s [...]
New Compound Offers Natural Alternative to Antibiotics for Mycotoxins
A European company has developed a new, all-natural alternative for antibiotics in animal feed. The EUREKA project E! 3025 Monalisa used seaweed extracts and natural clays to develop a product that absorbs the harmful mycotoxins that are commonly found in animal feed. The innovative product has an enormous amount of potential on the world market.
Antibiotics [...]
Oat Outlook Remains Positive Despite Weak Prices
Canada’s oat outlook looks favourable, even though prices have been weak recently, because of the crop’s strong potential and wide range of uses.
Producers were recently survey by the Wild Oats market newletter. The results showed a surprising forecast for the upcoming crop year: an eighty per cent increase in oat acreage over last year’s 3.465 [...]
