Dig Deep Archive

Time for training: the new transport rules are here

Trucking and transportation in Picture Butte, Alta.

by Nicholas Van Allen

To get a national perspective on the new livestock trucking regulations, Better Farming spoke with Rick Paskal, president of Van Raay Paskal Farms Ltd., a cattle farm based in southern Alberta.

The operation has both a feedlot and a trucking division, so the team is doubly aware of the forthcoming changes. The new rules, which include shorter travel times and stricter definitions of “compromised” and “unfit” animals, come into effect in February 2020.

The food that doesn’t reach the plate

Loop Resource plays a critical role in diverting organic wastes from landfills and provides small farms with alternative feed sources

By Kate Ayers
Staff Writer
Better Farming

Each year, 58 per cent of the food Canadian farmers produce is lost or wasted, equating to 35.5 million metric tonnes (78.3 billion pounds), Second Harvest Food Rescue and Value Chain Management International Inc. (VCMI) say in a 2019 technical report.

Investing in mental health on and off the farm

Ag mental health advocate shares her thoughts on the best ways to manage farm work and personal activities

By Lauren Arva
Staff Writer
Better Farming

Is maintaining a work-life balance different than a life balance?

For Lesley Kelly, co-founder of the Do More Agriculture Foundation and a grain farmer from Watrous, Sask., an important distinction exists.

When considering the concept of a work-life balance, Kelly prefers to think strictly of a life balance.

Relying on renewables: raising fuel’s ethanol content

Kansas Ethanol, LLC is set to incorporate Syngenta’s Enogen corn into biofuel production this fall

By Kate Ayers
Staff Writer
Better Farming

Syngenta and Kansas Ethanol, LLC recently signed a three-year marketing agreement to use Enogen corn enzyme technology at the biofuel plant. This deal will provide participating growers with a premium per Enogen bushel and will benefit local communities.

Supply-managed sectors look to future

The World Trade Organization wants to eliminate ag export subsidies

By Jim Algie
Better Farming

Just when you thought all the trade talk had ended, along comes the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) decision to revive long-stalled talks about agriculture.

Protecting the province’s groundwater

A bottled water company in southern California carefully manages its natural spring water source

By Kate Ayers
Staff Writer
Better Farming

Ontario residents are fortunate to have access to fresh and clean drinking water. In total, 99.8 per cent of municipal residential drinking water system samples met the province’s strict quality standards, recent test results released by the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks showed.

Growing to new heights

Innovative user-friendly technology makes it simple for growers – including those with small-scale operations – to monitor plant health

By Lauren Arva

Monitoring indoor crops could become a lot easier for producers, thanks to technological advances in the ag industry.

Pipe plans for expanded natural gas access

Infrastructure minister 'wants shovels in the ground as quickly as possible'

By Jim Algie
Better Farming

Full details should be available within “the next couple of months” about a new system of cross-subsidization by natural gas ratepayers for expanded rural services, said Monte McNaughton, the province’s minister of infrastructure, in a Better Farming interview.

Finding support after a farm incident

A national charity seeks volunteers and funding to continue supporting injured, ill and disabled farmers

By Kate Ayers
Staff Writer
Better Farming

Through the Canadian Farmers with Disabilities Registry (CFWDR), a registered charity, program coordinators connect recently injured or disabled farmers with other producers who have experienced similar life-changing events.

How to finance your farm projects

As part of the federal economic update, new tax incentives are available for farmers

By Kate Ayers
Staff Writer
Better Farming

Ontario producers can access a range of government programs to help finance improvements to their operations.

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