By Jackie Clark
“We don’t have enough supply. We never have enough farms listed to meet the demand,” Jackie Pepper, a realtor with Just Farms Realty Inc., tells Better Farming. “You cannot buy 50 acres of workable farmland in southwestern Ontario for half a million dollars anymore; that does not exist.”
By Becky Dumais
Starting from the ground up is true on-the-job training. That’s what Farm Credit Canada’s (FCC) newly appointed vice-president of operations Perry Wilson did. Literally.
Wilson, who stepped into the role last April after the retirement of John Geurtjens, garnered his early experience in ag, growing up on a hog farm in Oxford County, near Uniondale. Wilson began his career with FCC more than 26 years ago. He has held various leadership roles since 2005.
By Jackie Clark
Corn and soybeans dominate the landscape in Ontario. However, producers also plant many acres of cereal crops. Winter wheat has grown in popularity in recent years, with 1,036,700 and 1,122,800 acres planted in 2020 and 2021 respectively, according to OMAFRA field crop data.
By Jackie Clark
Agriculture and climate are inextricably linked.
That fact has been thoroughly debated, explored, and researched. We know that farming activities impact the environment, and the environment dictates the success and challenges of agricultural endeavours.
By Becky Dumais
Plant-based science has given us burgers “Beyond Meat” and there’s much research dedicated to bringing cellular cultivated meat, which uses tissue samples from animals, to market. While there’s nothing wrong with a little healthy competition for consumerism, there’s still the question of how these new products should be labelled – and even the sustainable merit that’s proposed to come with lab-created food options.
By Jackie Clark
In 2021, while many farmers were already dealing with devastating drought and the lingering impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mother Nature threw another curveball: wildfires.
By Jackie Clark
2021 will go down in history as another unforgettable year.
Continued disruptions to work and everyday life due to the COVID-19 pandemic and unpredictable, variable weather have presented challenges to growers across Ontario.
By Jackie Clark
Farmers know that diversity is resilience. Increasing diversity in crop rotations, plant and animal genetics, pest-management approaches, and income streams all contribute to helping individual farms and the broader industry thrive.
So, what about the human element?
By Jackie Clark
Many people might measure fall’s progress by the changing pigments of the leaves. Farmers, however, may track seasons by which header is attached to their combine.
by Jackie Clark
Most producers know that anyone who purchases and uses Class B and C pesticides in Ontario require pesticide safety certification. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, farmers whose certification expired after Jan. 1, 2020 have been granted a temporary extension until Dec. 31, 2021.