by Becky Dumais
Every year producers have to deal with pests creeping onto the farm – those unwanted guests that infiltrate the field, eat their way through their crops of choice and leave a path of destruction and damage in their wake.
by Kristen Lutz
With planting season ahead, crop-protection is now a focal point. While allowing for expected herbicide shortages, producers are planning their applications. New products offer potential relief with broader crop protection, higher concentrations and new genetics.
Better Farming spoke with experts about some of the solutions for the 2022 planting and growing season.
By Becky Dumais
Farms are important businesses that run serious equipment, yet their rural location puts them at a disadvantage for securing a reliable, high-speed internet connection. What good are those technology-enabled systems if you can’t even get online? Simply having internet access is no longer enough; being restricted by a limited choice of providers or burdened with costly overages is also unacceptable.
By Kristen Lutz
Every weed is invasive … every single one of them,” says Patrick Lynch, member of the Ontario Certified Crop Advisor Association and Better Farming agronomist.
Although weed control can be managed with herbicides and other management practices, their presence is an ongoing challenge. Invasive and noxious weeds not only pose risks to producers but also create several environmental concerns.
by Kristen Lutz
Producers are always plagued by predators. Along with current methods, there are newer ways to reduce the negative effects caused by bears, foxes, coyote and other damage-inducing wildlife.
Many producers are well aware of the distresses that predators bring to a farm. Reducing yield, killing livestock and damaging crops are just the beginning.
Meanwhile, new technologies could provide some help.
by Becky Dumais
Today’s pressure-treated wood may be safer and less harmful to farmers, but a few recent structural failures have some builders worried.
Should Canadian farmers be concerned? And what can be done to ensure farm buildings are being constructed with safe, durable material?
According to the experts, it’s all about choosing wood that is treated for agricultural and industrial structural applications.
By Jackie Clark
We often talk about agricultural and rural issues as if they’re completely separate from urban living. However, many farmers live and farm close to city centers and heavy residential developments.
With population growth and sprawl ever apparent, farmers across Ontario are faced with the challenges of producing crops and managing livestock on a mosaic landscape.
By Kristen Lutz
Methane is back in the hot seat, and agriculture is reminded that it’s a contributor to global climate change. Farmers are very familiar with greenhouse gases (GHG) and their effects on the environment, so what makes this go-around different? New rules have been put in place, allowing farmers to better explore sources of renewable energy. Better Farming spoke to experts in agriculture sustainability to better understand this pressing issue.
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.