Corn, soybean acres up nationally, down in Ontario Monday, June 24, 2013 by BETTER FARMING STAFF A Statistics Canada report showing Ontario farmers planted fewer acres of corn and soybeans this spring probably has a lot to do with the weather. Todd Austin, marketing manager for the Grain Farmers of Ontario, says “given the weather we’ve had this spring, those numbers wouldn’t surprise me.” He says wet, cool weather forced some farmers to abandon plans for corn and plant soybeans instead. Even then, because of rain, many have had to replant. While StatsCan says corn for grain seeding declined 1.6 per cent in Ontario to 2.2 million acres, nationally corn seeding was at a record 3.6 million acres, up 2.9 per cent from last year. The biggest increase was in Manitoba where 365,000 acres were planted, up 21.7 per cent from last year. Quebec farmers also increased corn planting to 1.0 million acres, up 6.6 per cent from 2012. Nationally, soybean acres are up 10.5 per cent to a record 4.6 million acres. Again, the biggest increase is in Manitoba which is up 35.6 per cent at 1.1 million acres. Ontario soybean planting is 2.6 million acres, down 1.5 per cent from last year. BF Cattlemen's town hall meeting to take place in London Plan for Ontario's horse racing industry nears completion
A new front in the repair access debate Friday, March 6, 2026 Iowa lawmakers have pushed the right‑to‑repair conversation into new territory with House File 2529, a bill that focuses specifically on diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) systems—the single most common cause of emissions-related downtime on modern farm machinery. The bill would require... Read this article online
March 8 is International Women’s Day Friday, March 6, 2026 Across the United States and Canada, women are taking on increasingly visible roles in agriculture—managing farms, leading ag-tech startups, advancing research, and strengthening the rural economies that feed both nations. Their work reflects a shift in an industry once defined... Read this article online
Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry to Visit Toronto and Southwestern Ontario Tuesday, March 3, 2026 The Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry will be in Toronto and Southwestern Ontario later this week as part of its ongoing study on the role of Canada’s agriculture and agri‑food sector in strengthening national food security. The fact‑finding mission is scheduled for... Read this article online
AgriStability Program Updated to Include Pasture-Related Feed Costs Beginning in 2026 Monday, March 2, 2026 In case you missed it last week, the Honourable Heath MacDonald, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, announced that pasture-related feed costs will be added as an allowable expense under AgriStability starting with the 2026 program year. The update addresses rising operational... Read this article online
Bringing more Food and Ingredient Processing Back to Canadian Soil Monday, March 2, 2026 Protein Industries Canada has announced the second cohort of nine companies participating in its Program, an initiative designed to bring more food and ingredient processing back to Canadian soil and expand the nation’s value‑added agriculture sector. The selected companies span the... Read this article online