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Better Farming Ontario Featured Articles

Better Farming Ontario magazine is published 11 times per year. After each edition is published, we share featured articles online.


Making a home for barn owls

Friday, April 8, 2016

With old wooden barns disappearing from the farm landscape, barn owls are going homeless. A biologist from Elk Grove, Calif., appears to have fixed that.

Mark Browning has developed a low-maintenance plastic nest box.  On a 100-acre vineyard in 2012, barn owl pairs occupied 18 of these nests, rearing 66 young and eating an estimated 10,000 voles, rats and pocket gophers in one season alone.

According to PR Newswire, the boxes are used by departments of natural resources in Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri and South Carolina, also by several Audubon chapters and thousands of vineyards and orchards. It has also been featured on America's Heartland on PBS.

The Barn Owl Box Company (https://www.barnowlbox.com/), based in Pittsburgh, Pa., is now developing boxes for screech owls, kestrels, bluebirds and song birds in general. 


This all begs the question: where did barn owls live before there were barns? BF

Current Issue

August 2025

Better Farming Magazine

Farms.com Breaking News

Sunflower farming in Ontario

Tuesday, August 19, 2025

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Tuesday, August 19, 2025

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) has published the initial list of prescribed regions eligible for the 2025 Livestock Tax Deferral provision, a key support measure for Canadian livestock producers grappling with the impacts of extreme weather. “As we continue to see the very... Read this article online

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Monday, August 18, 2025

The OMAFA Fieldcropnews.com team recently held demonstrations regarding how soil management can greatly affect the amount of rainfall absorbed into the soil for crop use. This is especially important for corn, soybean, and wheat growers facing dry spells or intense summer storms. In early... Read this article online

Farm ponds and the trouble with algae

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Farm ponds are more than just tranquil features on rural landscapes—they’re essential tools for water management, livestock care, irrigation, and biodiversity—especially in North America. They are also considered to be a key agricultural asset outside North America, especially in... Read this article online

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