John Greig Archives | Canadian Cattlemen

Dairy farmers to get direct cash payment as trade compensation

By John Greig 3 days ago

Canadian dairy farmers will be getting direct cash compensation after the government gave up dairy market access to other countries in recent trade deals. The compensation follows promises by the Trudeau government — and the Harper government before it — that dairy farmers would be compensated in some form for the loss of market. Why […] Read more

General, Markets

Agriculture foreign workers get new path to residency

By John Greig July 12, 2019

Updated, July 15 — The federal government has announced a pilot program that will make it easier for farms and food companies to maintain workers they recruit from around the world. Ahmed Hussen, minister for immigration, refugees and citizenship, announced the program Friday at Maple Leaf Foods in Mississauga. Why it matters: There’s a labour […] Read more

Beef Cattle, Livestock

Ontario beef checkoff to rise by $1.50

By John Greig February 20, 2019

Ontario beef farmers have approved an increase of $1.50 in checkoff per animal to fund an ambitious industry-wide marketing effort for Ontario beef. Producers at the Beef Farmers of Ontario (BFO) annual meeting in Mississauga on Wednesday voted 87 per cent in favour of the plan. A similar plan was rejected at last year’s annual […] Read more

Livestock, Poultry/Eggs

Greig: Why IBV is such a tough bug

By John Greig May 17, 2018

Infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) continues to find ways to keep itself relevant to poultry farmers, researchers and veterinarians across North America — much to their dismay. Why it matters: Despite lots of research and efforts to find ways to manage it, the virus continues to mutate and show up in flocks with different symptoms in […] Read more

Forages, Livestock

Forage testing more complicated, but rations more accurate

Forage testing has evolved significantly in the past three to five years, with more precise tools for livestock ration development

By John Greig April 10, 2018

Forage quality evaluation has moved from rule of thumb to rule of rumen. Mark Bowman, a ruminant nutritionist with Grand Valley Fortifiers in Cambridge, Ont., told the annual meeting of the Canadian Forage and Grassland Association in Guelph last November that forage testing has evolved significantly in the past three to five years, with more […] Read more

Crops

Ontario organic grain buyer Homestead closing

By John Greig April 9, 2018

One of the province’s leading organic retailers and buyers of organic grains will shut its doors Friday. Homestead Organics, founded and still run by organic driving force Tom Manley, will be sold off, likely in parts. The company said its Shakespeare, Ont. mill is in the process of being sold and will continue as an […] Read more

Tom Kilcer recommends triticale as a cover crop with high feed value, and says to manage it as a feed crop, not just a cover, using seed treatment and good seed.

Crops, Forages

Don’t call it ‘cover,’ call it ‘feed’

How sacrificing some silage yield can gain another six to 10 tons of forage per acre

By John Greig March 27, 2018

Tom Kilcer says farmers are missing an opportunity to create greater value from cover crops by using them in a carefully planned winter forage system. He’s promoting a system that gives up some yield in corn silage planted after the winter forage in order to gain overall total yield over a whole growing season. Kilcer, […] Read more

Crops, Machinery

Industry still looking for new NH3 tank rule break

By John Greig March 19, 2018

Fertilizer Canada and the Canadian Association of Agri-Retailers (CAAR) say there will be enough anhydrous ammonia nurse tanks available to supply the fertilizer to farmers during this growing season. New Transport Canada regulations came into force Jan. 12, which affect the frequency of hydrostatic testing and visual inspection of ammonia nurse and applicator tanks and […] Read more

Crops, Markets

Southern Ontario median farmland price jumps in 2017

By John Greig February 22, 2018

The threat of interest rate increases hasn’t dampened the prices southern Ontario farmers are paying for land. The annual Valco study of land values showed an increase in value of 9.76 per cent for farmland sold in 2017 over 2016. This increase is the largest since 2013. The median price for land in the surveyed […] Read more

Beef Cattle, Livestock

Producers vote down Ontario beef checkoff increase

By John Greig February 22, 2018

A bid to increase the checkoff paid by Ontario’s beef farmers to Beef Farmers of Ontario was quashed when it failed to get the 66 per cent support it needed for approval. Why it matters: Beef Farmers of Ontario pulled from its reserves to fund at close-to $1 million deficit in 2017 and was planning […] Read more

Ceres closes on option to buy Delmar Commodities

Telus buys Farm At Hand

Prairie hail claims pass 10,000 for year

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