ROME — Farmers got a boost from the Pope in early February. In a meeting with Italy’s National Federation of Farmers, Pope Francis told them that the work of farmers is a “true vocation,” a divine call. “The verb ‘to cultivat... Read more

  MAXVILLE — Recognizing dairy trends and how to adapt will be a main attraction at Eastern Ontario Dairy Days in Maxville on Feb. 11 and Kemptville on Feb. 12 starting at 9:30 a.m. Gay Lea Foods Co-operative president and CEO Michael Barrett wi... Read more

  LAMBTON — A long-suffering farm couple was awarded more than $100,000 after an Ontario court ruled that salt used on icy roads decreased the farm’s property value and reduced crop yields over 15 years. Joseph and Evelyn Steadman, of Alvinston... Read more

  BRINSTON — Like an appliance that stops working the day after the one-year warranty has run out, a wind turbine at South Branch Wind Farm has stopped working, one year after its blades began turning in the wind. One of the 10 turbines at Brins... Read more

  By Tom Collins CREEMORE — A Jersey dairy farmer who had part of his property taxes switched to industrial from agricultural after building a processing plant wants to change the tax designation. In November, John Miller of Miller’s Dairy in Cr... Read more

  Harvesting sugar cane in the Cuban sun By Brandy Harrison SPENCERVILLE — When 50-year-old, Russian-made farm equipment breaks down in Cuba, no one calls the mechanic. They call the magician. “They get their bubble gum out and weld it up,... Read more

  By Brandy Harrison KEMPTVILLE — In the delicate, high-anxiety dance of negotiating land rent, farmers may need to clam up or risk land being scooped up from underneath them, says an Illinois crop farmer and ag commentator. “It’s astonish... Read more

  Top Eastern Ontario corn yield nets 260 bu/acre RICHMOND — Chris Schouten, of Schouten Corner View Farms, at Richmond is the new king of corn in Eastern Ontario among growers of DuPont Pioneer seed. Schouten had the highest yield for Eastern O... Read more

  OTTAWA — The 5,000-family strong Ontario Landowners Association has thrown its support behind a Progressive Conservative MPP from Barrie to lead the Ontario PC party. OLA president and crop farmer Tom Black met about 20 members at his Stittsvi... Read more

  PELHAM — A farm worker who died in an accident in the Niagara Region is Ontario’s second on-farm death of 2015. A 36-year-old man died Jan. 22 when he was struck by a concrete block that was being unloaded off a tractor at White Meadows Farms... Read more

  TORONTO — A $450-million class action lawsuit, against two pesticide companies for killing honeybees, now has 135 beekeepers on board, with another 57 showing interest. Most beekeepers have stayed away. There are 8,700 beekeepers in Canada, in... Read more

  By Tom Collins GLENGARRY COUNTY — A recent survey found that regulatory red tape amounts to extra stress on the farm, causing some farmers to change management practices. Dairy farmer Don McCrimmon no longer sprays his crops. The Glengarry Cou... Read more

  More than 1,000 robots By Patrick Meagher WOODSTOCK — The prognosticators called it. The 21st century would see the rise of the machine. And we’re seeing it. The bugs might still be in the driverless combines but not in the robotic milkers. Th... Read more

  WASHINGTON — Canada ranks as one of the freest countries in the world in which to do business. The U.S.-based Heritage Foundation, in partnership with the Wall Street Journal, ranked Canada as the 6th best country in the world on its 2015 Inde... Read more

  By Tom Collins The East Central Farm Show will be held March 4 and 5 at the Lindsay Fairgrounds. The show, hosted by the East Central District Soil and Crop Improvement Association, will include 170 exhibitors, up from about 150 last year. Adm... Read more

  The Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO) published its response to the province’s discussion paper on neonicotinoid pesticides and pollinator health. Here are GFO’s three recommendations: 1. Conduct a thorough cost-benefit analysis before reducing n... Read more

    ST. ALBERT — Depending on who you talk to, there’s anywhere from 500 to 1,000 people living in this quaint hamlet southeast of Ottawa. Since the Feb. 2013 fire, St. Albert Cheese Co-op factory staff have used office space at the local bank,... Read more

  By Tom Collins WATERLOO — If the provincial government is successful in reducing neonicotinoid seed sales by 80 per cent by 2017, some farmers are ready to buy their seed in the United States. “I’ve got some growers that feel if it weren... Read more

  By Tom Collins CORNWALL — Even conventional growers could learn something at an all-organic workshop, says one of the organizers of Eco Farm Day. The 31st annual event, taking place in Cornwall on Feb. 28, will host 12 different discussions, i... Read more

  By Tom Collins SYRACUSE — The New York Farm Show will showcase a new hay merger at its Feb. 26-28 show. The 30th annual New York Farm Show at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse will include a robotic milker display, daily beef seminars... Read more

  GUELPH — The cows that wowed the judges on the show circuit are doing another lap as the best of the Jersey breed in 2014. Here’s who made the cut as an all-Canadian or runner-up from Eastern and Western Ontario, according to Jersey Canada. 4-... Read more

  SAN DIEGO, CA — The future of farming will mean more specialty foods, including organic, and more ramped up technology, said a panel discussion at the annual meeting of the American Farm Bureau Federation, the largest U.S. farm lobby group, he... Read more

  By Brandy Harrison CORBYVILLE — Roger Ray wouldn’t bother milking ordinary cows. “I’d just as soon drive a truck. Good cows are what get me up in the morning,” says the Corbyville dairy farmer, who is always looking ahead despite a... Read more

  Corn yield king By Tom Collins SIMCOE — The key for Ontario’s corn king is in having the right help. Randy Van Den Heede, of Judge Family Farms, credits Kevin Vanetten — his seed rep who is also an agronomist — for the farm’s success in the Du... Read more

  Pig out until the software says ‘when’ By Lilian Schaer Special from Farm & Food Care BROCKVILLE — A local company has developed a leading-edge electronic sow feeding system that it’s now selling across Canada — and it took just a little o... Read more

  By Tom Collins PICTON — If it weren’t for neonics, last year’s crop would have been horrible, says a Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO) director. Like many Ontario farmers, district 13 director Lloyd Crowe, who farms near Picton with his uncle Lar... Read more

  By Brandy Harrison EMBRUN — Lamb may no longer be a high-end luxury but some sheep farmers are scratching their heads over what the new convenience-obsessed, on-the-go customer wants. “How important is the traditional leg of lamb roast a... Read more

  WATERLOO — Four new cases of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (PEDV) struck Ontario hog farms in January. The disease — which causes watery diarrhea, vomiting and dehydration and can kill 50 to 100 per cent of young pigs — was found on four far... Read more

  By Brandy Harrison OTTAWA — Striking out to start his own farm law practice, Kurtis Andrews has the farm cred to know the ins and outs of the field and barn that downtown lawyers often just don’t get. “If a farmer goes to a big city lawy... Read more

  By Brandy Harrison BELGRAVE — Over the last decade, Murray Scott has taken 15 acres out of production to stem the flow of muddy water from his fields during heavy rainfall. “It used to be when we tile drained we wanted water to get off t... Read more

  QUINTE — Bayer CropScience’s leading North American insect expert will be at the Quinte Farm and Trade Show on Feb. 12 to talk about neonicotinoids and their impact on bees. Dick Rogers, who heads up the North American Bee Care Center in North... Read more

  TORONTO — The provincial and federal governments will be offering $16 million over the next four years to help farmers improve soil health and promote environmental stewardship around the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes agricultural stewardship i... Read more

  Pork to beat beef production in U.S. WASHINGTON — U.S. pork production should pass beef production this year for the first time ever, says the United States Department of Agriculture. Pork production is expected to hit 23.908 billion pounds th... Read more

  GUELPH — So, you want to milk goats or downsize from cows? Here are some things to consider. How do you get in? There’s no quota to buy but before OMAFRA will issue a mandatory licence, a producer needs to have an agreement with a processing p... Read more

      Read more

  Middlesex dairy farmer bombarded by animal activists on Twitter By Brandy Harrison STRATHROY — When Strathroy dairy farmer Andrew Campbell decided to take photos of his farm and post them on Twitter every day of 2015, he didn’t expect to be ge... Read more

  Gas price slide little help to Eastern Ontario farmers By Brandy Harrison KEMPTVILLE — Crossing their fingers that diesel will take a similar dive, farmers aren’t getting worked up over jaw-dropping prices for regular unleaded gasoline at the... Read more

  Kawartha stewardship workshop tackles neonics By Brandy Harrison BETHANY — Farmers looking to fall in line with a provincial goal to ditch neonics have to take a hard look at insect pressure, soil type, and cropping history, says OMAFRA’s corn... Read more

  GUELPH — The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) wants the province to give farms discount electricity rates and to include that in the 2015 budget. The OFA has asked for a two-to-three cents-per-kilowatt-hour break by removing a portion o... Read more

  ATHENS — A farm equipment repair shop has been fined $87,500 by the Ministry of Labour after a 2013 accident in which a worker was killed while inflating a tire. Feenstra’s Equipment at Athens, west of Brockville, pled guilty on Jan. 14 of fai... Read more

  WOODSTOCK — Farmer John Ysselstein has been selling and flying cattle to Kazakhstan in central Asia for several years. He rents a jumbo jet to get the cattle across the ocean. Transportation costs are huge. Air Charter Service, of Surrey, Engl... Read more