AMHERST ISLAND — Mark Ritchie had the worst year of his life last year when it comes to coyotes making off with his sheep. He figures he lost about 100 sheep to coyotes but because about 30... Read more
ONTARIO — While Grey County saw the most predator kills of farm animals in Western and Southwestern Ontario, there were more kills in three other counties — all in Eastern Ontario — in 2020.... Read more
WINCHESTER — A small Eastern Ontario township was on the verge of telling its rural residents last month that small farms were just too small for farming. Read more
Coyotes are most common predator ONTARIO — Farmers lost 1,431 animals to coyotes last year, more than any other predator. But the second-, third- and fourth-place livestock killers might com... Read more
SOUTHWESTERN ONTARIO — The good news is that the black-legged tick has not expanded its reach into Southwestern Ontario, according to the latest data released by Public Health Ontario. Read more
Small township faces ire of small farm operators Small Farms By Tom Schoch Special to Farmers Forum WINCHESTER — A small Eastern Ontario township was on the verge of telling its rural reside... Read more
Hank Daniszewski TILLSONBURG — A dump of mid-April snow along the Lake Erie shoreline followed by frosty nights has caused a setback for ginseng and asparagus crops. After a stretch of unusu... Read more
The continued surge in commodity prices, especially for corn and soybeans, has caught many Ontario farmers off guard with regrets they may have sold too soon. Read more
SOUTHWESTERN ONTARIO — The good news is that the black-legged tick has not expanded its reach into Southwestern Ontario, according to the latest data released by Public Health Ontario. Read more
Soybean prices are at unprecedented levels, but observers don’t see a major shift toward planting more soybean acres in Western Ontario. Growers seem to be sticking with their current... Read more
High price of corn, soybeans catches everyone off guard ... The continued surge in commodity prices, especially for corn and soybeans, has caught many Ontario farmers off guard with regrets... Read more
The Covid-19 vaccination program hasn’t done much so far to help migrant farm workers get into Ontario this spring. Read more
What a waste as nine wind turbines erected in Prince Edward County are now being torn down Patrick Meagher and Ed Hand It took years of planning, fighting, and building and now three Prince... Read more
AYLMER — Rising input costs are the unfortunate flipside of high crop prices otherwise fuelling optimism in southwestern Ontario farm country. Read more
L’Orignal — Major spring flooding on the Ottawa River in 2017 and 2019 was once described as a potential “new normal” amid emergency declarations prompted by the rising waters. Read more
OTTAWA — It’s the biggest money-spending budget in the country’s history, with $143-billion in new spending, and there was lots there for Agriculture and Agri-Food. Numerous farming organiza... Read more
KINGSTON — An animal activist has been found not guilty of breaking and entering causing mischief at an Eastern Ontario mink farm — a verdict profoundly disappointing to the owner of the ope... Read more
CHATHAM — COVID lockdown fatigue is taking root in rural Ontario and across Canada as anti-lockdown protests and marches are being held to rail against pandemic restrictions and the resultin... Read more
LANARK — At least one Eastern Ontario crop farmer is holding onto soybeans in anticipation of even higher prices in May and June. Soybeans were at a record high price in April, hovering at $... Read more
EASTERN ONTARIO — Rising input costs are the unfortunate flipside of high crop prices otherwise fuelling optimism in Eastern Ontario farm country. Read more
Nelson Zandbergen KINBURN — A tractor parade paid tribute to a young dairyman killed in a single-vehicle ATV accident on the family farm on April 16. The tractorcade of 45 machines honoured... Read more
Nelson Zandbergen RUSSELL — There’s a new milkman at the wheel of a delivery van on a decades-old Ottawa-area milk route previously operated for generations by Cochrane’s Dairy. Kacper Wacla... Read more
Winchester farmers hold tractorcade for retired dairy farmer Nelson Zandbergen WINCHESTER — A long parade of tractors rolled past the Verspeek family farm April 17 as friends and family hono... Read more
Farmers fear skyrocketing fuel costs Nelson Zandbergen SARNIA — Will Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer shut down the vital Enbridge Line 5 pipeline, on which Ontario heavily depends for fue... Read more
MOOREFIELD — Backed up by police, OMAFRA officials seized evidence at two Wellington County farms producing raw milk for a cow-share clientele. Read more
Nelson Zandbergen RENFREW — Former illegal raw milk producer Michael Ilgert expressed sympathy for the latest operators to run afoul of the provincial law banning the sale of the unpasteuriz... Read more
One attack in Hastings County ONTARIO — Not long ago, cougars were classed as extinct in Ontario. Today, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs officially reports that North Am... Read more
“I tell my 5- and 7-year-old boys to not tell anyone that we are farmers.” Kenny Forth Special to Farmers Forum I am a fifth-generation fruit and vegetable farmer near Hamilton, Ontario. For... Read more
Prices hit record highs LUCKNOW — The second Easter of the pandemic has come and gone, but lamb and sheep meat producers continue to enjoy bullish demand — and prices — for an increasingly p... Read more
Internet is an essential service like electricity, OFA says OTTAWA — After one-year with pandemic restrictions and a rapidly increasing need for online access, reliable internet service shou... Read more
By Nelson Zandbergen CHESTERVILLE — Ontario has the potential to be the largest maple syrup producing region on the planet, surpassing even the global powerhouse Quebec, source of more than... Read more
PARKHILL — The 2021 maple syrup season had pretty well dripped its last as the calendar changed from March to April this year. After back-to-back banner production seasons in 2019 and 2020,... Read more
After many months of negotiations, I’m proud to say we’ve done it. We have developed the Grocery Supply Code of Practice for Canada, an agreement that should be readily acceptable to all ret... Read more
Ontario youth can take advantage of their hard work with scholarships and bursaries from numerous Ontario farm groups. Here is a partial list of some of the scholarships available for Ontari... Read more
They barely made it and they’re so excited, they’re expanding By Tom Schoch Special to Farmers Forum CHESTERVILLE — A series of unfortunate events, including the abrupt end of my tenure at a... Read more
By Nelson Zandbergen FRONTENAC — Add more metaphorical jewels to the crown of Eastern Ontario’s ‘Hay King’ Gary Gordon, who has been winning seed show competitions for 25 years. He has been... Read more
Nelson Zandbergen BRINSTON — Out of the thousand acres of corn grown annually at Tibben Farms last year, a small and me- ticulously cleaned sample captured the champion shelled corn award at... Read more
ONTARIO — The crop of public servants in Ontario earning six figures continues to grow like a freshly fertilized field in the spring. In a harbinger of the season’s arrival, the province in... Read more
ONTARIO — Ontario grain-drying operators are grappling with the compounding dual cost implications of the Supreme Court’s thumbs-up to the federal carbon tax and a recalcitrant Michigan gove... Read more
OTTAWA — The Canadian government plans to increase the carbon tax to $170 per tonne by 2030 and, by consequence, kill thousands of jobs, take money from Canadians and decrease Canadian produ... Read more
Chinese milk plant faces employee complaints, high injury rate, but Chinese communist party companies have a history of breaking laws, China expert says KINGSTON — Following numerous complai... Read more
EASTERN ONTARIO — Elon Musk’s internet satellites have just begun to make an impact in rural Eastern Ontario, where individuals are responding to the invitation to become early users of the... Read more
EASTERN ONTARIO — Rogers Communications will erect 300 new towers and upgrade a similar number of structures after winning a contract last month that relies on $152-million in public money t... Read more
The one constant in the world wide grain markets over the past year has been strong Chinese import demand for both grains and oilseeds. We’ve seen weather markets like La Nina drought in Sou... Read more
Predictions are perilous but producers bullish on price and some analysts see even higher corn and soybean prices Hank Daniszewski DRESDEN — It’s been a while since Ontario farmers approache... Read more
80 Trinidadian migrant workers make the best of it stranded on a Simcoe-area farm Hank Daniszewski SIMCOE — Their first Canadian winter proved to be a little better than anticipated for abou... Read more
It would require 800 railcars of oil each day to replace it By Steve Kell As Canadians, we enjoy a plentiful and secure supply of petroleum products which allows us the luxury of not really... Read more
Patrick Meagher KINGSTON — An animal activist, who filmed himself on at least three Ontario mink farms, has been found not guilty of breaking and entering causing mischief. Malcolm Klimowic... Read more
EASTERN ONTARIO — The rise of farmland prices in Central East and Eastern Ontario outpaced the province as a whole last year, according to Farm Credit Canada’s annual report on farmland valu... Read more
