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
Nelson Zandbergen MOOREFIELD — Backed up by police, OMAFRA officials seized evidence at two Wellington County farms producing raw milk for a cow-share clientele. Dairy farmer Brad Martin sa... 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
By Paige Miller Grain Farmers of Ontario Here is your Bt-resistant corn rootworm wake up call. This tiny little worm can wreak havoc on your corn, but it can be managed. The simplest managem... Read more
Renfrew County Maynard van der Galien Food was always important in our family when I was growing up. We ate a hearty breakfast in the morning, a big dinner at noon hour and supper was eaten... Read more
The Road Less Gravelled Denis Grignon Shhh. Listen, closely. OK, you may have to open a window to hear it. (Don’t worry. Flies and mosquitoes won’t start rushing in for at least another few... Read more
Backroads Angela Dorle Talking to an egg customer about our respective farm dogs, I realized that I had never heard of a National Farm Dog Day here. In the USA they have August 25 but in Can... Read more
Patrick Meagher Editor There is a never-ending chorus of contradictions about the pandemic and the mess that we’ve been in for one year. Look at how people are living. Some are so terrified... Read more
Farmer Thinking Dan Needles At a family dinner several years ago, the men at the table were droning on about corn and soybean yields when my sister-in-law banged a casserole dish on the tabl... Read more
Selective dry cow treatment (SDCT) is very topical right now. SDCT has become the normal situation in some other countries. The alternative, blanket dry cow therapy – treating every q... Read more
Premier Doug Ford’s constant refrain, especially during the election campaign three years ago, was that after 15 years of dismal economic growth under his Liberal predecessors, he would make... 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
American farmers are down on President Biden but overwhelmingly supported former President Donald Trump. In a Farm Journal poll of 1,459 farmers last month, 75 % strongly disapprove of Presi... 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
OTTAWA — Canadian farmers could reap as much as an extra $95-million from AgriStability following the recent removal of the reference margin limit — a key change to the business risk managem... 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
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
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
ONTARIO — Ontario farmland prices increased 4.7 per cent in 2020, according to Farm Credit Canada. But five Southwestern Ontario counties saw no increase in prices. Essex, Lambton, Kent, Elg... Read more
Norfolk vegetable growers rally with 250 tractors Nelson Zandbergen NORFOLK — The ramped-up regulatory burden on bringing temporary foreign workers to the farm had Simcoe-area vegetable grow... Read more
Michigan will not close pipeline, insists Sarnia mayor; optimism in the air but much at stake Nelson Zandbergen SARNIA — The Michigan governor has threatened to close an important fuel pipel... 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
FINCH — The operators of a 29-turbine wind project in North Stormont are offering area residents funding for window coverings to avoid flicker shadow. They will also stop the turbine blades... Read more
81 investigations into wild pig sightings launched in Eastern and Southern Ontario since January 2020 Ontario is taking a stand against a menace that is destroying crops, threatening livesto... Read more
OSGOODE — While last year’s season coincided with “some big dips and dives” in the price of lamb, sheep producer Colleen Acres says this second Easter of the pandemic has seen a rebound with... Read more
There are now two dairy farmers across the water from Kingston where there were once 139 farms and four humming cheese factories By Connor Lynch WOLFE ISLAND — Wolfe Island is 30,000-acres... Read more
By Ed Hand ALEXANDRIA — Clear cutting is dividing the residents of North Glengarry as the township grapples with its draft bylaw. “I haven’t navigated such a touchy subject since I’ve been... Read more
By Nelson Zandbergen OTTAWA — Lest an election snuff out the effort, this minority parliament may yet produce a welcome respite from the controversial carbon tax now charged on propane and n... Read more
Vertical indoor factory herb farming is here and some traditional farmers don’t like it By Hank Daniszewski and Nelson Zandbergen GUELPH – A huge warehouse bathed in pink LED light and fille... Read more
By Patrick Meagher KINGSTON — An animal activist, who filmed himself on at least three Ontario mink farms, is now facing the possibility of a fine or even jail time. Malcolm Klimowicz snuck... Read more
By Nelson Zandbergen ONTARIO — If 2020 was difficult for Ontario vegetable and fruit growers, 2021 is shaping up to be as bad or worse as the federal government has had time to throw up even... Read more
Nelson Zandbergen Farmers Forum PAKENHAM — Eighty-seven beef cattle boarded a transport truck here but never made it to market as planned March 15. A little more than two kilometres into the... Read more
