Easter came and went with nary a peep. For many, if not most, Easter became nothing more than a day off, a chance to sleep in. The power of what Christians call the greatest event in the his... Read more
By Patrick Meagher TORONTO — Ontario’s new environmental commissioner Dianne Saxe says that her critics got it wrong. She is not calling for coloured diesel to run clear and drive up farmers... Read more
Excluding the farmers who both grow cash crops and feed livestock, there are not too many producers who keep an eye on both the price of soymeal and the value of soybeans at the same time. T... Read more
When I married a city girl, I gave up my acreage in the country and my dream of owning livestock. But I am constantly reminded of the benefits of country life. You get to see more sunrises a... Read more
By Ian Cumming Once again, like with Chobani several years back, the Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO) and the rest of the industry have a choice: Let a plant be built that will buy Ontario dai... Read more
By Dan Needles It’s hard to make a living as a full-time writer these days. To make ends meet, we all have to take teaching gigs, go out on the speaking circuit or pick up a little freelance... Read more
The battle for genetically-modified (GM) crops was supposed to be over. Science won and the National Farmers Union, among many others, dropped the “frankenfood” attacks. That was 10 years ag... Read more
Many farm operators are approaching an age when they might retire. The most recent Census of Agriculture found that farms, where the oldest operator was 55 years or older, represented more t... Read more
As farmers we place an enormous amount of focus on crop conditions as a decision-making criteria for our marketing. But the biggest single variable in grain prices for Canadian farmers this... Read more
We now have a provincial Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change and a federal department of the same name. Climate change must be a big deal. The Ontario government website explains.... Read more
By Patrick Meagher People believe the funniest things. There are those who think they offer common-sense answers that aren’t and others who present ideas as facts when they are just supersti... Read more
The question is not “how much dairy access is allowed under TPP?” But why weren’t dairy farmers told the facts by their leaders? Especially when dozens of them congregated in Atlanta. On Oct... Read more
As harvest wraps up and the final bushels of the 2015 grain crop come in the from the field, many of Ontario’s grain producers are putting the final touches on their 2015 crop marketi... Read more
To paraphrase a well-known rant, I’m mad as hell and refuse to be told by those with no investment in supply-managed farms that I should be ‘pleased’! I do not agree that the present Trans-P... Read more
By Dan Needles I was in a little arts and crafts shop last week when I heard an earnest young woman with two children in tow grilling the saleswoman about a basket of “densely felted o... Read more
With an early start to the soybean harvest and excellent weather in the Great Lakes Basin, winter wheat planting is approaching record levels in the fall of 2015. Winter wheat acreage for th... Read more
By Patrick Meagher I want three things from the party that wins the federal election on Oct. 19. Firstly, stay away from my wallet. The Fraser Institute reports that almost half of what Cana... Read more
The latest edition of the Williamstown Fair has ended. And, like every year in its 204 years, if there are two things it is good for, it is meeting up with people you haven’t seen for awhile... Read more
By Patrick Meagher There’s a federal election on Oct. 19 and Canadians are agonizing over who should get their vote. There’s talk of balancing the budget by some parties whose promises would... Read more
In the late 1970s, central bankers decided the threats posed by high inflation were worse than the threat of unemployment and the potential foreclosures of farms and houses. Interest rates w... Read more
By Maynard van der Galien A variety of beliefs exist about the effect of commercial fertilizers and crop protection products on our food supply and well-being. Some people firmly believe tha... Read more
By dairy farmer Angela Dorie “Heading to bed,” he said. Then with a wicked grin, added, “Hope you two sleep well tonight!” As if on cue, the heifer in the year... Read more
From January to March, the debate is around planting intentions for the coming year. If farmers don’t intend to plant enough acres, then there is certainly no chance of reaching the desired... Read more
By Eastern Ontario dairy farmer Angela Dorie Just over a year ago, our Number One farmer broke his kneecap completely in two. “Like cracking an egg!” observed an ER nurse after... Read more
By Patrick Meagher . In an elaborate plan, two desperate murderers escaped from a New York state prison last month. With power tools smuggled into their cell, they cut a hole in the wall and... Read more
By Dr. Rob Tremblay An international farm animal welfare conference was held in Ontario a few weeks ago to focus on the welfare and well-being of dairy and beef calves and included veterinar... Read more
By Patrick Meagher It was back in 2002 when the U.S. Farm Bill passed that required retailers to attach country of origin labels (COOL) to perishable agriculture products. That’s right: 13 y... Read more
By Patrick Meagher I recently received, from a very personable and sincere beekeeper, a 10-page list of about 400 studies on the harmful effects of neonicotinoid-insecticides on honeybees. I... Read more
Ontario Hydro has thousands of managers but can't solve the issue of properly billing its clients Read more
It will take a few years to sort out your wishes Read more
How junk science permeates everything Read more
By Robert Tremblay Dr. Dan Shock presented a summary of his research on the factors that influence the summer rise in bulk tank somatic cell count (BTSCC) in Ontario at the recent dairy re... Read more
Ontario Beekeepers Association is eco-activist and wrong, says Alberta beekeepers By Lee Townsend Last month, a new website called Bees Matter was launched and included... Read more
By Maynard van der Galien I dont like it when I see beef advertised as “hormone-free beef” because there is no such thing as hormone-free beef. Occasionally I see such a sign at... Read more
By Mario Mongeon When visiting dairy farms, I am often surprised to see the number of heifers. In many cases, pretty much all females born on the farm will be raised and eventually milked. I... Read more
By Tarek Fatah One of the reasons I avoid attending Friday congregations at mosques is a specific ritual supplication uttered by imams at many mosques in Canada and around the world, just pr... Read more
By Patrick Meagher Is your government looking out for you? How has it handled the issue of neonicotinoids? These are insecticide-treated seeds that are on almost every corn and soybean see... Read more
By Gord Hawley The Ontario government under the leadership of Kathleen Wynne made good on its promise to create a new provincial pension plan for all Ontario residents who do not work for... Read more
Pasteurized colostrum is better for the calf, researchers say Raw milk? Not for calves By Robert Tremblay At the risk of offending readers by writing about colostru... Read more
By Maynard van der Galien When I was a youngster in the mid-1950s, we lived on a small farm that had a high rocky hill behind our house and pasture field. A mining company asked if they co... Read more
Canadas farm gate milk price drops 1 % as Europe ends quota system, increases milk supply By Sylvain Charlebois For the first time in 22 years, the Canadian Dairy Commi... Read more
By Ian Cumming During the last two weeks of February, in an Ontario courtroom, lawyers prosecuting charges brought by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) hope to persuade a judge th... Read more
By Jerry Agar Id like to ask Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne why my son should choose to set up his business in Ontario. He graduated in December from Texas Christian University in Fort Wo... Read more
By Patrick Meagher What are the things about people we really like? We could say its their good jokes or their good looks. It could be their charisma, or maybe its just that theyre fun... Read more
By Maynard van der Galien Waste and carelessness dont seem to bother some people. Every winter I see sparkling new, riding lawn mowers parked by the house. Its fairly common to see motor... Read more
By Parker Gallant According to the Globe and Mail, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne says her province “is ready to shield Canada from the economic tsunami caused by declining oil price... Read more
By Ian Cumming Dad, farmer that he was, died just as he got up at milking time early on Tuesday morning Dec. 16. There wasnt his usual alarm clock beeping and feet instantly on the floor,... Read more
By Gord Hawley The Big Bang. That was the door slamming shut on 2014. Did you have a successful year? A profitable year? Did you reduce your debts? Did you increase your assets and net wor... Read more
By Robert Tremblay Staphylococcus aureus (SA, for short) is a well-known cause of contagious mastitis in cows. SA is difficult to diagnose because milk samples from cows infected with SA a... Read more
