The Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, announced the 24 semi-finalists for Streams A and B of the $20-million Food Waste Reduction Challenge, an initiative under the Food Policy for Canada.

The Manitoba government is investing up to $1 million to support the development and implementation of Manitoba’s new provincial water management strategy.

Statistics Canada has released its Stocks Report for March 31, 2021. Stocks of wheat, canola, barley, soybeans, dry peas, oats and lentils were all down on March 31 compared with the same day a year earlier, on record exports. Stocks of corn for grain rose. Increased global demand has translated into higher exports for most field crops during the COVID-19 pandemic, while the pandemic continues to contribute to uncertainty in both the global and Canadian grain markets.

Rocky Mountain Equipment (RME) has announced the RME Right By You Ag Society Grant, which will support agricultural societies across the Prairies. The program will award four grants of $10,000 each.

Jesse Patzer of Swift Current took top spot in the 2021 Saskatchewan Agriculture Scholarship Program. He was one of four Saskatchewan students awarded scholarships through the program. The Government's Scholarship Program identifies young people who are advocates for agriculture and leverages their passion and ability to tell the story of Saskatchewan agriculture.

Cool, dry soils have slowed seeding and crop emergence, where some farms have caught up to their intended seeding goals to date, waiting for warmer temperatures to plant crops that are more sensitive. Provincial seeding progress sits at 18%, on par for the 4-year average. Conserving existing soil moisture remains top of mind for many farmers. Many farms are using limited disturbance openers for fertilizer and seeding, where possible.

Farmers can grow Bird-Friendly Certified Hay by delaying cutting until mid-July to help protect at-risk species, keep hay on the landscape, and grow fibre-rich forages.

The deputy chief coroner released a review and recommendations in response to the COVID-19 related deaths of three temporary foreign workers last year, though some are still calling for an inquest.

It is finally warming up in South Dakota, and that means that insect activity in wheat fields will be increasing.

Risk management programs can take the edge off of major losses from lower yields, crop losses, or prevented planting from weather events.

Farmers Weekly

Spring is in full swing, which means the milking and feeding routine has been vastly shortened and the sheds are now empty of stock. Turning the dairy herd out to grass is always a welcome sight and change, for both me and the cattle. That said, the dry cold weather has stuck the brakes on […]

The post Opinion: Farm assurance is essential to our brand identity appeared first on Farmers Weekly

Farmers Weekly

VAT-registered farm businesses should switch to electronic record-keeping without delay or risk being caught by HMRC’s Making Tax Digital (MTD) legislation, say accountants. The move is the latest step towards digitalising the tax system and represents the biggest change to VAT in decades, according to Andrew Robinson, head of agriculture at accountant Armstrong Watson. The […]

The post Digital tax records: Next step for VAT-registered businesses appeared first on Farmers Weekly

Farmers Weekly

The government has launched a taskforce to investigate a reported rise in pet thefts since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Pet sales platforms have reported a large rise in puppy and kitten prices over the past year after more people decided to buy or adopt a pet during the Covid-19 lockdown. See also: Working […]

The post Taskforce launched to investigate reported rise in pet theft appeared first on Farmers Weekly

Farmers Weekly

Kuhn’s VB variable-chamber baler and VBP baler-wrapper are now available with a humidity sensor and bale weigher to help users monitor and improve forage quality. The humidity sensor can measure forage with up to 40% moisture content, allowing operators to hit a target dry matter. It is available on all VB and VBP ranges this […]

The post Kuhn improves technology for high-output balers appeared first on Farmers Weekly

Farmers Weekly

It’s almost the end of April, but it feels more like early March, with frost most mornings and frequent cold, northerly winds.  It has, however, remained dry, with the only significant precipitation this month coming as snow, which held up drilling for a few days early in the month.  We have almost completed the spring […]

The post Farmer Focus: Snow, winds, frost and flea beetle attacks appeared first on Farmers Weekly

Farmers Weekly

Bayer CropScience has expressed its disappointment after its legal challenge to overturn an EU ban on neonicotinoid pesticides was rejected. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) dismissed an appeal by Bayer, on Thursday (6 May), which challenged the ban on neonics that has been in place since 2018. The ban covers three active ingredients: imidacloprid and […]

The post Bayer disappointed after neonics legal challenge rejected appeared first on Farmers Weekly

Farmers Weekly

Liveweight lamb prices have risen again, with new season (NSL) values more than £1/kg higher than the same time a year ago. In the week ending 5 May, NSL SQQ prices averaged 358.72p/kg, according to AHDB figures. The average was up 11.1p/kg on the previous seven days and 101p/kg on the same week in 2020. […]

The post Strong demand bolsters liveweight lamb prices appeared first on Farmers Weekly

Farmers Weekly

A Dutch politician has called for the closure of Rotterdam’s floating dairy farm after two cows fell into the water. One of the cows was winched to safety by emergency services in the most recent incident. It is believed the cow fell from the ramp leading to grass on the dockside. The Meuse Rhine Issel […]

The post Cows fall into water from Rotterdam’s floating dairy farm appeared first on Farmers Weekly

Farmers Weekly

UK tractor registrations in the first two months of spring showed further recovery after a year of depressed sales in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Figures published by the Agricultural Engineers Association (AEA) for March 2021 showed a total of 2,085 tractors were sold – up 14.9% on the same month a year ago. […]

The post Tractor sales recover from Covid-hit 2020 appeared first on Farmers Weekly

Farmers Weekly

A professional dog walker has been ordered to pay compensation to two farmers after a Dobermann under his supervision attacked sheep in two separate incidents. Peter Stonehouse, 58, who runs WoofNBoots Dog Walking and Pet Services, was sentenced at Basingstoke Magistrates’ Court on Thursday (6 May) after pleading guilty to the two offences of sheep […]

The post Professional dog walker fined for double sheep attack appeared first on Farmers Weekly