Sat.Oct 21, 2023 - Fri.Oct 27, 2023

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Farmers feeling the squeeze over Seaway strike

Real Agriculture

Unlike some other North American ports, the St. Lawrence Seaway shipping corridor is seasonal, and the labour dispute holding up product movement is putting serious stress on Ontario’s agriculture sector during the harvest period. An estimated $20 million per day of grain isn’t moving through the St. Lawrence Seaway after members of UNIFOR went on.

Grain 340
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Farmers demand government action as crops submerge

Farmers Weekly

Farmers Weekly With large swathes of farmland under water and with more heavy rainfall predicted in the coming days, the NFU has called on government to commit to a comprehensive water management strategy. After an unseasonably wet harvest this year, farmers in some parts of the country are seeing next year’s crops rotting under floodwater.

Crop 308
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Weekend reading: School food in Mexico

Food Politics

José Tenorio. School Food Politics in Mexico: The Corporatization of Obesity and Healthy Eating Policies. Routledge, 2023. I was asked for a blurb for this one: From first-hand observations and deep research, José Tenorio makes it clear that school food in Mexico is about much more than feeding hungry kids; it’s about how food corporations have taken advantage of social inequalities to replace native food traditions with less healthful but profitable products.

Food 290
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NASDA commends launching the Regional Agricultural Promotion Program to boost U.S. food and agriculture exports worldwide

NASDA

Press Release The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture applauds Secretary Vilsack for establishing the Regional Agricultural Promotion Program to better promote America’s food and agriculture products in demand across the globe.   “It’s important to know that for every $1 invested in export market development programs, $24 is returned in export revenue.

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RealAg Politics: Carbon tax exemptions, Red Seat High, and a plan for grain in Alberta

Real Agriculture

It’s time for another episode of RealAg Politics with your host, Shaun Haney! On this episode, hear from: Mike Flynn, new and first executive director of Alberta Grains, introduces himself and why he chose agriculture; Dave Carey, with the Canadian Canola Growers on the Senate holding up Bill C-234; and, Kelvin Heppner, with RealAgriculture, to.

Grain 312
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Nuffield scholar calls farming the least diverse sector in the UK

Farmers Weekly

Farmers Weekly Renewed calls for greater support for black and people of colour (BPOC) within UK agriculture have been heard this week, in a Nuffield Farming report by farm vet Dr Navaratnam Partheeban.

Farming 302
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Who knew? III. Corn-plus-soybean share of US crop acreage

Food Politics

Here’s my third Who Knew post of the week, this one an at-a-glance explanation of what’s wrong with the US food system, courtesy of FarmDocDaily. In 1980 or so, corn and soybeans comprised about 20% each of total crop acreage. Now it’s 30% each. To bring this point home: Recall that more than 40% of US corn is used to feed animals and another more than 40% is used to make ethanol.

Crop 284

More Trending

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5 ways to minimize DON’s impact on corn in the field, the bin, and pocketbooks

Real Agriculture

Corn harvest is finally underway in Ontario, and plenty of optimism abounds when it comes to the yield potential of this crop. There is a concern, however, that the challenges of a wet summer are showing up in deoxynivalenol (DON) levels in the grain. A mycotoxin produced by the gibberella fungus, DON levels over 2. Read More Corn harvest is finally underway in Ontario, and plenty of optimism abounds when it comes to the yield potential of this crop.

Grain 299
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Farm machinery goes under the hammer in huge West Country sale

Farmers Weekly

Farmers Weekly After 99 years farming near Blandford, earlier this autumn the Harding family decided to wind up their mixed arable and livestock operation. Their entire fleet was put up for auction, along with an even greater number of introduced lots, making for one of the biggest sales of the year.

Farming 298
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Who knew? I. Bribery in food supply chains

Food Politics

This week, I’m posting some items that surprised me. Here’s the first: How to deal with bribery in your supply chain. Really? This is an international problem? Apparently so, at least for the U.K. We have approximately 160 coudntries from all over the world contributing to our food supply and this can lead to vulnerabilities in respect of fraud and financial crime.

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Brainfood: Maize, Chickpea, CWR, Canola, Coconut, Avocado, Eggplant, Carrot, Watermelon, Citrus, Potato, Pearl millet, Roses

Agricultural Biodiversity

A New Methodological Approach to Detect Microcenters and Regions of Maize Genetic Diversity in Different Areas of Lowland South America. Multiple disciplines identify 4 microcenters of maize diversity in the lowlands of South America. Historical Routes for Diversification of Domesticated Chickpea Inferred from Landrace Genomics. Genomics identifies both Indian and Middle Eastern traces in Ethiopian chickpeas.

Maize 166
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Wheat Pete’s Word, Oct 25: Gibberella risk, milky kernels, ladybug swarms, and GEMs

Real Agriculture

A frosty week in Ontario and a snowy one out west means all those pre-winter jobs just moved up the priority list a notch or two. For Peter “Wheat Pete” Johnson, that just means there’s more time-sensitive topics to cover on this week’s episode of Wheat Pete’s Word. From an alert on corn harvest field. Read More A frosty week in Ontario and a snowy one out west means all those pre-winter jobs just moved up the priority list a notch or two.

Harvester 290
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Farmer Focus: Cost of blackgrass programmes on the rise

Farmers Weekly

Farmers Weekly Autumn drilling had got off to a good start, with some excellent seed-beds. Unfortunately, Storm Babet has brought an abrupt halt to things for the moment. With a reasonable amount still to drill, I have everything crossed for a kind and dry November.

Seeding 279
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Who knew? II. The baby formula crisis continues

Food Politics

I saw this notice of Nestlé closing a baby formula factory in Ireland. I wondered why. Nestlé cited a significant downward trend in demand for infant nutrition products in the Greater China region as the main driver behind the factory closure, thanks to a sharp decline in the birth rate projected in 2023—9 million down from 18 million in 2016, according to Statista.

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Liberating heirlooms

Agricultural Biodiversity

Jeremy’s latest Eat This Newsletter has a dissection of the recent piece on heirlooms from The Guardian that we Nibbled a couple of days back. Plus a whole bunch of other interesting stuff, from food riots to Peruvian limes. Read it! Intellectual property rights and heirloom seed savers are doing their best to keep things just the way they are, but is that a good thing?

Seeding 165
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How spraying decisions reduce spray drift

Real Agriculture

Every sprayer operator has the ability to mitigate sprayer drift. The first and easiest thing an operator can do is change their droplet size. “It’s simple physics,” says Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs application technology specialist Jason Deveau. “When you go to a larger droplet, it’s more likely to continue to travel.

Ruralism 290
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Top tips for late-drilling wheat growers

Farmers Weekly

Farmers Weekly Late-drilling winter wheat growers on heavy soils need to focus on crop nutrition as rapidly cooling soils give slow availability of nutrients, and so feeding crops is key to preventing stress and disease getting a hold.

Lodging 279
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Farewell and Thanks to Jorge, Our Headquarters People’s Gardener

USDA Blog

If you follow the #PeoplesGarden on social media, you’ve seen informative videos by Jorge Penso, the lead gardener at the national headquarters People’s Garden in Washington, D.C.

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This Car-Free Michigan Island Is Leading on Composting

Civil Eats

On a hot July day on Michigan’s vehicle-free Mackinac Island, people swarm the downtown streets on foot and bikes and in horse-drawn carriages. Sitting high atop a cart emblazoned with the mission of “Keeping Mackinac Beautiful,” a city sanitation worker maneuvers a two-horse team through the fray, stopping periodically to collect trash and compost.

Compost 144
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RealAg Radio: A corn harvest update, fall nitrogen application, and soil sampling, Oct 23, 2023

Real Agriculture

Thanks for tuning in to this Agronomic Monday edition of RealAg Radio. In today’s episode, host Shaun Haney is joined by RealAgriculture’s in-house agronomist, Peter Johnson to discuss: an update on the eastern soybean and corn harvest, fall nitrogen application, soil sampling, and much more! Also hear from Chad Garrod for a spotlight interview for.

Harvester 290
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Farmer Focus: Daughters entrusted with ram selection and bids

Farmers Weekly

Farmers Weekly During a week in mid-September, we had our annual TB test, and also dipped all the sheep. These are not the jobs we look forward to but at the end of the week, it was a great peace of mind for us all to learn that we were TB and scab free.

Livestock 279
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A Message from USDA to Ant Keepers

USDA Blog

Ant keepers enjoy a fun and educational hobby, and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) also has an interest in it. You might wonder what ant keeping has to do with American agriculture and natural resources. Some invertebrates that people—including ant keepers—import into the U.S. or move between states could threaten our crops, forests, and community landscapes if they escape.

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Photo Essay: Montana Meat Producers Carve Their Own Paths

Civil Eats

For Black Dog Farm in Livingston, Montana, the early COVID lockdowns were a boon for business. “It’s undeniable that the pandemic had a huge positive effect on our business,” said co-owner Kira Jarosz. “We’re out of chicken every week.” Over the last three years, Jarosz and her husband Tim Anthony have seen a massive uptick in demand for their locally raised chicken and pork.

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Applications open for Canada-Saskatchewan Feed Program

Real Agriculture

Applications are open, as of Oct. 26, for the 2023 Canada-Saskatchewan Feed Program — the title that’s been given to the federal and provincial AgriRecovery initiative aimed at helping livestock producers in Saskatchewan affected by drought. Producers in eligible parts of the province can find more info and application forms through the Saskatchewan Crop Insurance.

Livestock 279
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Labour seeks wider public access, but not full ‘right to roam’

Farmers Weekly

Farmers Weekly Labour appears to be backing away from a more widespread “right to roam” policy for England that would have seen the public given far greater access to farmland than is currently the case.

Farmland 272
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Measuring methane

Western FarmPress

Scientists are changing how they measure enteric methane, and that’s good news for cattle.

Cattle 136
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At Just 22 Years Old, She's a Farmhand Who's Found Social Media Success In a Remarkable Way

AgWeb Farm Journal

At 22 years old, Emma decided the college life wasn't for her. She dropped out and decided to become a farmhand. With each adventure comes lessons she shares on her "Ag With Emma" social media accounts.

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PRIDE Seeds makes changes to distribution network in Western Canada

Real Agriculture

PRIDE Seeds is moving away from a sole distribution model and towards an ag retail network model for Western Canada. The move will increase the locations farmers can find PRIDE Seeds’ corn product portfolio. “Our enhanced dealer network will now work, directly and exclusively, with PRIDE Seeds. This will optimize the customer experience, allow greater.

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Spot spraying option coming to John Deere’s trailed R-series

Farmers Weekly

Farmers Weekly John Deere is finally ready to roll out its spot spraying system in Europe, five years after its $305m (£250m) acquisition of Californian start-up Blue River.

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Producer simplifies farming by running older equipment

Western FarmPress

Oklahoma producer Marty Williams was once known as an early adopter. He's traded that status for 1990s equipment and a different perspective, a strategy that's benefitting his mental health.

Farming 134
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What the Expiration of the 2018 Farm Bill Means for Food and Agriculture

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

On October 1, 2023, the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 – more commonly known as the 2018 Farm Bill – expired. The expiration did not come as a surprise, as Congress’ timeline for reauthorizing the 2018 Farm Bill has been increasingly drawn out for a variety of reasons such that neither the House nor Senate Agriculture Committees have yet been ready to unveil their bills.

Food 130
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RealAg Radio: Spot spraying economics, cash accounting, and the Seaway strike, Oct 24, 2023

Real Agriculture

It’s time for Tuesdays with Lyndsey on RealAg Radio! On this show with host Lyndsey Smith, we will hear from: Todd Lewis, first vice president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture on the St. Lawrence Seaway value and the impact of the strike happening there; An interview Kelvin Heppner had with Dave Carey on the. Read More It’s time for Tuesdays with Lyndsey on RealAg Radio!

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Why Scots regen grower is first Carbon Farmer of the Year

Farmers Weekly

Farmers Weekly Incremental changes made over more than 20 years to address greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and increase soil carbon sequestration have resulted in Doug Christie from Scotland being crowned the first Carbon Farmer of the Year.

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Tillage and strip-till tools for ’24

Western FarmPress

What’s New From the Shows: Farm Progress editors found these new tools at fall farm shows.

Farming 130
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Comments on EPA Herbicide Strategy

NASDA

Comment RE: Draft Herbicide Strategy Framework to Reduce Exposure of Federally Listed Endangered and Threatened Species and Designated Critical Habitats from the Use of Conventional Agricultural Herbicides (EPA-HQ-OPP-2023-0365) Dear Ms. Matuszko: The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) appreciates the opportunity to comment on the U.S.

Pesticide 130
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Soybean School: Strategies for season-long weed control

Real Agriculture

Weed control is not an exact science, especially when Mother Nature throws curveballs at growers throughout the growing season. BASF agronomist Ken Currah says the extremes of the 2023 growing season are a good example of why it’s best to think season-long when planning a weed control program. During spring, as dry conditions continued through.

Science 246
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Woodlands and forests on the market in Wales and Scotland

Farmers Weekly

Farmers Weekly Woodlands are the focus this week, with the farmland market quiet in terms of new launches. Recently launched in north Wales is almost 157 acres of mixed woodland just south of Abergele in Denbighshire. This has maturing conifer crops, mixed broadleaves with ancient woodland and good internal infrastructure.

Marketing 264