Ontario Agriculture

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CFFO Blog's Blog – December 2010 Archive (4)

The CFFO Commentary: Christmas and the Difference it makes for Farming

By John Clement

December 24, 2010



I'm not by nature a person devoted to creeds and confessions, but every once in awhile something will strike me as particularly meaningful in one of those documents. At this Christmas season, some of the words found in the beginning of the Heidelberg Catechism strike me as appropriate. The question is asked "what is your only comfort in life and death?"… Continue

Added by CFFO Blog on December 24, 2010 at 6:34am — No Comments

The CFFO Commentary:Farm Policy Increasingly Needs to Pay Heed to the “Missing Middle”

By John Clement

The challenges of farm policy used to be simpler. Most farms in most commodities were about the same size and generated somewhat comparable farm revenues. But those days have been leaving us for awhile now, with new challenges emerging about how to deliver public support that is both fair and appropriate to changes in the scale of production. 

 Increasingly, farming and public interest groups are noting that we are starting to experience what could be called the…

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Added by CFFO Blog on December 17, 2010 at 7:00am — No Comments

The CFFO Commentary: Farmers Matter and Need to Build Goodwill with Consumers

By Henry Stevens

There is general agreement in the farm community that a number of our commodities are in serious financial difficulty and face an uncertain future. There is also general agreement on why family farms in those sectors are facing such difficulties. Where there is less agreement is “how do we solve those problems and…

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Added by CFFO Blog on December 10, 2010 at 6:13am — No Comments

The CFFO Commentary: New Agricultural Opportunities in Bio-Products

By Nathan Stevens

There are some industry leaders that would argue that one of the greatest opportunities for farmers in the next 20 years will be the development of the bio-products sector. At a recent information session held by the Wellington…

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Added by CFFO Blog on December 3, 2010 at 4:45am — No Comments

Agriculture Headlines from Farms.com Canada East News - click on title for full story

Spring Wheat Condition Improves; Winter Wheat Harvest 11% Done

The 2026 U.S. spring wheat crop improved over the past week but remained slightly below a year ago, while the winter wheat harvest moved ahead quickly and crop ratings remained historically poor. Monday’s USDA crop progress report rated the national spring wheat crop at 52% good to excellent as of Sunday, up 5 points from the previous week but still a single point below last year. In North Dakota, the largest spring wheat-producing state, the crop was rated 61% good to excellent, up 3 points from a week earlier. Minnesota improved to 86% good to excellent, up from 78% the previous week. South Dakota rose to 52%, compared with 44% the previous week, while Montana remained under heavy stress at just 10% good to excellent, although that was an improvement from only 1% a week earlier. Spring wheat development continued to advance. Planting was 98% complete, up from 94% a week earlier and ahead of the five-year average of 95%. Emergence reached 87%, up from 72% the previous week and

Manitoba Seeding Nears Completion Amid Stormy Conditions

Manitoba seeding is nearly wrapped up, even as severe storms brought intense rainfall, strong winds, and hail to parts of the province.  The weekly crop report on Tuesday showed seeding across the province at 93% complete, up from 71% a week earlier. That’s just modestly behind 99% last year and the five-year average of 95%, after earlier weather-related delays.  Precipitation was highly variable across Manitoba over the past week, with stormy weather between June 2 and 4. Environment Canada confirmed three tornadoes, including sightings in the Manitou and Carman areas. Heavy rainfall in parts of the Northwest later in the week triggered overland flood warnings, while portions of the Northwest, Interlake and Central regions have now received more than 60 mm of rain since May 1.  Despite the stormy weather, seeding of most major crops is nearly finished. Spring wheat seeding is mostly complete, although the Northwest is still only about 80% done. Corn planting is complete, while cano

Supervised autonomy solution aims to optimize field operations

EMILI is using Verge Ag’s Launch Pad software to automate route planning on Innovation Farms powered by AgExpert during the 2026 season. In May 2026, Innovation Farms Associate Sarah Wilcott worked with Verge Ag to generate tillage plans specific to the farm’s field boundaries, elevation, and equipment. The plan was then synced to a John Deere 590 tractor before tilling began. Verge Ag’s Launch Pad is a web-based precision agriculture platform that aims to unlock autonomy on a farmer’s existing equipment.  “The current version uses smart heuristics to estimate how ‘costly’ any maneuver in the field is, along with various meta-heuristic algorithms to optimize the route ordering,” said Verge Ag Product Manager AJ Nolin. Its core feature is Path Planner, which helps farmers plan out the most efficient route before any equipment enters a field. The made in Canada technology is designed to be accessible and cost effective. It uses standard GIS shapefiles, costs only $5 to plan seeding f

CANZA Marketplace available for farmers

The marketplace is open to Ontario farmers first with plans to expand across Canada

Supporting wood-waste innovation in the Kootenays

A Kootenay-based project is receiving provincial funding to convert forestry waste into a soil supplement, benefiting agriculture and forestry sectors, while supporting training and good-paying jobs in the region. “People in rural communities are finding innovative ways to create new opportunities for their families and neighbours while caring for the environment,” said Ravi Kahlon, Minister of Jobs and Economic Growth. “By turning wood waste into valuable new products, this project is creating jobs, supporting local businesses and helping build a stronger future for the community. Through our Look West strategy, we are investing in the people, ideas and industries that keep rural British Columbia thriving.” Through the Rural Economic Diversification and Infrastructure Program (REDIP), the Province is providing approximately $182,000 to Wildsight to support its Fire for Healthy Soils project in Creston. The funding supports a pilot project to convert wood waste into biochar, which is

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