Soil management 101

Soil management 101

I see farmers who were huge proponents of no-till for 10 years or more now doing tillage with chisel plows or elaborate cultivators.

Basic food prices still a bargain

Basic food prices still a bargain

One of the perks of writing columns is getting mail, emails and occasionally visits from readers who appreciate what I write about. I sometimes reminisce about the past which readers enjoy very much.

Signs that summer’s over

Signs that summer’s over

Now for those with a keen eye to see signs in nature as summer morphs into autumn, what do you notice besides trees starting to change colour, the sun setting earlier and the nights being cooler?

The Lazy Farmer plants alfalfa
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The Lazy Farmer plants alfalfa

The Song of the Lazy Farmer provided many chuckles for rural readers in the 1950s and 1960s when I was a boy.

Milk quotas and more

Milk quotas and more

However, prior to 1965 there was a lot of chaos for milk shippers. Most farmers will agree that the creation and existence of the Ontario Milk Marketing Board has been the salvation of all milk producers in Ontario.

Security on the Hill
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Security on the Hill

The Hill Lobby Day provides a great opportunity for farm representatives to bring key messages directly from grassroots members to the federal leaders.

Grain marketing challenges
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Grain marketing challenges

Marketing grain can be a very complex business, and it depends on a few factors.

Ask a farmer
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Ask a farmer

A century ago, over half of Canada’s population was farmers. Most folks understood farming as it was done then because it was fairly simple. Today people are so far removed from agriculture that they have a hard time understanding the scary stuff they read about – growth hormones, steroids, genetically modified organisms, medications, pesticides and the like.

New Years’ herring
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New Years’ herring

Herring is one of the very best food sources of vitamin D. Our bodies make this vitamin in sunlight, but in our climate it’s not easy to get enough. There seems to be more to vitamin D than strong teeth and bones. It’s now thought that vitamin D deficiency might be a factor in many diseases, such as multiple sclerosis and diabetes.

Leaves aren’t garbage
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Leaves aren’t garbage

Leaves should never go to the dump.

The Thanksgiving flood of ‘54
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The Thanksgiving flood of ‘54

If you were in eastern Canada around Thanksgiving Day of 1954, you’ll remember Hurricane Hazel. Hurricane Hazel killed at least 400 people in Haiti and caused 95 fatalities in the U.S. It struck Canada as an extratropical storm, raising the death toll by 81, mostly in Toronto when it slammed into the city on October 15. It left 1,868 Ontario families homeless.

Loosen up!

Loosen up!

As farm tractors and field equipment become larger and heavier, there is a growing concern about soil compaction. That may be why deep ripping tillage, meant to loosen the soil, is making another comeback.