The Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority will present an update on the progress of its Agricultural Strategic Plan during a Jan. 20 webinar hosted by the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce. The authority is developing a strategy to define its role in supporting local agriculture. Anna Regalado, the authority's agricultural specialist, will share information about the goals of the plan and how input from the public and important stakeholdersincluding farmers, farmworkers and rancherswill influence the plan.
"If Canada wants generational change in agricultural innovation, we need to transform our policy around how we fund plant breeding," he says. The current system, heavily reliant on public funding and check-off dollars, is increasingly under pressure. Reinheimer points to signs that Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) is shrinking its breeding footprint-especially in wheat, where AAFC varieties still account for about 80 per cent of acres. The problem? There's no updated funding model to match that shift.
The input planning calculator is a robust tool that can help farmers and agronomists better understand on-farm finances while helping uncover which crops make the most sense to plant from a cost perspective. By inputting key on-farm financial and agronomic data, including seed and agronomy service costs, growers can compare each crop on their farm and explore their true cost of production.
If we did that today, it would be a hundred percent, because right now, without question, 2026 is riskier than 2025. So farmers really [face significant challenges]. The war in Iran continues and it works back to the world of agriculture. It's had an impact on fertiliser and diesel prices and commodity markets, as well as currency.
Across Ontario, producers are building healthier soils and improving their operations through everyday decisions - ones that shape productivity today and influence the legacy left for the next generation. The Ontario On-Farm Climate Action Fund (OFCAF) supports this work by providing cost-share funding to support the implementation of nitrogen management, cover cropping and rotational grazing projects. Many operations are already putting these beneficial management practices (BMPs) to work.
A dairy operation that burns through $2 million in two years on $12 million in revenue has a structural problem, not a temporary one. A farm that accumulates $2 million in debt on $12 million in revenue is structurally losing money. Understanding why matters more than choosing a debt repayment strategy.
Profitability in the cattle business often hinges on understanding the real cost of production, something that can be difficult to pin down when labour, land, and opportunity costs aren't always clearly accounted for.
Canadian livestock producers deserve risk management programs that reflect the realities of their operations. Adding pasture-related feed costs as an allowable expense ensures fairer support for those who rely on rented pastureland. Our government is committed to supporting producers with effective, responsive programs to protect farming operations.
This releg radio podcast is brought to you by Nufocus NXT Herbicide from FMC Focus NXT Herbicide delivers a complete burn off and extended residual control solution tailored for spring wheat growers in the black soil zone. See your local retailer today. It's time for RealAg Radio on rural radio channel147 on SiriusXM. Reel Ag radio and real EggCulture.com is your home for insight and analysis of the issues that are impacting your farm business. Let's get real and get connected with RealAg Radio.
According to the job posting, the successful candidate will serve as the lead provincial specialist for edible beans and edible oilseeds, including Identity Preserved (IP) soybeans, spring and winter canola, flaxseed, and sunflower. The role centres on technology transfer - developing and implementing strategies, policies, and programs - while coordinating projects that assess new and existing practices for their suitability under Ontario conditions. The specialist will also prepare and deliver educational tools, act as a liaison between the research community and industry, support policy and program development, and manage high-priority or contentious issues in the sector.
When you think of farming, what ingredients do you generally associate with a successful harvest? The basics certainly come to mind: fertile soil, plenty of sunlight and lots of water. But there are other variables that can also mean the difference between a crop of healthy fruits and vegetables and a large heap of organic waste. And it turns out that one of those variables is a very small hawk.
Based on years of post-transition reviews, MNP has identified seven traits common to successful farm families, MacLean says. First, they start early. Early planning allows flexibility and time to work through the tough stuff. Clear, respectful communication is the second trait - and it's essential. Families who talk openly and establish expectations avoid the dangerous territory of unspoken assumptions. Farms that navigate the process well have a shared vision.
My career as an agronomist required me to take scientific research and apply that knowledge, to assist farmers by helping them solve problems and increase their farms profitability. The ag industry relies on research to continue to solve the ever-changing problems that farmers face. Today my farm business employs management practices that have come directly from the Lacombe Research and Development Centre, this has improved my farms resilience and profitability.
A group of Illinois small farmers are meeting with members of Congress on Thursday in Washington to discuss their hopes for "transformational investments" in the next farm bill, which governs policy in the agricultural sector. As they see it, the new law could provide significant financial investment and protections that reduce economic inequality and racial injustice; build crop and human resilience to climate change and unpredictable weather; and improve access to nutritious food and sustainable, local systems.