Agriculture

Agriculture

Outside, it's an overcast and blustery February day in Kent hardly the ideal conditions for growing tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers. Yet inside the enormous glasshouses run by grower Thanet Earth, the climate has been optimised to a humid 20C, perfect for the regimented rows of small pepper plants poking out of raised trays. Growing fresh produce indoors in the south of England year-round requires plenty of energy to provide light, warmth and carbon dioxide.

Broadcasting from Calgary, Alberta, your host Shaun Haney is joined by Tyler McCann, managing director of CAPI, and Saskatchewan farmer Daryl Fransoo to talk about profitability in ag and the role of the biofuel industry from a Canadian agriculture perspective. Thoughts on something we talked about on the show? Connect with host Shaun Haney via [email protected], on X/Twitter by using the hashtag #RealAgRadio, or give us a shout or text on the response line, 1-855-776-6147.

Many of us take the simple, everyday task of grocery shopping for granted. You walk through the doors, grab a cart, throw in the things you need, pay the (ever-increasing) bill, and then go on your way. In theory, it should be simple. But actually, grocery shopping can be challenging, especially when the things you need aren't on the shelves.

Shmon, who purchased the company in 2008 and has worked in the industry since 1986, says forage seed production has shifted significantly over the decades. "In that time I've seen alfalfa seed production as high as probably 250-300,000 acres here in Western Canada. And now we're probably in the area around 100,000 acres," he says, noting that while forage crops offer strong net returns and diversification benefits, the relative ease of herbicide-tolerant commodities has drawn some growers away.

My older brother has worked with pigs his entire adult life, managing about 70,000 of them across five counties, Faaborg says. But we got to a point where he went from laughing at me to saying: well, I guess maybe I'll quit my job and help you out. Now he's the most dedicated, says Katherine Jernigan, director of the Transfarmation Project at Mercy for Animals, a non-profit that helped the Faaborgs make the switch and set up their new business, 1100 Farm.

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.

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

In some languages, the very word for building refers to its immovability. The discipline of engineering related to buildings is referred to as statics. Thus, architecture is closely related to the fixed and the immobile. And yet, for millions of nomadic people around the world, shelters must be of a light and distinctly movable structure, while home is the vast landscape in which they reside.

Named for Cornell's first president, the program sponsors scholars and public intellectuals in the life sciences, physical sciences, humanities, social sciences and the arts. Other scheduled A.D. White PAL visits this semester: Keri Putnam (arts): Cornell Tech, March 13-15; Ithaca campus, March 16-20; May Berenbaum, Ph.D. '80 (life sciences): March 16-18; Louis Massiah '77 (arts): April 6-10; and Jordan Ellenberg (physical sciences): April 13-17.

Yaghi describes AI not as a silver bullet, but as an advanced form of statistical pattern recognition-tools that can identify trends in data that may be difficult or time-consuming for people to uncover on their own. The real opportunity, he says, depends heavily on what farms are already doing. Operations that are consistently collecting and digitizing high-quality data are better positioned to benefit, whether the goal is lowering per-cow costs in a dairy, improving financial analysis, or identifying operational efficiencies.

As concepts such as "regenerative" and "biodynamic" continue to enter the mainstream coffee lexicon, scientists continue to literally dig into the soil to give them meaning. A recent peer-reviewed study from India's Western Ghats argues that one of the clearest signals of healthy, sustainable coffee farms lies in the ground itself, with organic coffee soils performing better than soils from conventional farms treated with synthetic inputs.

Shelby Miller comes to FullTilt Marketing with a robust background that speaks volumes about her expertise. Previously, she held pivotal roles in marketing and business development at notable companies such as Applewood Fresh Growers and FirstFruits Farms. Her experience includes leading strategic B2B campaigns, managing key retail accounts, and supporting various produce brands through sales enablement and digital marketing initiatives. This hands-on experience makes her a valuable asset to FullTilt, as she understands the intricacies of the fresh produce industry from the ground up.

If summer is for growing things, winter is for learning things.

I do understand that you're going to get some rain in winter, but it has definitely got worse. Even if you do manage to work for a day, it's punctuated by periods of an hour and a half of rain where you're sitting in your truck doing nothing. Before, I used to think, a day off, that's great. But now you think, oh, jeez, not another day off!

Welcome to the RealAg Issues Panel on RealAg Radio! On today's issues panel, host Shaun Haney is joined by Kelvin Heppner and Lyndsey Smith, both of RealAgriculture, to talk about trade, a bridge, combine sales, and so much more. Plus, hear a product spotlight with Ambrely Ralph of ADAMA Canada for a spotlight interview and don't miss the RealAg Radio podcast exclusive bonus segment of today's show with Anne Wasko of Gateway Livestock Exchange for a Beef Market Update!

Cattle markets are holding firm through what is typically a quieter stretch of the year, underscoring just how tight North American beef supplies remain. In this mid-February Beef Market Update, Anne Wasko of Gateway Livestock Exchange joined Shaun Haney to break down pricing trends following CattleCon last week in Nashville. As the industry looks ahead to the second quarter-when supplies are expected to be at their smallest-Wasko says the seasonal outlook could still support stronger prices.

Most American dairy cows are milked by immigrants. On Dale Hemminger's farm in upstate New York, the cows are milked by robots. When a cow wants to be milked, it walks up to a machine that cleans its udder, attaches cups to its teats, draws the milk and dispenses a treat. In a barn that Hemminger plans to open this year, other robots will roam the floor like little automated pooper scoopers, picking up manure.

The most important macro factor for WEAT is precipitation timing across the central and southern Plains. Winter wheat crops are experiencing stress from extended cold spells and persistent dryness, according to recent analysis. While localized snow and rain provided some relief, the critical window is approaching. Late-winter and early-spring moisture will determine whether stressed crops recover or production estimates get slashed.

The more than 220-year-old tree was grown from a pip planted by Mary Anne Brailsford between 1809 and 1815. Its apples were discovered nearly 50 years later by local gardener Henry Merryweather in a garden owned by Matthew Bramley. Merryweather was given permission to take cuttings from the Bramley seedling as long as the apples he sold bore Bramley's name. Steven said her great-grandfather, Merryweather, believed in that apple, he commercialised it, he marketed it, he promoted it he called it the King of Covent Garden'.

Fortunately for me, roses happen to be edible. While technically the entire plant can be eaten, it's best to stick to the petals, buds and hips (as if I had to tell you not to chomp on their thorns and woody stems). Fresh or dried, rose petals can be used to make rosewater or rose syrup, as pretty garnishes for cakes, and to infuse into sweet treats such as ice-cream and panna cotta.

With a background spanning science, livestock leadership, and regulatory oversight, Chalack says the opportunity to bring crop and livestock sectors together under one research umbrella was a key motivator. "The producers have to get some advantage of it," he says, emphasizing that sustainability only holds if farms are profitable . Breaking down commodity silos and aligning research with on-farm return on investment has been central to RDAR's model.

Central to this window is the delivery of colostrum, which provides essential antibodies and energy. To ensure success, she recommends following a "two by four" rule. "...getting colostrum in within those first four hours is really critical to getting the best absorption," says Fowler, specifying that calves should receive two litres by four hours of age and an additional two litres by 12 hours. She points out that failure of passive transfer can lead to a 10-kilogram decrease in weaning weight.

Last week, hundreds of thousands of Haitian migrants faced an uncertain future as the Trump administration fought in federal court to revoke their legal status and deport them. But despite these threats, the largely immigrant union workers at a JBS beef plant in Greeley, Colorado, many of them recent arrivals from Haiti, still voted on Wednesday by an overwhelming margin to strike over poor working conditions in what could become the first sanctioned walkout at a major meatpacking plant in decades.

February is technically midwinter in the Northern Hemisphere, when we reach the midpoint between winter and spring. Most places are still deeply immersed in the cold and snow that comes with the winter season, but that doesn't mean it's a bad time for growing vegetable seeds. February happens to be a perfect time for getting the seed starting station together, and for many farmers, it's a great time to start some of them.

K-Hart Industries is expanding its relationship with Rocky Mountain Equipment (RME) to broaden dealer representation across key agricultural regions in Alberta and Manitoba. The Canadian manufacturer of seeding and harvesting machinery, headquartered in Winnipeg, Man, says the expansion supports its dealer growth strategy by strengthening local sales and service support in both provinces. Farmers in these regions will be supported by Rocky Mountain Equipment's established sales and service teams, providing a stronger local presence and more responsive support for K-Hart equipment, says a company release.

Strong cattle prices, record beef demand, and renewed policy attention are giving the North American cattle sector reasons for optimism - but supply constraints and cross-border issues remain front and centre, says Colin Woodall, CEO of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA). RealAgriculture's Shaun Haney was at CattleCon 2026 in Nashville, Tennessee, this week, to discuss the state of the cattle industry, trade relationships, and the policy challenges shaping the years ahead.

Picture this: four robotic arms working in perfect harmony, tracing circular patterns like some kind of futuristic dance performance. But instead of creating art, they're printing the walls of an actual farm. Welcome to Itaca, a project that just wrapped up its construction in the hills of Northern Italy, and it's changing how we think about building homes. WASP, the Italian company behind this audacious venture, just finished printing the walls of what they're calling the first certified 3D-printed construction in Italy.

Middleton owns and operates Manawan Mills, a feed mill operation that processes grain into complete livestock feeds for species ranging from poultry to cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs. The mill sources most of its grain from nearby farms, often purchasing product that may be discounted at commercial elevators due to quality factors such as splits or lower test weight. Middleton says in this episode of Profitable Practices that those characteristics don't limit the grain's usefulness once it is processed.