#farm-business-issues

#farm-business-issues

Plump, wiggly slugs may look innocuous, but they can wreak serious havoc on a carefully-curated garden, even causing total crop failure.

Barry Cowen expresses regret over his dismissal from the Agriculture Minister position six years ago, acknowledging that both he and his party have learned valuable lessons from that experience.

The former Assembleia da Granja occupies an entire block in the centre of Praia da Granja. Built in the late 19th century, it emerged from the summer life of the time and became a reference point in the social landscape of the place.

Pulp egg cartons are made from paper pulp, water, and grass fiber, making them recyclable and biodegradable. They hold moisture while allowing drainage, breaking apart easily for planting.

Citrus fruits are delicious, fragrant, and packed with vitamins and nutrients, making them versatile for snacking, salads, juicing, cooking, baking, and seasoning.

The study frames each of the models as 'emerging strategies' that can either complement or serve as alternatives to well-known sustainability certification schemes such as Organic, Fairtrade or Rainforest Alliance.

"The awesome thing with pulse crops is no nitrogen needs... not having to put any nitrogen on a pulse crop is a great starting point," he says, noting that this allows growers to not only meet PKS requirements but, in some cases, build soil fertility for the rotation.

"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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.