Future of Grain
HIGHLIGHTING THE LATEST TECHNOLOGY IN GRAIN PRODUCTION AND UTILIZATION
Dow AgroSciences wins international award
Dow AgroSciences was recognized at the Agrow Awards in November and received the “Best Novel Agricultural Biotechnology” award for SmartStax hybrids.
“We’re honored and excited to be recognized again this year for our achievements in creating and delivering the best solutions to meet grower’s needs,” said Daniel R. Kittle, global leader, R&D for Dow AgroSciences in a release. “This is also great recognition for our creative and hard-working R&D employees all around the globe who are constantly using the newest technologies, advancing science and delivering breakthrough solutions that serve the needs of the world’s growing population.”
Winners of the 2011 Agrow Awards were selected by a panel of 10 independent judges from the crop protection and agricultural biotech industries. •
Farmland values continue to rise
A recent report from Farm Credit Canada indicates that farmland values in Canada increased 7.4 percent during the first six month of 2011. The study confirms what many farmers have experienced firsthand; farmland values are continuing their upward rise of the last decade.
Saskatchewan saw the highest increase in farmland values with 11.6 percent, followed by Ontario with a 6.6 percent increase in land value. British Columbia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island saw no change in the value of their farmland.
According to the study, the most significant increases in land value in Ontario were in southwestern and northern Ontario. This strong demand is attributed to dairy farmers as they continue to purchase more land instead of quota due to quota restrictions.
Demand for farmland is also driven by the profitability of specialty crops, such as ginseng and vegetables and non-traditional (non-farm) rural residents who are increasingly purchasing small farms in select areas. •
Canada gets a new weather and lightening monitoring network
Earth Networks plans to double the size of its weather monitoring network in Canada by developing more than 1000 additional weather stations within the next three years.
The company is the operator of the largest weather, lightning and climate observation networks, the WeatherFarm Program and owner of WeatherBug.
Currently, Earth Networks operates mainly through the Prairies with over 850 weather stations that report data every few seconds. Their expansion plans largely involve moving into Eastern Canada, Atlantic Canada and the Pacific Coast.
Earth Network’s real-time weather data is available at no cost to farmers through the website weatherfarm.com, which has more than 12,000 users.
“We are transitioning to the era where the integration of multiple weather networks is required to increase our knowledge,” said Paul Bullock, Professor of Agrometeorology, University of Manitoba, Department of Soil Science in a release. “Properly deployed weather networks that provide quality data can be used collaboratively to great advantage.
Additional resources and weather intelligence from Earth Networks are valuable to Canadian agricultural interests, and bring the potential to benefit other sectors as well.” •
