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NEWS BITES THAT MATTER
Farm Invention Challenge
Tinkering, mending, dabbling, modifying, revolutionizing – whatever it is that you do in your workshop, barn, or out in the field, now is your chance for your fix-it side to shine and win some cash.
Farm & Food Care is launching the Ontario-wide Farm Invention Challenge with $9,000 in cash prizes available for winning entries in the categories of animal care and water efficiency and quality. The deadline to enter is January 2, 2015.
Farm & Food Care will profile winning entries as part of their commitment to doing the right thing in animal care and the environment. The Farm Invention Challenge will help share
creative ideas and methods that farmers are using on their farms every day.
There are six categories to enter in. A first prize of $1,000 and second prize of $500 will be awarded in each of the following categories:
A. Animal Care
1. Large farm gadgets and gizmos — Whether it’s welding up a new attachment for your skid steer or designing a whole new feeding system, share your large scale farm innovations.
2. Small farm gadgets and gizmos — Have you ever fixed something with a rubber band or used a cotter pin in an unusual way? Farm &?Food Care wants to hear about the simple fixes that have revolutionized animal care on your farm.
3. Farm hacks — Explain how you have made simple changes around your barn to save time and headaches on your farm.
B. Water Efficiency & Quality
1. Water quality and nutrient management — What changes to equipment or practices have led to improved water quality and less nutrient runoff from farm lands? Share your ideas that help Ontario farmers better manage nutrients and minimize off-site impacts on surface and ground water quality.
2. Water use efficiency — Have you built a custom control system or use a different moisture sensor system to minimize overuse of water? Enter your equipment ideas or conservation practices that are working to improve the use of water around your farm.
3. Community/other — Tell Farm &?Food Care about your community organized or farm group projects that have helped to protect and/or improve water resources in your area.
More details are available on at www.farmfoodcare.org. •
Eragon for use as a desiccant
BASF is promoting the use of Eragon® as a harvest aid and desiccant on dry beans and soybeans. This application was previously approved for use in North America, but only recently received approval from overseas markets.
The product offers a reduced risk of crop regrowth and improved weed dry down, it also controls perennials in the fall for cleaner fields the following spring when tank-mixed with glyphosate.
When making a pre-harvest application of Eragon, correct timing is important in order to ensure the best results. For soybeans, it is recommended you apply it when 90 per cent of the pods in the soybean crop have changed colour and 80 per cent of the leaves have dropped or turned yellow.
Drew Thompson, BASF field biologist, says there are no residual concerns with Eragon for farmers looking to plant winter wheat right after fall harvest and corn and soybeans can be planted without concern the following spring. •
South West Ag to acquire Palmerston Grain
South West Ag Partners Inc., a Chatham, Ontario based crop input and grain dealer, announced in September that they had entered into an agreement to buy Palmerston Grain Ltd. of Palmerston, Ontario.
The Palmerston Grain business will continue to operate under that name and Archie Wilson, general manager, will remain a core part of the Palmerston operation.
Established in 1983 by the McLaughlin family, Palmerston Grain is a progressive buyer and marketer of wheat, corn, soybeans, and canola, serving a large region that includes mid-western, south-western, and eastern Ontario. C&M Seeds in Palmerston, also owned by the McLaughlin family, is not part of the acquisition and will remain a separate and ongoing business.
Palmerston’s asset base includes its elevator facility on the 5th Line of Minto Township with 2.1 million bushels in storage capacity, Identity Preserved capabilities, and state- of-the-art grain handling technology. •
