Philip Shaw

     I have often said that the drought ends when it rains. That’s exactly what happened this earlier on my farm where I received approximately 2.5 inches of rain within a five-day period. Almost instantly you could see the effect on the corn and soybeans. Everything looks and feels better including the psyche of…

            Crops here in southwestern Ontario are marching backwards at least for the time being. I mentioned last week that we are parched dry and really haven’t had any significant rain since June. However, there is rain predicted for this weekend, and your loyal scribe is very hopeful that it comes to fruition….

             It has surely been a week of surprises. Remember just a few weeks ago we were all talking about the moratorium of understanding between Iran and the United States. That moratorium of understanding was supposed to last 60 days and I asked the question what happens after that?  Of course, it’s…

         Well, we just experienced a smoky, hot day in southwestern Ontario.   I’m sure many of you in Midwestern farm country are used to bright sunshine today but for lots of us thru eastern Canada as well as parts of the United States we are suffering through some of the worst air pollution…

          It is that time of year again. Wheat harvest has commenced in southwestern Ontario which will eventually spread to the Quebec border. It’s a time of year when your combine gets really dirty, and we appreciate that new invention called air conditioning.  I have yet to join the wheat party but that…

         It is that time of year again when we have a strange confluence of national pride. What I mean by that is in Canada we have just celebrated Canada Day which was the 159th anniversary of Confederation.  On the other hand, or just a few kilometres away from here we have our…

         It is that time of year again when we can have real fireworks in our grain markets. Today, we had a hint of that with soybeans jumping up $0.22 a bushel based on some Chinese buying rumours.  As we all know prices have retreated over the last few weeks and this has…

          Earlier this week your loyal scribe had the opportunity to speak to farmers at a DG Global event near St. Thomas Ontario.  It’s not often that I get the opportunity to speak in the warmer weather months simply because as farmers we are just too busy. However, there usually is a period…

          Crops are starting to take off here in Ontario. We have been inundated with very warm weather the last couple of weeks and crops are looking good.  We have had a very limited amount of moisture here in southwestern Ontario but slightly dry is always better than slightly wet. When it comes…

         Earlier this week your loyal scribe got done planting soybeans for the first time. Yes, on some of my heavier soils unfortunately I sometimes have to plant them more than once, but hopefully that’s not one of these years.  It has been an incredibly dry stretch over the last 2 1/2 weeks…