There are a few things that have always fascinated me. One of them being is how people arrive at their opinions of things and how they get judged by those opinions by people with their own opinions.
When you really take a step back and think about it, it is a very intricated web. I have my own opinions about everything, from what TV shows I like to what my favourite colour is. A lot of our opinions are very "fluffy" and dont have much meaning beyond our own personal world.
This has all been bouncing around inside my brain (along with the two marbles) during our SARA Strategic planning session and the SACA conference. During the SACA Conference we got to listen to a wide ragne of speakers with varying opinions on everything from democracy to precision agriculture. While some of the ideas I may not have personally agreed with it was interesting to listen to someone talk about their opinions and ideas, and measure their opinions against mine. The difference in backgrounds, lifestyles, and even personal interests is all reflected in our differences of opinions.
The reason I bring this all up, is there have been a few times over the last few years where I have been at a conference or whatever and had someone present a topic and not ever give an opinion. They would ride the fence and not give their opinion one way or another, even after a question from the audience for a direct opinion they dodge like a wrench in the movie "Dodgeball".
I think that society is getting more and more censored where everyone is afraid to give an honest opinion because they are afraid of the backlash of those who disagree with them. Some of the stories I have heard over the years of the extent people will go to to get people in hot water over their opinions is unbelieveable.
I say if you have an opinion and you share it, kudos!
I think we should encourage more people to express their opinions without fear of backlash.
For those of you that share your opinions, keep it up, there are quite a few of us that appreciate an honest opinion (good or bad)!
Friday, December 17, 2010
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
SACA Conference Update
Well the first 4 speakers are in the history books and we have had an excellent start!
The Honourable Preston Manning opened the conference up with an excellent talk on the tools of democracy and how individuals can use the democratic tools to help motiviate change.
Brian McConkey gave an excellent talk on how markets and end users are pushing the environmental standards a lot of us are seeing in the agriculture industry.
Wendy Holm looked at how policy is shaped in the industry and looked at how sustainable some things are and are not.
After an excellent Lunch Art Froehlich gave an outstanding presentation on global markets and how everything really works. I would recommend that if you ever get a chance to listen to Art give a talk (from what I understand is not very often) or get a chance to pick his brain, DO IT! He is very insightful and knowledgable.
So far the underlying theme of the conference so far is partnerships and co-operations. This is something that we all in the agriculture industry need to start looking at ways to make strategic partnerships that move our own interests forward but the interests of the entire industry forward
More to come later.....(we also have some excellent speaker interviews we will be posting online in the coming days too)
The Honourable Preston Manning opened the conference up with an excellent talk on the tools of democracy and how individuals can use the democratic tools to help motiviate change.
Brian McConkey gave an excellent talk on how markets and end users are pushing the environmental standards a lot of us are seeing in the agriculture industry.
Wendy Holm looked at how policy is shaped in the industry and looked at how sustainable some things are and are not.
After an excellent Lunch Art Froehlich gave an outstanding presentation on global markets and how everything really works. I would recommend that if you ever get a chance to listen to Art give a talk (from what I understand is not very often) or get a chance to pick his brain, DO IT! He is very insightful and knowledgable.
So far the underlying theme of the conference so far is partnerships and co-operations. This is something that we all in the agriculture industry need to start looking at ways to make strategic partnerships that move our own interests forward but the interests of the entire industry forward
More to come later.....(we also have some excellent speaker interviews we will be posting online in the coming days too)
At the saca conference
We had a great supper last night with quite a few of the speakers.
Preston Manning is kicking the show off this morning. We are really excited to hear His talk.
I will be trying to post some highlights throughout the day.
Stay tuned!
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Monday, November 22, 2010
Extension, Extension, Extension
Extension is an interesting topic. Before I took the job I am in now I had no idea what extension was. To me extension was how long my favourite team signed their best player for.
In the past 4 + years I have learned a lot about extension and what it means to the agriculture industry. There is a constant need from prodcers to get their hands on the latest information. In an industry that seems to get more and more complex by the day this appetite for information is growing exponentially.
From my understanding, it used to be that the Government or or Department of Agriculture was THE place to go for all of the latest information that you could trust. Over the years, the Governments have scaled back how much "extension" they do and just in the last few years are trying to get back into it. Problem is the extension world is full of companies/consultants promoting their products/ideas with information generated from their own trials etc.
While most of the information out there is of good quality, there is the possibility for a few to be a little far fetched or totally inaccurate. All this means is that the producer needs to think logically and try not to get caught up in the sales pitch. Don't lose your head, and try not to do deals on impulse. Take some time, talk to some people and come to a rational decision.
At the end of the day remember one thing, just because you have heard or read something does not make it true (it also does not make it false) but what you need to do is investigate and come to your own conclusion.
GO RIDERS!
In the past 4 + years I have learned a lot about extension and what it means to the agriculture industry. There is a constant need from prodcers to get their hands on the latest information. In an industry that seems to get more and more complex by the day this appetite for information is growing exponentially.
From my understanding, it used to be that the Government or or Department of Agriculture was THE place to go for all of the latest information that you could trust. Over the years, the Governments have scaled back how much "extension" they do and just in the last few years are trying to get back into it. Problem is the extension world is full of companies/consultants promoting their products/ideas with information generated from their own trials etc.
While most of the information out there is of good quality, there is the possibility for a few to be a little far fetched or totally inaccurate. All this means is that the producer needs to think logically and try not to get caught up in the sales pitch. Don't lose your head, and try not to do deals on impulse. Take some time, talk to some people and come to a rational decision.
At the end of the day remember one thing, just because you have heard or read something does not make it true (it also does not make it false) but what you need to do is investigate and come to your own conclusion.
GO RIDERS!
Friday, November 19, 2010
Its been awhile
Its been awhile between blog postings. It is amazing how fast time goes and how busy a person can get. I have some interesting thoughts on extension and how we our messages out to producers that I will share next week.
But I just wanted to remind you that the SACA Conference is not to far away!
Conference goes from November 30 - December 1 and it is filling up fast!
There are more details on our website http://www.farmingsmarter.com/ on how to register (online or by calling the office) as well as the full agenda etc.
You can go right to the online registration page by clicking on the following link http://farmingsmarter.com/events/register-event.php?eventID=5
Have a great weekend!
But I just wanted to remind you that the SACA Conference is not to far away!
Conference goes from November 30 - December 1 and it is filling up fast!
There are more details on our website http://www.farmingsmarter.com/ on how to register (online or by calling the office) as well as the full agenda etc.
You can go right to the online registration page by clicking on the following link http://farmingsmarter.com/events/register-event.php?eventID=5
Have a great weekend!
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
IMG00034-20101109-0937.jpg
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Edge on winter lentil herbicide trial
More pics to follow.
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Thursday, November 4, 2010
Ottawa Rejects Takeover Of Potash Corp
Ottawa Rejects Takeover Of Potash Corp
Click on the link above to read the story about Ottawa rejecting the takeover bid of Potash Corp.
Click on the link above to read the story about Ottawa rejecting the takeover bid of Potash Corp.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Richard Playing Cards at Camrose meetings
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Mike wearing his dealer costume
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Blogging from the 780
We are up in Camrose for our yearly ARECA training and meetings. It is nice to be able to chat with all the other associations from all over the province and hear how their year went.
Interesting to hear from Ward Toma from the ACPC talk about the future of the prairie canola variety trials. Hopefully something will be in place for this spring.
ACPC has some excellent staff and are a treat to work with. It goes to show if you have the right people in place your organization will accomplish some great things.
Have talked to quite a few people about the Western Grazing Conference. I personally am not particularly strong in forages but it sounds like an excellent agenda. For more info go to www.areca.ab.ca
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Monday, November 1, 2010
Monday
Welcome to blog on this monday after Halloween. Hopefully everyone had a safe night and does not have to visit the dentist today!
I wonder if Halloween is a holiday created by dentists similar to those who think some "holidays" are nothing more than "Hallmark Holidays".
What is up this week? Well Ken, Shauna, Mike and myself are heading up to Camrose for the next three days to take in some ARECA meetings and training. It is always nice to get together with all the ARAs throughout the province and share stories of how everyone's year went. There are a few exciting things that are hopefully going to be coming out of the ARECA group in the next few months, so stay tuned!
For those of you wishing to register for the SACA Conference, there will still be staff in our office that would be happy to help get you registered. The number is 403-381-5118, or you can go and register online at http://www.farmingsmarter.com/
While you are on the Farming Smarter website, check out a bunch of the other projects we are working on. We are in the process up putting reports together for all of our projects and if there is something that you might be interested in finding out more info on, don't hesitate to get a hold of us.
As many of you are done or in the final stages of harvest, can't help but think to next year. What should you put in? What are seeded acres of certain crops going to be?
I wonder what the acres of winter wheat will be given the very wet fall we had and some of the challenges with getting the crop off for one.
I also wonder how many acres of Canola and Lentils will be seeded next year. As many of you know Lentil acres hit remarkable highs this year, and from what I have heard so far there were quite a few wrecks. How much will that influence the amount of seeded acres? Time will tell, but I think they might fall back into what normal averages are.
Thats all I got for today! Enjoy the nice November weather!
I wonder if Halloween is a holiday created by dentists similar to those who think some "holidays" are nothing more than "Hallmark Holidays".
What is up this week? Well Ken, Shauna, Mike and myself are heading up to Camrose for the next three days to take in some ARECA meetings and training. It is always nice to get together with all the ARAs throughout the province and share stories of how everyone's year went. There are a few exciting things that are hopefully going to be coming out of the ARECA group in the next few months, so stay tuned!
For those of you wishing to register for the SACA Conference, there will still be staff in our office that would be happy to help get you registered. The number is 403-381-5118, or you can go and register online at http://www.farmingsmarter.com/
While you are on the Farming Smarter website, check out a bunch of the other projects we are working on. We are in the process up putting reports together for all of our projects and if there is something that you might be interested in finding out more info on, don't hesitate to get a hold of us.
As many of you are done or in the final stages of harvest, can't help but think to next year. What should you put in? What are seeded acres of certain crops going to be?
I wonder what the acres of winter wheat will be given the very wet fall we had and some of the challenges with getting the crop off for one.
I also wonder how many acres of Canola and Lentils will be seeded next year. As many of you know Lentil acres hit remarkable highs this year, and from what I have heard so far there were quite a few wrecks. How much will that influence the amount of seeded acres? Time will tell, but I think they might fall back into what normal averages are.
Thats all I got for today! Enjoy the nice November weather!
Friday, October 29, 2010
Its the Weekend!
I have been wondering all day what I should put up on the ol' blog. I missed an update for yesterday because Mr. Coles and I decided we would become bin movers for a day. There was lots of anxiety in the air as neither one of us had ever moved a bin. The nervous thoughts of will the bin dollys work?, will the bin tip over?, will we be able to pull it?, is the wind going to pick up? and how long will this take us? preoccupied our thoughts the night before the big bin move. All said and done, it went off pretty good. We had them moved and set up in their new spots by noon. Thanks a bunch to Matt Stanford for providing some expertise from moving a bin 10 years ago! We actually spent more time going from store to store trying to find the proper supplies to try and anchor these suckers down. Luckily we had some excellent customer service at Lethbridge Fasteners.
As I typed the last paragraph I came up with what I wanted to comment on today. Customer Service. As many of us have probably noticed, customer service is on a steady decline over the last number of years. It is something that is particularly disturbing to me because I think some companies don't really care about their customer service. They all say they do but in all reality its all about sales or the bottom line. The larger the company, it seems, the lower the quality of customer service. The big companies can afford to have a few more poor customer service events than smaller ones.
I don't know about a lot of you but I make a lot of my decisions based on customer service. I will not judge any place until I have experienced it at least once. I don't really rely on other peoples recommendations too much because everyone has different tastes in terms of what they would like in a customer service event. I have no problems one way or another letting people know whether my experience at Company X was good or bad. For example, if my wife and I go out for a nice dinner somewhere and we get treated like we are the only customers in the restaurant (even though the place is packed). I will be the one to make sure I mention my excellent experience at restaurant X to as many people as I can. That same can be said if it is a bad experience.
I think there needs to be a shift back to focusing on the customer service experience and how important it is.
Just a few of the random thoughts inside of the brain at the end of a day on a friday afternoon.
Have a safe and happy Halloween!
As I typed the last paragraph I came up with what I wanted to comment on today. Customer Service. As many of us have probably noticed, customer service is on a steady decline over the last number of years. It is something that is particularly disturbing to me because I think some companies don't really care about their customer service. They all say they do but in all reality its all about sales or the bottom line. The larger the company, it seems, the lower the quality of customer service. The big companies can afford to have a few more poor customer service events than smaller ones.
I don't know about a lot of you but I make a lot of my decisions based on customer service. I will not judge any place until I have experienced it at least once. I don't really rely on other peoples recommendations too much because everyone has different tastes in terms of what they would like in a customer service event. I have no problems one way or another letting people know whether my experience at Company X was good or bad. For example, if my wife and I go out for a nice dinner somewhere and we get treated like we are the only customers in the restaurant (even though the place is packed). I will be the one to make sure I mention my excellent experience at restaurant X to as many people as I can. That same can be said if it is a bad experience.
I think there needs to be a shift back to focusing on the customer service experience and how important it is.
Just a few of the random thoughts inside of the brain at the end of a day on a friday afternoon.
Have a safe and happy Halloween!
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Worst Part About Winter Coming......Winter Drivers!
Most people woke up this morning with a bit of a change of scenery. Snow has arrived in most parts of the province. In Lethbridge, we have had a few snowflakes but nothing (to this point) has stuck around. I have received text messages from family in Saskatchewan saying that they were having a "snow day" and could not even get out of their yards.
I don't personally mind the snow that much. The thing that always gets me is how people forget how to drive in winter conditions. It blows my mind that people who have lived and driven in Canada for all of their adult lives completely forget how to drive when winter comes around. Things like merging or crossing high speed traffic when roads are slippery because they can not wait the extra second for you to pass ( this is one of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to driving in general, more on that another day), driving way too fast, driving way too slow, not properly scaping their windshields and the list goes on.
All of this has made me realize that I do not mind winter so much. I can live with the snow and bundle up for the cold temperatures. Its the "winter drivers" that makes me cringe everytime I see snow or poor road conditions in the forecast.
Be safe out there!
I don't personally mind the snow that much. The thing that always gets me is how people forget how to drive in winter conditions. It blows my mind that people who have lived and driven in Canada for all of their adult lives completely forget how to drive when winter comes around. Things like merging or crossing high speed traffic when roads are slippery because they can not wait the extra second for you to pass ( this is one of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to driving in general, more on that another day), driving way too fast, driving way too slow, not properly scaping their windshields and the list goes on.
All of this has made me realize that I do not mind winter so much. I can live with the snow and bundle up for the cold temperatures. Its the "winter drivers" that makes me cringe everytime I see snow or poor road conditions in the forecast.
Be safe out there!
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Powers of Technology and Social Media
As we move forward in this industry its hard not to notice that the landscape of Agriculture is changing. I remember a time (and it was not that long ago) where no one had a cell phone or an email (or even internet for that matter). I could remember trying to get a hold of someone and would try first thing in the morning, at lunch or after supper. You knew that if you did not get a hold of the person you were looking for at any one of those, you were waiting until the next time you would hope they come into the house to answer their phone. You relied on regular mail and the good 'ol land line to communicate with people.
This is all fascinating stuff when you think about how we communicate in today's world. There are so many different ways to get your message across. Whether it be Email, Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, etc., there is no shortage of ways to get in touch with someone or let them know what is going on with you. And you see it everywhere. Almost every company has at least one of the four I rattled off above. If you don't you are almost seen as pre-historic.
In the past 6 months SARA and SACA have gone through a similar evolution in the social media. It all started with our brand new website http://www.farmingsmarter.com/ . Then we got ourselves a Facebook page to try to connect to people there. Next up it was Twitter. Now we are bloggers.
Pretty interesting stuff when you look at how fast all the change has happened over the years. I am reminded of something Jerome Glenn said about change at the 2009 SACA Conference "All the change that has happened over the last 25 years, in the future it is going to happen twice as fast and there is going to be twice as much change."
So in the next 12 plus years there will be twice as much innovation as we have had in the last 25! That is a scary and exciting thought to think about.
This is all fascinating stuff when you think about how we communicate in today's world. There are so many different ways to get your message across. Whether it be Email, Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, etc., there is no shortage of ways to get in touch with someone or let them know what is going on with you. And you see it everywhere. Almost every company has at least one of the four I rattled off above. If you don't you are almost seen as pre-historic.
In the past 6 months SARA and SACA have gone through a similar evolution in the social media. It all started with our brand new website http://www.farmingsmarter.com/ . Then we got ourselves a Facebook page to try to connect to people there. Next up it was Twitter. Now we are bloggers.
Pretty interesting stuff when you look at how fast all the change has happened over the years. I am reminded of something Jerome Glenn said about change at the 2009 SACA Conference "All the change that has happened over the last 25 years, in the future it is going to happen twice as fast and there is going to be twice as much change."
So in the next 12 plus years there will be twice as much innovation as we have had in the last 25! That is a scary and exciting thought to think about.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Back to Work!
After a great weekend of experiencing the best way to use barley (in my humble opinion) at my sister's wedding in Saskatchewan, it is time to get back to work.
There is still a bunch of fall work left to do with fall plant counts and soil sampling etc., it seems that there is a never ending task list for outside work and with snow in the forecast (and in some cases, its already here) its hard to get all dressed up and fight the cold!
Isn't it funny how when it is 2 degrees now we get all bundled up and then when we go through our cold stretches in the winter 2 degrees is short and t-shirt weather.
Just read through a copy of the Farming Smarter: Fall Edition. There are a lot of excellent stories in there. Look for it in your mailbox in early November.
There is still a bunch of fall work left to do with fall plant counts and soil sampling etc., it seems that there is a never ending task list for outside work and with snow in the forecast (and in some cases, its already here) its hard to get all dressed up and fight the cold!
Isn't it funny how when it is 2 degrees now we get all bundled up and then when we go through our cold stretches in the winter 2 degrees is short and t-shirt weather.
Just read through a copy of the Farming Smarter: Fall Edition. There are a lot of excellent stories in there. Look for it in your mailbox in early November.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
CTV Regina news is reporting that Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall is opposed to the BHP Billiton take over bid of the Potash Corp. Wall says that in the history of these deals that there are always promises made and there always seems to be promises broken, there is just too much risk in this deal.
All of the provincial political parties in Saskatchewan are in agreeance on this which is something that rarely happens.
Ultimately its up to the shareholders and the federal government as to whether this deal goes through.
What kind of impact might this have on agriculture? That might be a good question for a few of our speakers at the SACA conference.
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Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Some random thoughts on the drive to Saskatchewan.
- with all the moisture we have had this year, what kind of winter are we going to have?
- it is amazing to think about what it would have been like to pioneer the west. So much open range, no roads no cities and no traffic!
- think about the last thought for a second, is that deep down why farmer's do what they do? The feeling of innovation and being free
- after completing the agenda for the SACA conference the last couple of years, the first question I ask myself is "what the heck are we going to do next year to top this one?"
- are there applied research associations across Saskatchewan? I don't think there are many. It makes the work ARECA and the member associations are doing even more special we can't lose this.
- wher do producers learn everything that they do on the farm? What percentage of it comes from relatives, school, newspapers, internet, conferences, field tours/days, industry folks, coffee shops, looking over the neighbour's fence and good ol trial and error.
It is amazing to think about all the different and unique ways to learn in this industry.
Chris Procyk
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- with all the moisture we have had this year, what kind of winter are we going to have?
- it is amazing to think about what it would have been like to pioneer the west. So much open range, no roads no cities and no traffic!
- think about the last thought for a second, is that deep down why farmer's do what they do? The feeling of innovation and being free
- after completing the agenda for the SACA conference the last couple of years, the first question I ask myself is "what the heck are we going to do next year to top this one?"
- are there applied research associations across Saskatchewan? I don't think there are many. It makes the work ARECA and the member associations are doing even more special we can't lose this.
- wher do producers learn everything that they do on the farm? What percentage of it comes from relatives, school, newspapers, internet, conferences, field tours/days, industry folks, coffee shops, looking over the neighbour's fence and good ol trial and error.
It is amazing to think about all the different and unique ways to learn in this industry.
Chris Procyk
Sent on the TELUS Mobility network with BlackBerry
Conference Registrations are Now Open!
We are now accepting registrations for the 2010 SACA presents "Farming Today: Are you Ready?" Conference and Tradeshow on November 30 and December 1 at the Medicine Hat Exhibition and Stampede Cypress Centre.
Registration is $175 for a full conference pass which includes all meals and the banquet. There is also a single day rate of $110 if you are unable to take in both days.
Check out http://www.farmingsmarter.com/ for all the details on the agenda and how to register.
Registration is $175 for a full conference pass which includes all meals and the banquet. There is also a single day rate of $110 if you are unable to take in both days.
Check out http://www.farmingsmarter.com/ for all the details on the agenda and how to register.
Welcome!
Welcome to the initial post on the Farming Smarter Blog!
In here you will find all the information and opinions you will need to help make the best possible decisions when it comes to you farming operation. We will be posting research information, videos, pictures, and updates about various events throughout Southern Alberta.
Please feel free to send us any questions or comment on stories we post.
In here you will find all the information and opinions you will need to help make the best possible decisions when it comes to you farming operation. We will be posting research information, videos, pictures, and updates about various events throughout Southern Alberta.
Please feel free to send us any questions or comment on stories we post.
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