4 The Business of Ontario Agriculture Better Farming | November 2024 INSIGHT FROM THE INSIDE INSIGHT FROM THE INSIDE INSIGHT FROM THE INSIDE INSIGHT FROM THE INSIDE INSIGHT FROM THE INSIDE INSIGHT FROM THE INSIDE LETTER FROM THE EDITOR FARM FIRE SAFETY; THANKS TO YOU! The OFA recently hosted a webinar with the Ontario Association of Fire Chiefs on fire prevention and insurance. How prepared are you to prevent a fire on your farm? Do you keep several large fire extinguishers readily accessible in the barn or workshop and ensure you know how to operate them? Have you ensured your family and employees know their locations and understand your emergency response plan? Brian Crews, OFA director and dairy farmer based north of Trenton, offered some solid advice in a recent post on fire safety. Crews pointed out that barn fires especially are a serious concern as we head into colder months. Cold weather leads to more condensation on chilled surfaces, allowing a corrosive mix of barn gases and moisture to infiltrate the electrical system. Additionally, the increased use of heating equipment, such as gas heaters, raises the risk of ignition. “Easy steps farmers can take to reduce the threat of fire include hardwiring or using waterproof plugs or outlets, keeping buildings clean of dust and cobwebs, replacing extension cords, and identifying potential hotspots with a thermal imaging camera,” says Crews. “A few dollars spent on electrical upgrades can make a big difference. For example, installing an arc fault breaker can prevent a heat-causing fault that could easily cause a fire.” Crews also suggests farmers consider a fire prevention inspection by a professional from the local fire department or your insurance provider. You saw the front cover this month. Yes, it’s really been 25 years. As Better Farming reaches the quarter-century mark, we sincerely thank our farmer readers. Your loyalty, feedback, and engagement have been the driving force behind our success. We’re proud to have been part of your farming journey and look forward to continuing to serve you in the years ahead. Thank you! “A 2022 survey of 167 farmers found that they had invested, on average, only $541 in cyber security since 2020.” - Steve Croucher, Page 22 “When grain is harvested and dried, that dust contains a variety of things, including bacteria, fungi, insects, potential pesticide residue, animal droppings, and dried plant particles. We need to protect ourselves from dust exposure by limiting that exposure as much as we can, but are exposed whenever we are moving grain and working with it.” - Kendra Ulmer, Page 26 “Central banks typically begin lowering interest rates to provide some stimulus when there are economic storm clouds on the horizon. This is certainly the case at the moment.” - Graeme Crosbie, Page 34 “There was a touch of white mould in soybeans but much less than last year. Some tar spot was observed in corn in Southwestern Ontario, and western bean cutworm in Central and Eastern Ontario.” - Moe Agostino, Page 58 1-888-248-4893 90 Woodlawn Road West Guelph, ON N1H 1B2 PUBLISHER & EDITORIAL DIRECTOR PAUL NOLAN ext 202 Paul.Nolan@Farms.com ASSISTANT TO THE PUBLISHER & EDITORIAL DIRECTOR LESLIE STEWART ext 265 Leslie.Stewart@Farms.com AGRICULTURAL JOURNALISTS MARY LOGGAN EMILY MCKINLAY CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS EDITION MOE AGOSTINO CAMPBELL CORK DALE COWAN GEOFF GEDDES ABHINESH GOPAL PAUL HERMANS PATRICK LYNCH RALPH WINFIELD ADVERTISING TEAM GLENN RUEGG JEFF McKEE JENNY LONGSTREET SCOTT FARHOOD SAMANTHA RENAUD JOAN SPIEGELBERG DESIGN & PRODUCTION TEAM TANYA MYERS GREG MARLOW SHAUN CLARK ANDREA WILLIAMS www.BetterFarming.com Better Farming magazine is mailed as a member-benefit to all farmer members of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture. If you are not an OFA member, subscribe at: 1-888-248-4893 ext 281 Subscriptions@BetterFarming.com ISSN 1498-9344 (Printed) Canadian one-year subscriptions: $41 (11 issues; includes $4.72 HST). Two-year: $74 ($8.51 HST). U.S. subscriptions: $72 annually. International: $121. Single-copy back issues are $12. GST Registration #868959347RT0001 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to AgMedia Inc., 90 Woodlawn Road West, Guelph, ON N1H 1B2. Publications Mail Registration #1156. Publications Mail Agreement #40037298. Copyright ©2024 by AgMedia Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any content without written permission of the publisher is forbidden. Acceptance of advertising does not constitute endorsement of the advertiser, its products or services, nor do Better Farming, AgMedia or Farms.com endorse any advertiser claims. The publisher shall have no liability for the omission of any scheduled advertising. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada. Follow us on @BetterFarmingON
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