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Farming on the fly at the 58thDate posted: July 12, 2005Where the lines of latitude climb high, technology is critical to successful farming, says Maurice Fines.  Maurice Fines Farmers in the Peace River Region of B.C. can count on three things: death, taxes, and a short growing season where every day counts. "It's a place where you can't go fishing when you should be farming," says Maurice Fines, who has produced mainly grains and oilseeds in the region for over 45 years. He farms near Fort St. John, a town located just below the 58th parallel. These days, Fines leaves the day-to-day family operation to his son Cameron, but he maintains a strong involvement in industry direction through several producer organizations. Technology has always been key to successful farming in the Peace, where farmers have up to 20 less days of growing season that those in southern Prairie growing areas, he says. Today one of the most promising areas of technology is crop genetics. Harvesting genetic potentialThat promise is why Fines is involved in producer investment in genetics research, as a farmer director of Western Grains Research Foundation (WGRF). "The big need today not just technology but affordable technology," says Fines. "You can have a tractor now that allows you to go down the field and read the paper, because it's all run on GPS. But if you can't afford it, it's not doing much good at the end of the day. Genetics is an area where the producer can benefit without a lot of additional cost." More of Fine's perspective on farming in northern areas and farmers role in research is available in Western Grains Research Magazine. Reprintable with permission. Reproduction of this article - in whole or in part, in print or electronic - requires direct permission from Meristem Information Resources, Ltd. Contact Meristem directly to request reprint permission. |
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Livestock industry tackles new era in animal welfare 