Farm Credit Canada tracks percentage changes across the country, while Alberta Agriculture looks at dollar values in municipalities
Reading Time: 2 minutes Farm Credit Canada’s recently released Farm Land Value Report and a database created by Alberta Agriculture can go a long way to helping producers establish a land value, says a provincial farm business specialist. “According to the new FCC report, Alberta’s change in farmland values was 11.6 per cent which was 1.5 per cent higher […] Read more
How to get a handle on farmland prices
Uncertain times prompt growers to take out more insurance
Reading Time: 3 minutes It’s an uncertain world out there, especially in farming — and that has more Alberta producers taking out crop insurance. “We’re seeing more acres being insured by Alberta producers on crops — last year we were close to about 78 per cent of acres insured,” said Merle Jacobson, acting president of the Agricultural Financial Services […] Read more
Guenther: Seeding in home stretch for dry NW Saskatchewan
Seeding is drawing to a close in northwestern Saskatchewan, largely due to warm, dry weather this month. On average, seeding in the northwest was over half done early in the week, according to the latest Saskatchewan Crop Report. Provincially, farmers are 51 per cent done, putting them miles ahead of the five-year average of 28 […] Read more
Alberta groups receive funding for farm safety training
Reading Time: 2 minutes Six Alberta organizations have received grants from Farm Credit Canada and the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association for farm safety training programs. The six Alberta projects were among the 13 organizations which received funding this year from the FCC Ag Safety Fund. Projects with a local or provincial scope can receive up to $5,000. The six […] Read more
Draft a plan before rejuvenating tired forage stand
Forage ecologist Mike Schellenberg offers his insights on how to reinvigorate pastures and boost productivity
Reading Time: 4 minutes “Five years to forever.” That’s a long time for a forage stand to be highly productive — and yet that’s the answer producers often give when asked how long they expect the benefits of rejuvenating pastures to last, said Mike Schellenberg, a range and plant forage ecologist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada at Swift Current, Sask. […] Read moreWarm spring weather seeding interrupted by frost
Alberta crop conditions as of May 17
Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta Agriculture and Forestry – Unusually warm spring weather was interrupted by a brief frost which descended across most of the province, with the coldest temperatures occurring on May 13, 2016. Generally, the irrigated crops are looking good, dry land crops are in need of moisture and pasture and tame hay are under stress due […] Read more
U.S. study finds no risks to people, planet in GMOs
It’s time for the task of regulating new crop varieties to focus on plants’ characteristics rather than on how the plants were developed, a team of U.S. scientists recommends in a new report. A study committee of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine on Tuesday released an “extensive” study of genetically engineered crops, finding […] Read more
Read before signing the loan agreement, says expert
Reading Time: < 1 minute Agriculture is a capital-intensive business, and farmers often enter into financial agreements with lenders with the assets purchased with the loan used as security. “Unfortunately, farm business managers can fall into a pattern of simply signing documents, and not reviewing all the conditions thoroughly,” said Rick Dehod, agriculture farm financial specialist with Alberta Agriculture and […] Read more
Bid to boost beef checkoffs remains stalled
Reading Time: 3 minutes There’s no resolution in sight on the issue of checkoffs, even though beef industry groups say research and marketing will suffer if the levies aren’t increased. “We need to invest more in marketing, research, and issues management,” said Rich Smith, executive director of Alberta Beef Producers (ABP). “We simply believe we need a higher level […] Read more
Klassen: Feeder market bounces off previous lows
Western Canadian feeder cattle prices traded $5-$8 above week-ago levels with quality groups of steers selling for as much as $10 higher. Renewed optimism surfaced amongst feedlot operators as feeding margins appear to be moving above break-even pen closeout values. Auction markets that only had two or three major buyers at previous sales in spring […] Read more
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