Reading Time: 3 minutes Pet food is a $30-billion-a-year market in North America, and B.C. company Enterra wants to conquer it with some Alberta-raised protein — only in this case, it’s the ground larvae of black soldier flies. The protein powder that the company makes at its facility at Balzac is palatable to pets, has good digestibility, and helps […] Read more
Rover and Mittens like it, but people aren’t so keen on insect protein
Company targets pet food market for its Alberta-raised protein made from black soldier fly larvae
Bugs get their due in new facility
Reading Time: < 1 minute The University of Saskatchewan is building a new facility specifically designed to conduct research on arthropod plant pests (such as aphids) and beneficial insects. The Insect Research Facility, a first in Western Canada, will be led by entomologist Sean Prager who was recruited four years ago “in response to increased need for entomological research, training […] Read more
Edmonton company worming its way into plant food and ag markets
Vermicomposting: The worms turn waste into an increasingly sought-after soil supplement
Reading Time: 5 minutes Note: Her passion for red wigglers is legendary. To date her love letter to vermiculture has sold over 200,000 copies. She was, the Worm Woman from Kalamazoo. Mary Appelhof, a Michigan high school science teacher, is now considered the mother of vermiculture. An environmentalist who saw earthworms as a way to recycle food waste, Appelhof […] Read more
Drone tech’s next big target? Insect pest management
There are multiple potential future applications for drone tech in the works
Reading Time: 2 minutes Drones keep getting smaller and smaller, while their potential applications keep getting bigger and bigger. And now unmanned aircraft systems are taking on some of the world’s biggest small problems: insect pests. From crop-munching caterpillars to disease-transmitting mosquitoes, insects that threaten crops, ecosystems, and public health are increasingly being targeted with new pest-management strategies that […] Read more
Stay in the green to reduce risk of grain spoilage
Late tillers might have upped moisture in your wheat and barley, says agronomist
Reading Time: 2 minutes Your cereals might have a higher moisture content than you might expect after a very dry summer, says an agronomist with Alberta Wheat and Alberta Barley. “After a dry early and mid-season, late tillers have emerged due to the later summer rains,” Jeremy Boychyn wrote in his Growing Point blog earlier this month (albertawheatbarley.com). “These […] Read more
Washington state eradicates first ‘murder hornet’ nest of the year
Nest found in northwestern county near B.C. border
Reuters — Washington state eradicated its first Asian giant hornet nest of the year by vacuuming out 113 worker hornets and removing bark and decayed wood near the nest, Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) officials said Thursday. The so-called stinging “murder hornets,” the world’s largest hornets, can grow to five centimetres in length and […] Read more
Schoepp: The power of innovation is fuelling farms everywhere
Whether big like canola, niche like pig’s milk or unexpected like stinging nettles, there’s much to celebrate
Reading Time: 3 minutes I’ve seen and eaten some really amazing foods over the years. Cheese made from sow’s milk, rattlesnake, guinea pig, camel baked in cinnamon, insects and curious fish products. All made for memorable experiences — some that were more pleasant than others. I still cannot stomach camel or Vegemite, nor am I rushing out for grilled […] Read more
U.S. training ag staff to track, trap, kill ‘murder hornets’
Invasive species remains threat to bees, honey producers
Blaine, Wash. | Reuters — The first Asian giant hornet nest of the year has been found in Washington state, and plans are being developed to eradicate it, likely next week, the state’s agriculture department said on Thursday. The so-called stinging “murder hornets,” the world’s largest hornets, can grow to five centimetres in length and […] Read more
There’s foreign workers in the bug world, too — and they attack weeds
Bringing in weed-attacking pests is a laborious process but it’s often the only option for pastures
Reading Time: 3 minutes There are many ways to control weeds. Rose De Clerck-Floate’s favourite is to reunite them with their longtime enemies from the old country. “All of the weeds here can come from other parts of the world, mostly Europe and some from Asia, and establish here without the organisms that keep them in check in their […] Read more
Crop disease, pest survey needs farmers
Reading Time: < 1 minute Ag Canada’s Prairie Biovigilance Network needs farmers for two surveys, one for leaf disease in wheat fields and another for insects occurring in grain bins. The network is a multidisciplinary group seeking ways to reduce pest problems, insects, weeds, and diseases in western Canadian crops and to raise awareness regarding the prevalence, variability and impact […] Read more
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