MarketsFarm — Warm and dry conditions across much of the Prairies in May caused drought conditions to worsen, especially in Alberta, according to the latest Drought Monitor report from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. As of May 31, an estimated 79 per cent of the Prairie region was classified as abnormally dry (D0) or in moderate […] Read more
Drought expands across Canadian Prairies
Dry conditions push eastward in Manitoba
Calgary-area MLA named Alberta’s new ag minister
RJ Sigurdson to handle ag file, Horner moves to finance
The Alberta government’s caucus lead on emergency medical services (EMS) reform has been promoted to handle the agriculture file in a post-election cabinet shuffle. RJ Sigurdson, MLA for the constituency of Highwood, just south of Calgary, was sworn in Friday by Lt.-Gov. Salma Lakhani as Alberta’s new minister of agriculture and irrigation, replacing Nate Horner. […] Read more
Pre-election reports analyze Alberta’s ag issues
Three reports focus on party histories, ag sector concerns, current platforms
Alberta farmers’ concerns with provincial policy, and the two major parties’ stances on those concerns, are the subjects of a three-part analysis leading up to a provincial election on Monday. The Simpson Centre for Food and Agricultural Policy, a think tank operating out of the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy, says its three […] Read more
More than half of world’s large lakes drying up, study finds
Gains in Great Lakes, Lake Winnipeg come from runoff, rainfall
London | Reuters — More than half of the world’s large lakes and reservoirs have shrunk since the early 1990s, chiefly because of climate change, intensifying concerns about water for agriculture, hydropower and human consumption, a study published on Thursday found. A team of international researchers reported that some of the world’s most important freshwater […] Read more
Low fusarium levels detected in seed
Reading Time: < 1 minute Testing conducted last year for fusarium-infected seed found only low levels in the province, according to an interim report from Alberta Seed Processors. Three labs tested samples collected from Sept.1 until the end of the year, the organization said on its website. “Even though wheat samples tested had the presence of fusarium, infection levels were […] Read more
Indoor ‘mega-farm’ in Calgary getting even bigger
While the facility is the same size, the growing area is being increased by a third and production doubled
Reading Time: 3 minutes An indoor mega-farm set to produce microgreens and baby greens just got even more mega. The facility that will house the “vertical farm” now under construction in southeast Calgary isn’t getting bigger but the growing space inside is jumping to 100,000 square feet from 74,000 previously. “We found, through further engineering, ways of further squeezing […] Read more
A new name, some familiar programs and a bunch of new money
Federal-provincial ag funding deal has new initiatives, old favourites and sizeable grants
Reading Time: 3 minutes Have you been itching to buy temperature and moisture measuring cables for your grain bin? Or maybe an imaging drone or some fancy soil sensors? If so, there may be up to $150,000 available to you. Through its new five-year Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership, Ottawa and the province will split the cost of a number […] Read more
Carbon price exemption for farm gas clears Commons
Bill C-234 next headed to Senate
Legislative amendments that would exempt farmers’ eligible purchases of natural gas and propane from federal carbon pricing are now en route to Canada’s Senate. Bill C-234, a private member’s bill sponsored by Ben Lobb, the Conservative MP for the southern Ontario riding of Huron-Bruce, passed third reading for adoption in the House of Commons on […] Read more
‘Normal’ spring ahead for most of the Prairies
Below-normal rains expected for southern Alberta, western Saskatchewan
MarketsFarm — Canada’s Prairies are looking at normal temperatures over the next month to three months, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC). The federal department on Tuesday issued its temperature and precipitation probabilistic forecasts, which also called for normal precipitation for most of the region. “The forecast is really neutral for the Prairies, […] Read more
Foothills ranchers share rules for water resiliency
Keep it simple: Riparian areas play an outsized role in vital watersheds, and caring for them isn’t complicated
Reading Time: 5 minutes The Eastern Slopes are what many people picture when they think of Alberta — a sweeping landscape of grass and rolling hills giving way to forests and ridges framed by the majesty of the Rocky Mountains. But all that beauty masks serious issues, including the considerable strain on riparian areas. Key to the effort to […] Read more
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