Canola being harvested on Jim and Darlene Goodwin’s farm north of High River in late October. Almost everything was combined in southern Alberta before winter set in, but the yields were down because of dry conditions. Yields were better farther north but many fields were left unharvested because of rain and snow.

Alberta farmers grapple with a miserable harvest

There simply aren’t a lot of positives for many producers in the province

Reading Time: 5 minutes This year’s harvest was the season from hell for farmers across Alberta. Many will still be combining next spring, drying grain for weeks to come, and their marketing efforts will resemble a salvage operation. And while producers — particularly in central and northern regions — knew their crops were late in developing, Mother Nature did […] Read more


Alberta harvest continues, 11 per cent of crops remain

Alberta Crop Report: Conditions as of November 5

Reading Time: 6 minutes Following a cooler than normal growing season, September brought several wet spells, interspersed by two major dry spells, each lasting less than two weeks. In October, wet spells occurred more frequently, with the northern half of the province blanketed with a few cloudy days. Over the past month, all areas in the province experienced below […] Read more

Alberta producers battle for harvest progress

Alberta producers battle for harvest progress

Alberta Crop Report: Conditions as of October 29

Reading Time: 3 minutes One more week of harvesting between weather events, and another blast of winter this past weekend brought snow or rain to many areas in the west and north halting operations yet again. The strong winds that accompanied the cold front have scattered canola swaths and blown snow into and over top of swaths still left […] Read more


The Extreme Cowboys competition, an obstacle course that tests horsemanship skills, calls itself “the fastest-growing equine sport.” It’s making its Farmfair debut this year.

Northlands strikes a balance for Farmfair 2019

Farmfair organizers attempt to boost urban visitors while staying true to the show’s roots

Reading Time: 4 minutes With a new focus on attracting urban audiences, Farmfair International’s organizers are offering new kinds of programming while keeping old fans happy. The first step was thinking beyond cattle. Farmfair 2019, which runs Nov. 6-10 at the Edmonton EXPO Centre, features programming dedicated to smaller critters such as bees, rabbits and urban chickens — not […] Read more




Photo: File/Greg Berg

Prairie oats market stable, but strong

Oats bids in Western Canada have stabilized for the time being, as the weather concerns that propped up the market at the beginning of the month are largely factored in. “It’s a pretty stable market. Stable, but strong,” said Scott Shiels, of Grain Millers Inc. in Yorkton, Sask. Prices moved up at the beginning of […] Read more


Weather plays nice to see Alberta harvest pick up pace

Alberta Crop Report: Conditions as of October 22

Reading Time: 5 minutes Significant momentum was made in some areas getting crop in the bin this past week, with the provincial average currently estimated at 74 per cent of all crops combined. This jump is primarily attributed to Central, North East and North West regions where 26, 16 and 13 per cent respectively of Major Crop* acres were […] Read more

If your acres weren’t located in southern Alberta, you likely had a chance to make some harvest progress late last week.

Wet weather continues, stalling Alberta harvest further

Alberta Crop Report: Conditions as of October 15

Reading Time: 5 minutes Wet weather along with below normal temperatures have been the dominant pattern in Alberta over the past couple of weeks. During the long weekend, large areas in the North East and North West Regions received between 10 to 15 mm of precipitation in the form of either rain or rain and snow mix. For the […] Read more