Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta Open Farm Days gives farmers and ranchers a chance to invite their urban cousins and rural neighbours to stop in for a visit to share stories, see demonstrations, and learn more about the people who grow their food. The event takes place Aug. 19-20 and it’s expected more than 90 farms, ranches and ag-tourism operators […] Read more
Alberta Open Farm Days coming up
Over 90 farms expected to open their doors for August event
Saskatchewan to tap farm leaders for drainage board
Representatives from four Saskatchewan farmer organizations will sit on a new provincial advisory board on farm drainage policy. The provincial government on Tuesday announced the creation of two advisory boards: a policy development board and technical review board. Specific members haven’t yet been named to either board, but the province said the policy advisory board […] Read more
Brazil police probe ag ministry for corruption
Sao Paulo | Reuters — Brazilian federal police started two separate investigations on Tuesday into suspected corruption at the Agriculture Ministry to benefit meatpacking, dairy and other food companies. The probes into whether inspection procedures were eased in favour of certain unnamed companies comes two months after the country’s meatpacking industry was rocked by a […] Read more
Greig: Animal welfare research focusing more on emotional states
Animal welfare research is moving beyond identifying what keeps an animal healthy, to focus more on their state of being and their happiness. For years, farmers have justified the way they manage and house animals based on objective measures of their health: disease prevalence, growth rates and feed consumption. Consumer research, however, shows that’s not […] Read more
Start succession planning with a conversation — and then keep talking
Trent Clark has heard many succession ‘horror stories’ and is making sure that everyone in his family is on the same page
Reading Time: 5 minutes Planning for Profits Working on your farm management skills is like exercising — it pays big benefits, but it’s easy to push it off for another day. Only one-third of producers use business advisers or risk management tools, and fewer still do HR, succession, or strategic planning. To help make your farm more profitable (and […] Read more
April didn’t bring much joy — and Alberta had the worst of it
Statistically, it wasn’t absolutely miserable but a dry stretch and a return to average temperatures would be most welcome this spring
Reading Time: 3 minutes Another month has come and gone, and depending on where you live it was either a near-average April or you were cold and wet. Listening to the general talk about April’s weather, you would probably come to the conclusion that most areas across the Prairies had a miserable month. But in reality, most places experienced […] Read more
Farm sales to co-ops to count for small business deduction
Changes to federal tax law that were meant to block “multiplication” of the small business deduction for corporations won’t apply to farmers’ sales to co-operatives. The federal government on Friday released draft amendments to the Income Tax Act, which would allow qualifying farmers and fishers selling to agricultural and fisheries co-operatives to be eligible for […] Read more
Weather school is back in session — here are the basics of thunderstorms
How does solar energy result in thunderstorms? The answer lies with conduction, convection, and latent heat
Reading Time: 3 minutes With temperatures slowly starting to heat up across the Prairies, thoughts turn towards summer and summer weather, and in my case, I begin thinking about thunderstorms. After a very active summer last year, I thought it might be time to look at this topic again. I also thought it would be a good idea to take […] Read more
Cool temps make for a slow start to seeding in Alberta
Alberta crop conditions as of May 2
Reading Time: < 1 minute Seeding is off to a slow start due to the cool April temperatures experienced throughout the province. In the South, soils have been slow to warm while in the remainder of the province, the cool temperatures slowed the dry down of already saturated soils caused by the wet conditions experienced last fall. Currently, six per […] Read more
Parvovirus cases recently reported in Alberta
The virus can be fatal for dogs and the provincial vet association says vaccination is crucial
Reading Time: < 1 minute Several cases of parvovirus have recently been reported in Alberta. The Alberta Veterinary Medical Association strongly encourages anyone with questions about parvovirus or suspect their pet may have parvovirus to seek the immediate advice of a registered veterinarian. Parvovirus is a hardy, highly contagious, often deadly virus that’s spread through the feces of infected dogs. […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
