Winnipeg | Reuters — Heavy rain forecast for the soggiest parts of the Prairies this week is likely to further delay seeding in the world’s biggest canola-exporting country, meteorologists say. The rain, forecast to hit Alberta and Saskatchewan on Wednesday and Thursday respectively, would be the latest blow to farmers who could not harvest all […] Read more
Soggy forecast worries Prairie farmers in race to seed crops
U.S. farm groups oppose Trump’s cuts to ag spending
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. farm groups on Tuesday pushed back against President Donald Trump’s proposal to slash agriculture spending, viewing it as a fresh threat to a struggling farm economy. The White House on Monday proposed $46.54 billion in cuts to federal government funding for the agriculture sector over the next 10 years, including […] Read more
‘Doomsday’ seed vault entrance repaired after thaw of Arctic ice
Oslo | Reuters — Norway is repairing the entrance of a “doomsday” seed vault on an Arctic island after an unexpected thaw of permafrost let water into a building meant as a deep freeze to safeguard the world’s food supplies. The water, limited to the 15-metre entrance hall in the melt late last year, had […] Read more
Rain hinders seeding progress, slows harvest of over-wintered crops
Alberta crop conditions as of May 16
Reading Time: 2 minutes Over the last week, another major weather system swept across the province, bringing more rain (10-50 mm) to the Regions. Affected areas that are currently too wet are experiencing delays in seeding progress, as well as in the harvesting of overwintered crops. However, in the Southern and Central Regions, the weather has cooperated, allowing for […] Read more
Don’t be fooled by this weed’s pretty flower
Noxious weeds: Field scabious
Reading Time: < 1 minute Field scabious was introduced as an ornamental from Europe and is now taking over roadsides and pastures. It can be found throughout central Alberta and has the ability to invade even undisturbed plant communities, such as hayfields. Once established it is very difficult to control. Flowers can be a purple- to blue-coloured clustered head, resembling […] Read more
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
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
Help for calculating stocking rate
Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta Agriculture and Forestry has revised its Using Animal Unit Month (AUM) Effectively fact sheet. AUM can be used to calculate suitable stocking rates for pastures under a wide variety of conditions, said forage/beef specialist Karin Lindquist. The fact sheet includes sections on defining the animal unit, determining the AUM, differences in consumption rates, and […] 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
Glacier Media strengthens weather, ag technology team
Glacier Media, a leading Canadian business information news, insights and data supplier, has appointed Jonathan Neutens as president of its Weather Innovations Consulting (WIN) group. Neutens, who has more than 20 years experience in North America’s agribusiness sector, will lead the team at WIN to scale its business in the ag technology space, building on the existing […] Read more