Articles by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Livestock or pets not considered a risk for COVID-19

By Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada April 1, 2020

There is currently no evidence that animals become sick with COVID-19 or spread the infection. Imports and exports of plants and animals to and from Canada are not currently affected. However, the CFIA will take any necessary action to protect the safety of Canada’s plants and animals. (Updates will be posted at inspection.gc.ca) There have […] Read more

Dry conditions and a shortage of feed has prompted Ottawa to make much of Western Canada eligible for its Livestock Tax Deferral Provision program.

Livestock, News

Tax relief offered to livestock producers short on feed

If you’re forced to sell breeding stock but planning to restock, you can defer taxes for a year

By Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada September 19, 2018

Twenty-one counties and municipal districts in Alberta are on the “initial list” of regions where livestock producers can defer taxes because of feed shortfalls. The federal government’s Livestock Tax Deferral Provision program allows producers to defer a portion of their 2018 sale proceeds of breeding livestock until 2019 to help replenish the herd. The cost […] Read more

Methane emissions from a steer were measured by Agriculture Canada researchers.

Livestock, News

Two feed supplements lower methane emissions

Feeding wheat to dairy and beef cattle also lowered emissions  but the effect was short lived

By Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada April 17, 2018

A recent study has found feed supplements can reduce methane emissions from dairy and beef cattle. Researchers from Canada and Australia conducted the three-year study. “We need to know how feed affects methane production, but we also need to know how it affects other aspects of the farm operation, like daily gains in animals, milk […] Read more

Barley, News

Three recent barley varieties to check out

By Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada April 12, 2018

Here are three recent barley varieties developed by Agriculture Canada breeders. Roseland is a new two-row spring hulless food barley cultivar with excellent bread-making qualities developed at the Brandon Research and Development Centre. It has improved lodging resistance, higher test weight, and better threshability than check cultivar Millhouse and similar flour quality characteristics to Falcon […] Read more

News

Farm management scholarship available

Application deadline is Sept. 15

By Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada July 27, 2017

Applications are now being accepted for the Robert L. Ross Memorial Scholarship, which gives a Canadian farmer a chance to attend the Canadian Total Excellence in Agricultural Management (CTEAM) program. The program provides farmers the opportunity to learn detailed financial, marketing and human relations management skills, using their own operation as a case study. One […] Read more

Crops, Potatoes

Researchers release 15 new potato varieties

Genomic tools are increasingly used to identify favourable traits  and speed the breeding process

By Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada March 6, 2017

Reds, a wedge with an edge, and a super storer are among this year’s new potato selections from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Red-skinned varieties made up half of the total selections that Ag Canada potato breeders released earlier this month during their annual release open house. This includes a multi-purpose variety that shows promise for […] Read more

News

Funding available for green projects

By Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada June 14, 2016

Do you need help making environmental improvements to your farm? Canada’s Agricultural Youth Green Jobs Initiative will provide $1.9 million to help farmers, non-profits, and other organizations hire post-secondary graduates who are 30 years or younger and want to work in agriculture. Projects must offer an environmental benefit, be completed by March 2017, and the […] Read more

Crops

Good bugs save you big bucks when wheat midge arrives

Wheat midge has moved into Alberta. but two natural predators will be on your side if you foster their populations

By Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada July 23, 2015

Wheat midge, a non-native pest that feeds on developing wheat kernels, is a serious economic threat to farmers, especially in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. But the pest is now a growing problem in Alberta, including Peace River country, and starting to attack Montana’s wheat crops. However, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada researchers know ways to reduce its […] Read more

Cereals, Spring Wheat, Winter Wheat

Recent dry weather slows stripe rust spread

Producers are encouraged to monitor for the presence of the long, bright orange stripes

By Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada July 18, 2014

Seven winter wheat and 18 spring wheat fields were surveyed for stripe rust in the Lethbridge, Vulcan, Newell and Taber counties southern Alberta. The recent hot dry weather in southern Alberta has slowed the rate of spread of the pathogen. Fields in the Vulcan and Newell Counties were showing signs of drought stress. In general, […] Read more

Crops

New hope in the search for Ug99 stem rust resistance

By Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada November 29, 2013

It’s estimated that 90 per cent of global wheat varieties are at risk of contracting a devastating stem rust disease, Ug99. Discovered in Uganda in 1999, it has already affected crops from Africa to Western Asia – and it’s spreading. While the disease hasn’t reached North America yet, a team of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada […] Read more

Feed weekly outlook: Barley bids drop ahead of harvest

Prairie cash wheat: Loonie, U.S. prices trigger steep declines

Managed money’s net long position grows in canola

GFM Network News