“World soybean production has been higher than its consumption over the last three years so carry-overs will continue to increase and this state will continue to put pressure on prices,” said Pearson.

Although the numbers are preliminary and will change, USDA forecasts are important and impact market conditions, said Pearson.

The post First USDA crop forecast available appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

The event takes place June 9-10 at the St. Edouard Renewal Centre in St. Paul and the registration deadline is June 1.

For agenda and registration information go to grazingschool4women.com.

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Under the umbrella of the Agricultural Research and Extension Council of Alberta, eight applied research groups performed forage testing of various varieties at 12 locations throughout the province. This was the sixth year of tests.

“Varieties of barley, oats, triticale and peas commonly used for silage, greenfeed and swath grazing were included in the trial, as well as new varieties showing good potential for these uses,” said Carla Rhyant of the West Central Forage Association.

For more information, go to agric.gov.ab.ca.

The post Silage varieties for Alberta cattle producers appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

Grandin will speak about overcoming adversity on May 5 and give a presentation on animal welfare the following day.

The Innovation, Education and Awareness conference will also have sessions on hog transport research, animal welfare expectations of the European Union and U.K. during transport, new innovations in livestock transport, and welfare expectations at the plant level.

The cost is $225 for CLT members and $300 for non-members.

For more info, visit livestocktransport.ca.

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The catalogue lists over 600 free and priced books, DVDs and CD-ROMs distributed through the department’s publications office. These materials provide up-to-date information on a wide range of agricultural subjects.

“We’ve got products on just about every subject you can think of,” said information management director Gerard Vaillancourt. “They cover topics ranging from new ventures to crop and livestock production, to agri-tourism, and much more.”

The catalogue also lists web-based materials, including decision-making tools (such as the barley silage calculator) and videos.

“This year’s edition includes a complete listing of all the new and revised material that has been added to the collection over the year, including the new Commercial Vegetable Production on the Prairies manual,” said Vaillancourt.

The catalogue can be ordered by calling 780-427-0391, emailing publications.office@gov.ab.ca, or by downloading from the Alberta Agriculture website.

The post Alberta Agriculture’s 2015 information catalogue now available appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

“These fact sheets present innovative thinking and practical tips to help agricultural food producers and processors transport their goods to market,” said new venture specialist Kathy Bosse.

The fact sheets are Distribution Partners: Working with Regional Carriers; Distribution Logistics: Getting Your Products to Market; Distribution DIY: Building a Solid Foundation; and Distribution Consolidation: Working Together Along the Value Chain.

The fact sheets can be found at agric.gov.ab.ca.

The post New food distribution fact sheets available from AARD appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

“Protein levels in a lot of hay that was cut late or damaged by rain over the summer, is testing 25 to 30 per cent lower than normal,” said Barry Yaremcio, noting that skinny cows have serious problems during calving. “I’m getting calls on a regular basis and I’d say about 25 to 50 per cent of the hay this year is of lower quality than what the physical appearance will show.”

Feed testing is well worth the cost, said Yaremcio, who also recommends consulting a vet or fellow producer if there’s a potential problem.

The post Poor hay causing concern appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

Since the ICE Canada futures is not actively traded, the grain trade uses the Minneapolis Hard Red Spring wheat futures for hedging Canadian hard red spring wheat, said Neil Blue. A recent elevator quote had hard red spring wheat basis at minus 16 cents a bushel. But when an 80-cent Canadian dollar was factored in, the recalculated basis was minus $1.63/bushel.

“For those grain buyers who do not calculate the basis in this way, it’s important that producers make the exchange rate adjustment in comparing basis levels of different companies,” said Blue.

The post Falling Canadian dollar can affect wheat basis appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

Alberta Barley, the Alberta Food Processing Development Centre, and Cigi were among the participants in the recent five-day mission. It included informational and technical seminars on food ingredients and animal feed, and business-to-business meetings.

“They were well attended by Mexican ingredient manufacturers and suppliers, product developers, industry associations and government officials,” said Paola Zaragoza of Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development.

The post Mexico trip generates sales appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

Integrated Traceability Solutions Global of Okotoks has been contracted to research what breeders want in a mobile app. An online survey, which takes 10 to 15 minutes to complete, can be found here.

Producers not wanting to take the survey can still provide input by emailing their comments prior to March 31, 2015.

The post App input wanted from cattle producers appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.