Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta’s wildland firefighters had one of their busiest wildfire seasons on record, combating more than 1,786 fires that burned 492,000 hectares. That was the third-highest number of fires in the past 25 years. The busy season saw 2,904 Albertans hired as emergency firefighters, with 1,128 additional firefighters and various aircraft brought in from Eastern and […] Read more
Alberta had a busy season for wildfires
Two 4-H leaders named to Hall of Fame
Reading Time: < 1 minute Two outstanding Albertans are being recognized for their longtime service to 4-H and their communities. Dorothy Carlson from Cherhill and Sherry Howey from Valleyview are the 82nd and 83rd inductees into Alberta’s 4-H Hall of Fame. Carlson has been a 4-H leader and volunteer for nearly 20 years at the club, district, and provincial levels. […] Read more
New edition of CropChoice$ crop-planning software available
Reading Time: < 1 minute CropChoice$ 2015 is now available. Producers can plug their yields from the 2015 harvest into the software and find whether their cropping plan can break even or make a profit. They can also enter target gross margins to see if they can achieve them. The software can analyze up to 40 dryland and irrigated crops […] Read more
Concrete may be coming down in price
Reading Time: < 1 minute Thinking of building? Check out the price of concrete first. “Concrete seems to be more expensive in the Prairie region as compared to British Columbia and Ontario,” said Todd Bergen-Henengouwen, a market analyst with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry. “I found that the price of a 32 MPa (megapascal) concrete in B.C. and Ontario was about […] Read more
New profile of Alberta’s greenhouse sector
Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta Agriculture and Forestry has released the 2014 Alberta Greenhouse Profile Report, which is based on a survey conducted in partnership with the Alberta Greenhouse Growers Association. It provides current benchmark data on the province’s 230 greenhouses, including size, distribution in different regions within the province, heating systems, water and energy use trends, labour, as […] Read more
New Safety Smarts instructor in Peace Country
Reading Time: < 1 minute Carla Richard is the new Safety Smarts instructor at the Farm Safety Centre in Peace Country. The Safety Smarts program teaches rural children from kindergarten to Grade 6 how to recognize and react safely to a wide variety of potential farm hazards. “The program has been running since 1998 and this year it will reach a […] Read more
Just how much is that roast beef worth?
Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta Agriculture and Forestry has a new fact sheet on pricing meat products. “When you sell direct to market, there is a lot more involved than production,” said new-venture specialist Kathy Bosse. You also have to manage processing, packaging and delivery and think about consumer demand. “The new Pricing Meat Products: An Introduction fact sheet covers […] Read more
Learn the ins and outs of direct marketing
Marketing Made Easy workshop in Calgary on Nov. 5
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Marketing Made Easy workshop takes place Nov. 5 in Calgary and Jan. 20 in Fort Saskatchewan. “This workshop examines selling products at Alberta-approved farmers’ markets and beyond,” said Delores Serafin of Alberta Agriculture and Forestry. “You will learn strategies for creating a lasting first impression, clearly identifying your target clients, and how to make […] Read more
Provincial grants available to reduce worker turnover
Workforce Development Initiative offers funding up to $25,000
Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta Agriculture and Forestry’s 2015-16 Workforce Development Initiative is still accepting grant applications from employers interested in reducing their worker turnover or improving the productivity of their food processing or primary agriculture operation. “The retention grant provides a grant to cover 50 per cent of the costs of having a consultant develop a plan to […] Read more
Boosting hay stand conditions
Reading Time: < 1 minute Many hay stands, especially older ones, are in poor condition following this year’s drought and in need of a fertility program, says a provincial forage specialist. “Doing it in spring is good, but although doing it in fall might lose a little bit of the nitrogen component, it allows for a very early effect on […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
