Bill 22, the Animal Protection Amendment Act, was tabled in the provincial legislature on March 30 by RJ Sigurdson, Minister of Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation. The act was last updated in 2006.

“Alberta is an agricultural province, and the protection of all our animals is vital to our communities,” Sigurdson said during a press conference. “Whether it’s livestock on a farm or pets, they deserve to receive appropriate care and be protected from distress.”

The bill proposes dozens of changes, from administrative updates that align the act with other Alberta and Canadian legislation to substantive new enforcement tools and a broadened legal framework for animal welfare.

WHY IT MATTERS: Alberta’s Animal Protection Act hasn’t been updated since 2006. Bill 22 proposes the most significant overhaul in two decades — expanding the legal definition of distress beyond food, water, shelter and veterinary care to include natural behaviours, raising maximum fines from just over $20,000 to $250,000, and making Alberta the first province to enforce animal welfare restriction orders from other jurisdictions. For livestock producers already meeting high standards of animal welfare, the changes formalize expectations that are largely already in practice — but they also sharpen the legal consequences for those who fall short.

Tougher penalties and cross-provincial enforcement

The new bill proposes a major increase in maximum fines for breaching the act — from just over $20,000 to $250,000 — and allows for jail sentences of up to 12 months.

If the legislation is passed, Sigurdson said Alberta will also become the first province to enforce animal welfare restriction orders issued in other jurisdictions.

“If a court in another province or territory has restricted or prohibited an individual from owning or living with animals, we’ll be able to enforce that order right here in our province. The change will ensure people won’t be able to evade these orders and potentially re-offend right here in our province,” he said. “We are the first province to take this step, and I hope our leadership can inspire other jurisdictions to follow suit.”

“It was clear to us that if offenders were offending in other provinces, that those enforcement orders should be enforced here in the province of Alberta. We’re taking this as an opportunity to lead the country in this area to make sure repeat offenders can’t just move province to province and continue to offend,” Sigurdson continued.

Expanded definition of distress

The concept of distress has been broadened significantly under the proposed amendments.

“I guess currently the concept of distress is limited to food, water, shelter and veterinary care, but we all know animals have other needs that should be met, like the ability to move around naturally and the ability to be in a safe environment,” said Leanne Niblock, executive director of the Alberta Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

The new proposed legislation will cover unsanitary and unsafe conditions and circumstances that lead to distressed animal behaviour, such as leaving a horse alone in a box stall when it is displaying anxious behaviour such as pacing.

The definition of distress will be broadened to include opportunities for exercise and the expression of natural behaviours, said Niblock. This is fundamental to good animal welfare, and the inclusion of this expanded definition is vital.

Amendments will prohibit causing or allowing an animal to remain in distress and set out duties for animal owners and caregivers.

Modernized inspection powers

As the animal protection framework becomes more robust, peace officers need the right tools to relieve distress and resolve issues effectively and efficiently, Sigurdson explained.

The proposed changes will give peace officers the power to intervene or remove animals from harmful situations. The government is also planning to modernize inspection authorities and expand them to include businesses serving the public, such as boarding and grooming facilities.

“Oversight mechanisms and safeguards are in place to ensure peace officers’ actions are lawful and appropriate, and any concerns about the actions or conducts of a peace officer can be formally reviewed through existing processes,” Sigurdson said.

Framework built through consultation

The proposed changes were developed through consultation with animal protection agencies, government groups, livestock industry groups, veterinarians, Indigenous groups and municipalities in May and June 2025.

Megan Bergman, registrar for the Alberta Veterinary Medical Association, said having a framework that keeps pace with the realities of veterinarians, technologists and animal welfare partners will ensure animals receive appropriate and timely care, particularly in challenging situations.

The changes will close gaps in responding to animals in distress, strengthen enforcement tools and provide appropriate flexibility for veterinary professionals.

Ineffective legislation leaves animals in distress, said the Alberta SPCA’s Niblock.

“Our vision is that every animal is treated humanely, and we can’t do this without strong laws empowering us. Seeing meaningful revisions made to the Animal Protection Act has been one of our organization’s top priorities,” she said.

“Modernized legislation and strong enforcement will position our province as a leader in animal welfare,” she said.

“Our enforcement team stands ready to implement these changes and build on this progress to keep animals safe in Alberta.”

Niblock expects to get more calls as people become more knowledgeable about the act and understand the expanded definition of distress.

Those who are concerned about an animal welfare case can contact the distress line at 1-800-455-9003 or the Alberta SPCA.

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Terry Sydoryk, chief executive officer of Calgary-founded Cellar Insights, says the company is working to change how growers and processors manage that critical window.

WHY IT MATTERS: Alberta is Canada’s largest producer of potatoes, accounting for more than 27 per cent of national production.

“Cellar Insights helps potato growers, processors and storage operators minimize loss and detect early signs of spoilage, excess shrink and poor fry colour,” Sydoryk said during a presentation at the Results Driven Agriculture Research (RDAR) showcase in Edmonton.

Breaking down post-harvest losses

Co-founder Ross Culbertson, a sixth-generation potato grower from Florenceville, N.B., saw heavy investment on the crop side to boost yields — but noticed a gap once potatoes went into storage.

Even in a good facility, about four per cent of yield is lost to respiration. Factor in rot, quality and disease issues, and losses climb substantially.

“We thought there was an opportunity there. Hence, Cellar Insights was born. We’re looking to empower growers and processors to reduce post-harvest losses, strengthen food security and boost resource efficiency through actionable insights. Our objective is to maximize the value for the grower, reduce the risk of the supply chain losses for the processor, and ultimately run storage as a competitive advantage,” said Sydoryk.

Global post-harvest losses exceed US$100 billion across multiple crops.

Bigger potato industry in Alberta

Alberta’s potato industry is growing, and the province now leads the country in production.

“The combination of Alberta, Manitoba, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island make up 78 per cent of the production in Canada,” said Sydoryk.

About 60 per cent of Alberta’s potatoes end up processed — french fries account for 60 per cent of that, with another 20 per cent going to chips.

Storage quality matters because processors need a precise balance of sugars, taste and colour.

“McDonald’s is adamant that a bouquet of french fries has got to look special,” he said.

Storage facilities around Lethbridge and Taber, many about 20 years old, line the highways. Potatoes are loaded into dome-shaped bins, filled to within five or six feet of the top, with dirt floors and culverts laid down for airflow.

What happens inside a storage bin

A typical bin is about 200 feet by 50 feet and 18 feet deep. Large fans on one side push air through floor slots, while a cooling wall on the opposite side lets growers reduce temperature. A humidification wall introduces moisture. A mezzanine lets growers walk the pile for visual checks.

“Ultimately, the age-old process of checking on the bin is walking it daily and checking if a pile is depleted. When I look at it from the top, if I look at the cross connect or cross tubes for air flow, do I see any sort of liquid coming out of the pile?”

A smell test remains one of the simplest ways to detect rot.

Potatoes need to be stored long-term to supply factories that run year-round. They should be at or below 13 C coming out of the ground — warmer harvest temperatures in southern Alberta can accelerate rot risk.

After loading, potatoes go through drying, pre-cooling and treatment stages to bring temperatures down. Ideal storage temperature sits at eight to 10 C, or lower for seed potatoes, pushing them into dormancy.

Three factors are monitored throughout:

• humidity,
• carbon dioxide, and
• temperature.

All affect quality, and growers need to maintain conditions over months to meet the needs of chip and french fry processors.

How Cellar Insights works

The company’s platform monitors temperature and humidity against thresholds set by the grower, issuing proactive alerts if conditions — including carbon dioxide levels — are exceeded.

“Early detection tracking abroad is something we’re focused on now, and lastly, we’ve introduced trending reports within the platform, so you can see things that happen over time, whether it’s the last 24 hours, last seven days, last 30 days, compared across the various units,” he said.

Cellar Insights uses low-cost, wireless, battery-operated sensors placed directly into storage bins. A sensor hub in the facility backhaults data via cellular signal to the cloud, giving growers remote visibility. External temperatures are also measured.

Predicting rot with machine learning

Some newer facilities already have built-in sensors. Cellar Insights is layering machine learning and artificial intelligence on top to predict early rot and spoilage.

RDAR funding will support an expansion of the rot-sensing work the company began a year ago.

“Our objective is to put 100 bins in play with sensors and another 20 or 15 bins with additional gas and volatile sensor measurements,” he said.

The company is testing combinations of sensor types. Early detection of deterioration lets producers choose mitigation strategies — such as reducing humidity — to protect more of the crop.

The next step is applying existing collected data to a machine learning model that can predict rot risk potential in any given storage facility.

Cellar Insights was founded in 2023 through Carrot Ventures, a Calgary-based venture studio for agtech, and has secured grants from RDAR and other organizations.

“We’ve raised a substantial amount of money that we can take this business forward with a specific focus on long term storage,” said Sydoryk.

The post Alberta agtech start-up tackles potato storage losses with sensor technology appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

The strategy will support sustainable practices, improve data collection and strengthen the long-term resilience of Canada’s agricultural lands.

WHY IT MATTERS: A national soil health strategy is key to maintaining Canada’s strong global position in the agriculture industry as climate change threatens the sector.

MacDonald made the announcement alongside Senator Rob Black, who led a Senate study of soil published in the 2024 report “Critical Ground: Why Soil is Essential to Canada’s Economic, Environmental, Human and Social Health.”

Black said work could begin as early as April and be completed by December 2027. He said the strategy will avoid a one-size-fits-all approach and will include educational and financial support, peer-to-peer networks, and a position for a national soil health advocate.

The strategy will focus on collaboration and will identify gaps in research, measurement, education, and extension, said Alan Kruszel, the SCCC’s eastern producer director.

Alberta reaction

Roger Chevraux, a grain farmer near Killam, was involved with Black’s committee that worked on the soil report.

“The stuff that the Senate did back then was good. They reached out to several different farm groups, and they did have some testimony,” he said.

Chevraux said the strategy recognizes that Canadian farmers are already doing good work, including the widespread shift to zero-till and efforts to reduce erosion and build soil organic matter.

“I’m glad that Canada is taking some interest in soils across Canada, and they want to make sure it remains healthy for us, because it is so vital to our existence and to our farming and agriculture here in Canada,” he added.

A director with the Alberta Canola Producers Commission and the Canadian Grains Council, Chevraux is encouraged to see the government working with the SCCC and other partners across the sector.

“As long as they continue to reach out to different farm organizations and continue to do the work they’re going to do, I think it’s a good exercise for us to continue to recognize that our soil is critical for the Canadian economy and for (humankind) in general,” he said.

Questions about the strategy

Cheryl Westman, an agronomist who operates a mixed farm near Vermilion, more skeptical.

Her biggest concern is making sure people with the right knowledge and background are conducting the research — and that they consult directly with producers.

“Farmers in Alberta do a good job of trying to do the right things to keep our soil healthiest, and to make sure we’re not deteriorating it,” she said. “We’re good leaders on that. The improvement in our soil organic matter over the years is a testament to that.”

Westman wants to know who is involved, what the strategy will entail and what the end game is.

“The biggest concern is what’s the next rule that’s going to be coming down the line to us, and is it going to be workable?” she said.

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“We share, as a sector, all the same attributes as the rest of the farming sectors from genetics to raising animals in pens and dealing with animal welfare issues and animal health issues,” said Tim Kennedy, president and chief executive officer of the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance.

WHY IT MATTERS: The aquaculture industry says demand is there for Canadian seafood but without sufficient support, its seeing more imported product moving into grocery stores.

The Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance and seven provincial aquaculture organizations wrote a letter to the federal, provincial and territorial governments. They called on them to use Canada’s Next Policy Framework for Agriculture to help their sector grow — and to class the industry under Agriculture Agri-Food Canada (AAFC).

“Our lead department has been the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans is a habitat protection and fisheries management department. They deal with the wild capture sector,” Kennedy said.

Aquaculture is the farming of fish and seafood.

Aquaculture as agriculture for growth

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans isn’t growth oriented. AAFC is, Kennedy said.

“We have flat lined in Canadian production for aquaculture for 20 years, and we have the largest coastline in the world.”

The Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance has been asking to be classed under AAFC for the past ten years. The aquaculture industry could then be classed as agricultural and reap some of the same benefits as agricultural industries. For example, aquaculture farmers would have access to the AgriInnovate program.

The aquaculture sector would also like a collaborative insurance program for shellfish farmers and freshwater producers.

Aquaculture is a $5 billion sector in terms of economic activity — the equivalent of 1.4 per cent of farm gate sales in Canada.

“In terms of a relative comparison to the rest of the ag sector, that’s small,” said Kennedy. “One thing people should know is we’ve only been around as a commercial sector for 45 years. We’re young. Salmon production started 50 years ago.”

The Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance has about 65 members. Members include people who raise fish such as salmon, rainbow trout, Artic char, mussels and oysters.

Aquaculture farmers also grow a small amount of seaweed, which is largely used for animal feed.

Atlantic salmon farming biggest growth area

Atlantic salmon make up 80 per cent of the aquaculture sector. They’re farmed in British Columbia, New Brunswick, and the other Atlantic provinces. There is some rainbow trout production in Ontario and on the Prairies.

“Atlantic salmon is the most popular seafood product in North America and increasingly in Europe and around the world,” Kennedy said. “It’s like the rest of the farming sector, when you have an animal, a breed that is particularly good for production, like Holsteins or Herefords. Atlantic salmon are good to raise as farmed animals.”

Atlantic salmon are easy to raise in pens, unlike Pacific salmon, which are much harder to farm.

The demand for seafood is there, especially for salmon.

“I think because of the lack of overall support for the aquaculture sector, we’ve seen some declines,” Kennedy said.

There have also been some government-mandated shutdowns in British Columbia.

In 2024, the federal government announced it would ban open net-pen salmon farming by June 2029 and would require farms to transition to closed containment or other aquaculture systems.

“What we’re seeing is more product coming from other countries, especially Chile, into Canadian grocery stores. Canadians can’t buy the Canadian salmon they want to buy. This has been a real problem,” Kennedy said.

A deeper partnership between Agriculture and Agri-food Canada and aquaculture would produce a lot more salmon in Canada, for Canadians.

“I’d say globally as well. Aquaculture is the fastest growing food production sector in the world. There is an increasing demand for high quality animal protein. We’re low carbon footprint. We’re a very efficient product,” he said. “For instance, in the salmon sector, we’re basically about one kilogram of feed is producing 1 kilogram of fish.”

Benefits for the rest of the farming sector

In the letter, the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance and the seven provincial groups highlighted value-added opportunities for the rest of the farm sector. When the sector first started, a lot of the fish was fed entirely marine based products. Now the Canadian sector only uses about 20 per cent marine based ingredients. About 80 per cent of the ingredients are from land-based farms.

The aquaculture sector is using oils, grains and ingredients like chicken offal, that would otherwise be put in waste products.

“If we can increase production, we’re going to increase the value add in Canada for other farmers,” said Kennedy.

The Next Policy Framework will be completed by 2028. Earlier this year, the federal government it was starting consultations across the country.

The next federal, provincial, territorial meeting will be held in Halifax in July. Kennedy said the areas of focus and decisions of what sectors are included under the Department of Agriculture and Agri-food could be announced by then.

“We’re still a couple of years away, but now is the time for all of the considerations and planning,” he said. “This is a very important time for us.”

The post Canadian aquaculture should be classed as agriculture, industry groups say appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

Claude Lampron is from Saint Vincent. He has an operation of 2,400 acres of barley, peas, canola and wheat, and a small feedlot.

“We keep 200 heifers from October to the end of April. This is where my compost material comes from,” he said.

As soon as the cow goes out and their corrals are dry, Lampron piles the manure in the corral and leaves it. After silage, when there is room in his field, he does some windrowing and spreads the manure after harvest in the fall.

“That’s as simple as it is, and it’s just manure and straw.”

Claude Lampron

WHY IT MATTERS: More producers are turning to compost instead of synthetic fertilizer to cut costs.

Colby Hansen farms between Westlock and Athabasca. His land has variable soil types, ranging from beach sand, peat moss, clay and number one black soils. He runs about 3,000 acres and about 350 cow-calf pairs, growing grain as well.

“We’re using municipal compost on our farm. I’ve used gypsum added into the compost and wood ash,” said Hansen.

Steve Cowan farms south of Camrose. He is also an agronomist with Crop Management Network in central Alberta. He is currently farming with a family friend and will eventually take over the farm.

His grain farm consists of 3,000 acres of canola, wheat, malt barley and pulses.

“The land has been annually cropped for many years. Livestock isn’t part of a lot of the land that we now own or we rent,” he said.

“We have pretty good soil, but I was certainly seeing a lot of challenges from the continuous annual cropping. And that’s what got me interested in looking at compost.”

Canola meal used as compost

Cowan farms right near a canola crush plant at Camrose. The plant needed to get rid of canola meal, and he was able to spread it on his land a few falls ago.

“With that, I got some compost as well that I mixed in, and that I also spread and saw firsthand the value of carbon-based fertilizer,” he said.

Cowan started using variable rates for seeding and fertilizer in 2025.

“I stumbled into some of the compost a bit accidentally, working with Colby and another friend of ours,” he said.

Since then, he has composted with gypsum and wastewater lime as well. He applied 2,000 pounds an acre of the canola meal, which allowed for a release over three to four years. The canola meal helped his crop get through the dry years of 2024 and 2025.

“I’m seeing evidence of something on the zone soil samples, but I certainly feel that I saw it on my yields and the consistency of yields,” he said.

Building soil health

Knowing the land had been continuously cropped for many years encouraged Cowan to think about composting. He could see crusting and sodium issues on his soil. His goal is to build resilience into the land and into the crop, so the crop can survive a year of drought or heat stress.

“By building that soil health, I think I should build some resilience into the soil to overcome those stress periods so I can continue to make money and keep farming,” he said.

Lampron said he had always composted, but co-operating with the Living Lab helped him see how he could maximize it.

“I just wanted to have some data and see if I’m doing the right thing, because there’s a way to do it better. It’s kind of simple for us, just two piles and spread it,” he said.

Lampron said compost was his main soil health amendment, improving soil structure and bringing more biology into the soil.

“That’s all I need. But it’s not a lot. I’m doing one quarter per year,” he said.

Hansen’s decision to compost came from a piece of rented land where a farmer had fed his cows for 50 years.

“You could see the texture of the soil. It looked like chocolate cake. And every year, I wouldn’t put any nitrogen, and the crop would be 11 tonnes of silage. And where he stopped feeding, it would be seven tonnes or less,” he said.

He was driven to find out more about compost because he wanted to cut costs on synthetic fertilizer.

Using municipal waste

Hansen has spread compost on all his acres, as he is a part owner of a compost facility.

“We’re taking a resource that was going to a landfill and now we’re making it into compost and diverting it and it’s going to my farm. I won’t be using commercial fertilizer this year. I’ve slowly been reducing my rates the last few years and I take a soil test to confirm that there might be one field that I might not get compost on in the springtime, so that might get a little bit of fertilizer,” he said.

Hansen’s compost is tested by the facility, which must test every 1,000 tonnes. The compost does contain some foreign material, including microplastics. Hansen said things needs to change to avoid microplastics in municipal compost.

“My understanding is that they are developing microbes to eat those microplastics and nature takes care of itself. It’s in the back of my mind, but it’s never a perfect world,” he said.

Hansen said the compost facility uses a large sifter and removes all the large plastics out before screening it.

“I think some people don’t know what’s compostable and what’s not. That won’t be fixed anytime soon. It’ll take years to change peoples’ mindsets,” he said.

The importance of livestock

Hansen said his success in building soil is not just through compost, but by growing polycrops, having livestock and recycling nutrients.

“My recent realization is that the biggest bang for my buck is doing a swath grazing or a corn grazing with the polycrops. I’ve done this a couple of times. I’ve grown this massive polycrop and put all my cattle on there. I keep my calves on the cattle all winter, so I’ve doubled the number of animals per acre. They are doing the fertilizing for me, providing the nitrogen inside of it, and all the corn stalks and the residue is providing the carbon side of it,” said Hansen.

“I’m basically turning my whole field into a compost pile in one year.

“For me, the quickest way is for grain farmers to realize cattle farmers are an asset and to take your first quarter of land out of production for one or two years and let the cattle farmer run their cattle on it with a massive polycrop on it, and fertilize it as recommended and you’ll see the benefits next year.”

Cowan said his goal is to bring nutrients in from off the farm and try to emulate what manure does.

“We can stop putting stuff into landfills, those nutrients can be recycled and put into the ground and that will create more products to go back to growing food. We can kind of create that circular green economy, but it’s probably a regulatory thing,” he said.

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Hittinger, the chair of Gateway Research Organization, collaborates with Results Driven Agriculture Research (RDAR) and is involved with the On-Farm Climate Action Fund (OFCAF).

“The opportunity came up and they were looking for someone to trial the system, and I thought it might be a good fit for my operation,” said Hittinger, who runs 200 head on 1,600 acres of pasture.

WHY IT MATTERS: More virtual fencing options in Canada give ranchers more opportunities to find the right fit for their operation.

How Halter works

The Halter system, created in New Zealand, uses GPS-controlled collars with a solar panel to charge the battery. Hittinger’s trial will also examine how the units function in Canadian cold weather.

Using an app or an aerial image on the internet, producers set up virtual fences wherever they want them.

“You don’t have a physical fence in place. You tell the map, ‘This is where I want this virtual fence to be.’ It downloads the GPS information to each collar, and the collars then know whether they are inside or outside of that boundary, and they guide the cows that way,” he said.

Hittinger can program a virtual fence for a specific herd and put cattle in an area of pasture that is not cross-fenced.

“I draw the fence in the app on the map, and that information is downloaded to the collars via Wi-Fi and then the collars know via GPS signal where they are in proximity to that,” he said.

Cattle are directed into a specific area, called a break. If they try to cross the virtual fence, the collar gives off an audible tone.

“If they continue to cross and continue further, then they get a shock that’s delivered by the collar,” he said. “Once they’re all trained, they will turn around at the sound of the tone. The shock usually provides a second level warning.”

Other virtual fencing options in Canada include systems by Gallagher, NoFence and Vence. Unlike the Gallagher system, where the collar hangs on a strap around the cow’s neck, Halter uses a metal fibre woven into the collar itself.

“The collar looks like a seat belt. They’re adjustable and you can fit them to fit with certain tension on their neck. You don’t want them to fall off, but you don’t want it too tight, particularly on younger animals. You need to provide some room to grow,” said Hittinger.

Advantages of the Halter system

Hittinger has found several benefits. He can manage cattle location from anywhere.

“I can do it from wherever I am,” he said.

He can also divide feeding into blocks on a flexible schedule.

“If I want to do one-day blocks, I could feed, say, five one-day blocks of feed. Or I could do a week’s worth, say, seven blocks of feed. Right now, we’re feeding five silage bales a day. I can roll out five bales in each of the seven paddocks and then have it so the virtual fence moves every day at a set time, whenever I decide that should be,” he said.

The primary benefit is moving cattle without physical fencing.

“For winter feeding, that makes swath grazing quite a bit easier. That makes bale grazing quite a bit easier because I don’t have to go wading through the snow and worry about the cattle pushing on the electric wire, or all the issues surrounding fencing in a winter-feeding system,” he said.

Bred heifers and second calvers with higher nutritional needs can be grouped separately.

“I will go out and feed the bulk of all of these animals in one group, but those animals that need extra nutrition, I give those animals access to a separate area where they can get better hay,” he said.

In summer, Hittinger will be able to rotational graze using half-day, one-day or three-day moves — whatever suits his operation.

Cost and practical considerations

The Halter system is subscription-based at $97 per collar. Towers must also be purchased at about $6,000 each. By comparison, Gallagher collars run about $350 to $400 depending on volume.

Hittinger noted that producers still need a perimeter fence even with virtual fencing. During windstorms or lightning, cattle will scatter and cross the virtual boundary.

The Halter system will be eligible under OFCAF funds for the new funding year, which opens April 10, 2026. The Canadian Forage and Grassland Association also has funds available for producers who want to try the system.

The post First Canadian trial of Halter virtual fencing system underway near Westlock appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

Applications for the foundation’s 2026 Community Fund for Mental Health opened on March 30.

In 2026, the fund will provide rural and agricultural communities with access to Talk, Act, Listen, which is Do More Ag’s flagship mental health literacy workshop.

WHY IT MATTERS: Canadian farmers face persistent stressors that take a toll on their mental health.

Through this workshop, participants can build confidence in starting informed conversations about mental health, develop practical support skills and strengthen local networks to help individuals and families thrive.

The program is designed to recognize the unique stresses in agricultural life.

In 2025, the community fund received applications from nearly 80 communities across 11 provinces and territories with 42 workshops delivered across seven provinces.

Non-profit community groups and organizations based in rural and agricultural regions can learn more at Do More Ag Community Fund.

The 2026 application period closes April 30.

The post Do More Ag to fund rural groups’ mental health workshops appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

The 103-acre parcel is part of a syndicate also owned by Dale Braun, who owns a 75 per cent stake in the land.

WHY IT MATTERS: When oil companies don’t pay landowners, taxpayers pick up the tab through Alberta’s land rights tribunal.

Dorin said there seem to be two sets of laws in Alberta. One is for everyday people that own land. The other laws are for oil companies, and they can’t seem to follow the rules, he said.

“If I’m a landowner and I don’t pay my bills, I lose my land, I lose my house. It’s that simple. But look behind me, we’ve got an active pumpjack and have more pumpjacks on our land and they haven’t paid their bills,” he said.

MAGA Energy hasn’t paid rent since 2022

Wells were initially drilled on the land in 1951. Make Alberta Great Again (MAGA) Energy, based in Calgary, took over the lease about a decade ago in 2016. The land is currently being rented out for farming.

MAGA has not paid rent on the land in three years, and there have been no consequences. In 2023, MAGA Energy’s main refinery closed, which cut off a major revenue stream.

“Today things are going to change,” said Dorin. “There are landowners in Alberta, all over the province, in the same situation.”

MAGA is not the first oil and gas company to fail to pay landowners.

There are many concerned groups involved in the landowner rights issue, such as the newly formed Coalition for Responsible Energy, the Alberta Wilderness Association, the Seniors Climate Action Network, the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment and the Council of Canadians.

Dorin said the land rights tribunal has 6,000 applications filed a year, and landowners are owed $40 million, up from $30 million last year.

Unpaid leases shift financial burden to Alberta taxpayers

When companies like MAGA refuse to pay their bills, many landowners go to the Land and Property Rights tribunal to get compensation. This money is taken out of taxpayer funds.

“Those wells, the taxpayer is paying for those jacks on that site right now, and as you can see, they’re still operating,” he said.

“This creates a situation where companies feel they don’t have to pay, because someone is going to have to pick up that bill on their behalf,” said Dorin.

Dorin said the province loses money when oil companies don’t pay their bills, and that money could be used for public services.

One of the tanks on his land lets out poisonous gas emissions. The emissions have occasionally enveloped a nearby freeway. There is also a flare on the land that has flared continuously since 2019, even though it is supposed to be for emergencies. The compressor is broken and hasn’t been fixed.

When an oil company defaults, the Alberta Energy Regulator is supposed to act.

“They’re supposed to make sure the company doesn’t get more licences,” he said.

MAGA Energy has skirted this issue and is still acquiring new wells.

Dorin said the Investigative Journalism Foundation discovered MAGA has acquired 191 well licences in 2024 and 2025, despite the fact they have unpaid bills all over the province.

Landowner terminates lease, erects physical barrier

“I believe in the rule of law. I’ve reported it to the company. I’ve reported it to the regulator. I’ve spent hundreds of hours and tens of thousands on this and gotten nowhere,” he said.

“I filed a formal report to the Alberta Energy Regulator to shut all these wells down,” he said.

The Alberta Energy Regulator has refused to reply to the complaints, Dorin explained.

In January, he sent a letter to MAGA with a demand for the company to pay their three years of rent.

He received no reply, so he terminated the lease, since the oil company has not complied.

“Terminating that lease means they don’t have the right to be here anymore. I’m going to make it official right now,” he said, and tore up the lease in front of the audience.

Dorin said he wants MAGA Energy to pay their bills, shut down the wells, clean up and get off the land. He wants the regulator to step in and do their job.

Dorin has not hired lawyers yet and hopes he doesn’t have to go that route.

Braun and Dorin set out a wooden barrier on their land, preventing the oil company employees from entering. MAGA Energy isn’t allowed on the land unless its employees are there to decommission wells. MAGA usually has staff on site at least once a day.

The post Alberta landowners block oil company after three years of unpaid rent appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

On March 27, federal Agriculture Minister Heath MacDonald announced that the government will propose amendments to the Income Tax Act to extend the income tax deferral period for livestock producers in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

Eligible producers received compensation for their animals to be destroyed due to bovine tuberculosis in 2024 and 2025.

This action is a response to concerns from livestock producers about the challenges of replenishing their herds during the same tax year that they received compensation.

Under the Health of Animals Act, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency provided compensation to livestock producers whose animals were destroyed in 2024 and 2025 due to the bovine TB outbreak.

A section of the Income Tax Act allows for only a one-year deferral, but the proposed amendments will allow livestock producers to defer compensation for a prescribed schedule from 2026 to 2030, enabling them to have greater flexibility to manage their incomes and sustain their operations as they rebuild their herds.

Producers who received amounts as compensation in 2025 or 2026 under the Health of Animals Act because they had to destroy their animals due to tuberculosis outbreaks will have the option of including those amounts in income for tax purposes as follows:

• Up to 100 per cent of the compensation deferred to the 2027 tax year, with at least 83 per cent included in income in 2027.
• Up to 17 per cent of the compensation deferred to the 2028 tax year, with at least nine per cent included in income in 2028.
• Up to eight per cent of the compensation deferred to the 2029 tax year, with at least four per cent included in income in 2029.
• Up to four per cent of the compensation deferred to the 2030 tax year, with the remaining four per cent included in income in 2030.

The post Producers affected by bovine TB receive extended tax deferral appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

The affected farm currently has three-kilometre and 10-kilometre buffer zones established to prevent the disease from spreading. No other farms are located within these zones. Alberta Pork will communicate updates on this outbreak as new information is received.

WHY IT MATTERS: PEDv is highly fatal in piglets and can be crippling to an operation.

The first case of PEDv was found in Alberta in 2019.

Javier Bahamon, Alberta Pork’s quality assurance and production manager, said producers should enhance their biosecurity.

Producers have multiple ways of enhancing their biosecurity. One key way to do so is monitoring their barns.

“They need to be watching who is coming inside. Not only the people that are in your farm, your household, but you need to know where any of them have been before they get into the barn, so you can really start to look at it if there is a risk to it. Any time we go to different places or have contact with different animals in our day, that’s when you need to be careful too,” Bahamon said.

“We are trying to tell the industry right now; you need to be alert.”

A full investigation has been launched to determine the source of the outbreak in southern Alberta. The impacted producer, the producer’s herd veterinarian, the office of the Chief Veterinarian and Alberta Pork are all working together to contain the disease and avoid further spread.

As of Feb. 19, all facilities participating in Alberta Pork’s Environmental Disease Monitoring Program have tested negative for PEDv and porcine deltacoronavirus.

Enhancing biosecurity

Bahamon said a key component of biosecurity is controlling the access to the animals. Producers may want to limit or cut off visitors who don’t need to be in the barn.

There’s an increased risk for disease any time hogs are moved, whether it is to a marketplace or an abattoir.

“You need to look at what kind of movement it is, and if there is any risk to it,” he said.

Bahamon said Alberta Pork is not limiting movement, but just wants producers to think about potential risks.

He said all places should be treated as if they were contaminated.

“You need to go to one of those facilities that are available, truck washes, and you need to clean and disinfect your trailer, your vehicles, your equipment, footwear, whatever you’re using to do that delivery, in order to reduce the risk of bringing any of these viruses or bacteria to your farm,” he said.

When producers are around other groups of pigs, they need to change booties or footwear and change clothes after they’ve moved the animals. Producers should remember to submit all swine manifests, including farm-to-farm movements, in a timely manner. Any place off-farm is a potential source for spreading the disease.

Producers should also make sure that other stakeholders, like people who bring feed or any other suppliers, follow biosecurity protocols.

Producers can also be alert for PEDv by monitoring activities on their farm.

Signs of PEDv

“You take care of animals every day. If you see something odd, you just need to call your vet right away,” Bahamon said.

Signs can include pigs showing lethargy or having yellowish diarrhea or seeing an increase in mortalities. Pigs with PEDv have reduced appetites and don’t move as much as normal. Young piglets, like those in the farrowing area or in the nursery, need to be monitored closely for signs of diarrhea.

If any of these signs occur, a producer should call their vet immediately.

“The herd vet will come and assess the situation and that’s how we get the information when it’s a reportable disease like this,” said Bahamon.

The vet will send samples to the lab, which will confirm the disease.

Alberta Pork has a book called “the producer book” on its website. It contains a lot of information about how to deal with swine diseases, including PEDv.

The post Producers encouraged to enhance biosecurity in response to porcine epidemic diarrhea virus discovery appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.