Reading Time: 3 minutes It doesn’t sound like a farm show — and it’s not — but primary producers are one of the target audiences for the soon-to-be-launched Agri-Food Innovation Expo. “The initial event is a conference with a small trade show, with a bit of a focus on those who wish to expand their farm business and get […] Read more
You grow food, but have you ever thought about making it?
Federal ‘climate action’ grants are a huge hit with Alberta producers
More than 1,000 applications have flooded in, prompting program administrator to push the pause button
Reading Time: 4 minutes Alberta farmers love Ottawa’s “climate action” program so much that applications have been paused until late summer. “It’s a pretty lucrative program and people were actually aware of it this year,” said Johanna Murray, extension coordinator with Peace Country Beef and Forage Association. “There were people who didn’t get around to applying last year because […] Read more
Unique year-round grazing method pays major dividends
Constant searching for new grazing ideas has led Dave Sammons to a strategy that works
Reading Time: 3 minutes Cow-calf producer Dave Sammons has come up with a unique and varied grazing strategy that has cut his workload and feed bills while boosting organic matter. His system on his mixed farm near Gleichen includes stubble grazing into early winter, then moving the herd onto cover crops, and then onto corn. “The grazing has helped […] Read more
Silence follows in wake of ouster of farm groups’ senior managers
Tom Steve was highly regarded in the grain sector but was abruptly dismissed with no reasons given
Reading Time: 3 minutes The board directors of Alberta Wheat and Alberta Barley are staying mum on why they abruptly ousted Tom Steve, their highly regarded general manager. Steve, chief operating officer Syeda Khurram and FarmCash program manager Hasan Kazmi were all dismissed on April 26. The two cereal groups didn’t announce the dismissals, and when the news broke […] Read more
Awards not just about achievement but about encouraging others
Reading Time: 4 minutes When Melody Garner-Skiba was growing up on a ranch in southwestern Alberta, her parents gave her the same opportunities as her brothers. “I like to say I was the hired hand when my brothers left the ranch,” she said. “For me, agriculture has always been a part of my life.” That’s doubly true now. Garner-Skiba […] Read more
Despite new deal, the issue of checkoff refunds far from settled
Alberta Beef Producers says beef sector needs to have ‘fully funded’ cattle organizations
Reading Time: 3 minutes The funding deal struck between Alberta Beef Producers and the Canadian Cattle Association earlier this year won’t mean drastic changes for either organization in the short term, says the chair of the provincial cattle group. But his organization won’t be reining in its efforts to dissuade feedlots and producers from requesting checkoff refunds, said Brodie […] Read more
New program offers big dollars for providing eco-services on your land
New ‘resilient’ farm program offers up to $150,000 for items such as rotational grazing and restoring wetlands
Reading Time: 4 minutes Have you always wanted to try rotational grazing or protect riparian areas? Then say hello to a new government program called the Resilient Agricultural Landscape Program (RALP). There has never been a program quite like this one, said Giselle Ulrich, a grant program specialist with Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation. “A lot of the best management […] Read more
4-H camps give kids a chance to develop new skills (and s’mores)
Reading Time: 3 minutes Summer is on the way, and so are 4-H camps, which have run every year since 1917 except for a COVID-19 break in 2021. “We get youth who come from all over to camp. A lot of the youth we serve in the camps are rural. This is the one camp that they hear about […] Read more
More hemp processing is now underway in Alberta
Two companies are supplying a growing market for sustainable products ranging from building materials to cat litter
Reading Time: 4 minutes [UPDATED: Apr. 11, 2023] Canadian Rockies Hemp Corporation chief executive officer Aaron Barr says products are finally heading out the door of its plant in Bruderheim, Alta. *The company began construction in 2019 and was ready to start processing about eight weeks ago. “We ended up having about five months of extra additions to the […] Read more
Bighorn deaths attributed to sheep contacts
Wild Sheep Foundation calls for domestic flocks to be tested and kept separate from wild population
Reading Time: 3 minutes There are calls for more separation between domestic and wild sheep following the death of several Bighorn rams in Bluerock Wildland Provincial Park and Sheep River Provincial Park. The animals were infected with Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae (Movi), a disease common in the airways of domestic sheep and goats. The disease is bacterial and there is no vaccine for […] Read more
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