Reading Time: 3 minutes When you cut down your shelterbelt or take out a windrow, you might not think about the effect it has on the beneficial species living on your farmland. A new working group, unofficially known as the Habitat Working Group, is gearing up to inform producers about the changes they can make to conserve habitat for […] Read more
New working group gears up to get answers about habitat conservation
Maintaining habitat is also important for pollinators and parasitoids that prey on crop pests
Harmony Beef slaughter plant opening pushed back
Rich Vesta says plans to open last summer were ‘totally unrealistic’ but the venture continues to move forward
Reading Time: 2 minutes It was supposed to open last summer, but the owner of Harmony Beef says it will be a while yet before his plant starts slaughtering cattle. “Quite honestly, when we started, we were overaggressive in our time frame,” said Rich Vesta, an American businessman and former top executive in the U.S. meat-packing industry. Vesta completed […] Read more
Crop pest and disease watch for 2015
Some of the usual suspects could be back this year, especially if you are pushing your rotations
Reading Time: 6 minutes The new growing season is underway, with a combination of old and new challenges and opportunities. Alberta Farmer reporter Alexis Kienlen asked some experts about things that producers should look out for this growing season. Here’s what they had to say: Plant diseases It’s difficult for plant pathologists to predict the possibility of diseases, said Kelly […] Read more
Bovine big brother: Surveillance network gives cattle researchers priceless data
Network will yield insights into improving production and herd health — and reassure customers if there’s a sudden disease concern
Reading Time: 3 minutes You can’t pick them out from the road, but 120 herds of cattle across the Prairies are special. They’re participants in a “living laboratory” experiment that is advancing knowledge about the health of the western herd in a host of ways. “We have a mixture of small and large herds, somewhat representative of the number […] Read more
The sizzling market for farmland may be ready to take a breather
Alberta land prices are still heading up, but double-digit annual rises appear to be over for now
Reading Time: 3 minutes The red-hot market for farmland is showing signs of cooling off. “The more recent sales are still showing some increase, but the increases aren’t what they have been previously,” said Dave Weber, an appraiser with Serecon, an agricultural consulting company. Alberta farmland values were increasing about one per cent a month during 2011 and 2012, […] Read more
Antimicrobial use in livestock under the microscope
Expert says ‘there definitely is a chain’ connecting farms to the rise in antimicrobial resistance
Reading Time: 4 minutes Antimicrobial resistance is like a forest fire — because only you can take steps to prevent it. Think about resistance every time you use antimicrobials, producers were told during Alberta Pork’s latest telephone town hall. “Any single time one of us uses an antimicrobial, we are tipping the scales toward resistance, said Dr. Leigh Rosengren, […] Read more
The price of change? More money in your pocket for the farm
Doing 20 little things five per cent better will make a difference on your farm, says renowned farm management expert
Reading Time: 2 minutes When it comes to farm management, take a cue from No. 99. “Wayne Gretzky said, ‘I’m not bigger, stronger or faster than the players I’m up against. What I’ve realized is that the only real difference is that they always go to where the puck was, whereas I try to go to where it’s going […] Read more
Tips for managing risk
Know your numbers, get insurance, and market wisely, says expert
Reading Time: 2 minutes Attendees of the farm management seminar received tips on managing risk from Brian Wittal of Pro Com Marketing in Didsbury. Good records Knowing cost of production and break-evens is critical, both for “year-end damage control” if things go south and looking at different scenarios in the future. Record actual yields and average them over several […] Read more
Ready to pull the trigger? Some thoughts on seeding early
A head start is tempting, but frost dates and saprophytic organisms may curb your enthusiasm
Reading Time: 3 minutes To seed early or not to seed early; that is the question. “If you have an early spring, there is that tendency to want to go early,” said Doon Pauly, agronomy research scientist with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development in Lethbridge. “I’m fully expecting that we will be in the field by the middle of […] Read more
Lemon tart takes the cake at Mission Impulseible student competition
Pulse-based ‘Peamon’ tart takes the cake at Mission Impulseible
Reading Time: 2 minutes Calling something a “lemon” suggests it’s not up to par, but a lemon-based tart was the winner in this year’s Mission Impulseible. The “Peamon” tart was created by a trio of University of Alberta food science students who used canned red kidney beans, chickpeas, romano beans and great northern white beans as well as other […] Read more