Reading Time: 2 minutes Up to 80 per cent of pesticide contamination on a farm occurs where a sprayer is washed, filled, handled or rinsed — but there’s a simple and inexpensive way to prevent it. Biobeds, already in use in the U.K., Scandinavia, and South America, are trenches filled with absorbent materials (such as peat moss, compost or […] Read more
Biobeds a simple way to prevent pesticide contamination
The European innovation can break down pesticide simply and efficiently, but needs to be adapted to the Prairie climate
Alberta vet’s social media campaign pays off for his Ukrainian friend
Airdrie vet Cody Creelman helps a vet in Ukraine win a bovine ultrasound
Reading Time: 2 minutes Cody Creelman just wanted to see the look on his friend’s face. Vadim Pryadko was trying not to make too much noise. The two veterinarians, one from Airdrie and the other from Ukraine, became friends thanks to a shared love of YouTube videos about bovine veterinary medicine— a friendship which became stronger after Creelman persuaded […] Read more
New book catalogues a ‘century of solutions’ at U of A’s ag department
Department started in 1915 with just 16 students and has gone on to win national and international renown
Reading Time: 2 minutes A hundred years of scientific innovation and agricultural advancements produced by University of Alberta faculty and researchers is being celebrated in a new book entitled A Century of Solutions. The Department of Agriculture — now the faculty of agriculture, life and environmental sciences (ALES) — was established in 1915 and had 16 students that first […] Read more
The tale of how chickens got so big
Today’s strain of chickens are four times bigger than the broilers of 60 years ago, and they need only half the feed
Reading Time: 3 minutes A modern broiler chicken grows a whopping four times faster than one bred in the 1950s — and packs on those pounds with much less feed. “They’re much more efficient,” said Martin Zuidhof, associate professor poultry systems at the University of Alberta. “It takes half the feed to grow a bird.” Zuidhof has been getting […] Read more
Cover crops and soil health guru winning converts in Alberta
Gabe Brown’s methods of using a ‘cocktail’ of cover crops to rebuild soil, lower input costs and boost yields are attracting serious attention
Reading Time: 4 minutes Like many farmers, Gabe Brown hates the term “sustainable agriculture.” But his beef is that it doesn’t go far enough. “For us to have the resources that will be truly sustainable for future generations, we have to regenerate our degraded soil,” said the North Dakota rancher and farmer, an internationally renowned speaker who has toured […] Read more
Garlic festival a joyous (and odorous) celebration
Andrew festival showcases garlic and celebrates the village’s Ukrainian heritage
Reading Time: 2 minutes For 16 years, residents of the town of Andrew have gathered to celebrate the stinking rose — and every year, more and more visitors join them. “It’s just grown tremendously,” said Carri Hrehorets, president of the Andrew Agricultural Society in the village of 400 located an hour’s drive northeast of Edmonton. “We get about 1,000 […] Read more
Alberta beekeepers oppose Ontario neonic lawsuit
Beekeepers here are speaking out against lawsuit, saying it’s better to work with chemical companies
Reading Time: 2 minutes Alberta beekeepers are taking a stand and speaking out against a lawsuit filed by their Ontario counterparts against the makers of the controversial neonic pesticide. “We’re not being impacted by neonics. If we are, it’s very subtly,” said Grant Hicks, president of the Alberta Beekeepers Commission. “We’re not seeing any damage to our hives.” While […] Read more
Only in the digital age — Alberta and Ukrainian cattle vets a YouTube sensation
A shared passion for veterinary medicine and YouTube has Albertan Cody Creelman helping a Ukrainian colleague in his bid to win a bovine ultrasound
Reading Time: 4 minutes It started with an online friendship between two cattle veterinarians, and blossomed into a worldwide, viral campaign. Even though he doesn’t speak a word of Ukrainian, Airdrie vet Cody Creelman, was drawn to the online videos of Vadim Pryadko, who lives in a town called Khmelnitsky near the Polish border. “We developed a relationship,” said […] Read more
Pork producers urged to remain vigilant for PED virus over the fall and winter
New cases of porcine epidemic diarrhea in Manitoba have Alberta producers being warned not to drop their guard
Reading Time: 4 minutes Alberta pork producers are being warned to remain vigilant about a deadly pig virus, but may face another threat — falling prices if the U.S. herd rebounds from the PEDv crisis. The province’s pork sector has been successful in keeping porcine epidemic diarrhea out of Alberta, but new cases in Manitoba in the past month […] Read more
The Big Three “to-do’s”: Experts offer their post-harvest advice
Whether it’s in the office or the field, there are some jobs that should be at the top of your to-do list
Reading Time: 9 minutes For many producers, this harvest is going to seem to drag on forever. But, of course, it won’t. The combine will be parked, the farm meetings and shows will get underway, Christmas will come and go, and before you know it, you’re in the shed getting the seeding rig ready. So with that in mind, […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
