Reading Time: 3 minutes Alberta honeybee losses over winter have yet to be tallied as beekeepers continue to collect data. Rod Scarlett, executive director of the Canadian Honey Council, says full numbers will be known by late June. “We’ve had some locations and operations that have been very good and overwintered losses of 10 per cent or less, and […] Read more
Beekeepers take stock of surviving hives
Alberta has the largest amount of overwintering loss, Canadian Honey Council says
Viking turns on the taps of new water initiative
Farmers around Viking to enjoy raw filtered watering system
Reading Time: 3 minutes The town of Viking in central Alberta is ready if Mother Nature turns off the tap again in 2024. This time, if drought rears its ugly head, local farmers can use a new raw water pumping station built within the town’s existing infrastructure. Viking celebrated its new layer of drought protection during a grand opening […] Read more
New website against weeds launched
Glacier FarmMedia – Producers have a new website to bookmark if they’re looking for weed information on the Prairies. The Western Grains Research Foundation has announced the official launch of a weed monitoring hub, prairieweeds.com. The website will be the new digital host for resources, data, weed maps and research under the Prairie Weed Monitoring […] Read more
Youth academy to showcase agriculture, forestry and environment
Long-time educator Frank Robinson’s namesake academy will build on his legacy of experiential learning
Reading Time: 4 minutes A new youth academy at the University of Alberta aims to build on a longtime educator’s philosophy and give students a chance to get their hands dirty and feet wet. Frank Robinson started at the U of A in 1986, specializing in poultry production and physiology. He’s a longtime believer in “experiential” learning. To celebrate […] Read more
Largest fescue ranch on Earth preserved
Record-setting conservation easement protects McIntyre Ranch in perpetuity
Reading Time: 3 minutes After years of planning and fundraising, the Nature Conservancy of Canada has completed a successful campaign to conserve the McIntyre Ranch. Located near the Milk River Ridge 40 miles south of Lethbridge, the 22,500-hectare ranch is the largest conservation easement in Alberta. “It’s the largest piece of fescue grasslands remaining on the planet. It’s a […] Read more
Recent precipitation welcome, but more needed
Northern Alberta is particularly dry this spring, but even areas that are receiving rain have low soil moisture reserves
Reading Time: 3 minutes Even though all three Prairie provinces had snow or rain last winter and this spring, moving out of drought conditions is not necessarily a given. “We’ve seen near normal precipitation throughout most of Saskatchewan and well as southern Alberta and much of Manitoba,” said Trevor Hadwen, agroclimate specialist with Agriculture Canada. This precipitation occurred Sept. […] Read more
Cutworms already causing problems in some parts of province
The best way to control cutworms is to scout
Reading Time: < 1 minute Even though the weather is cold, cutworms have already been active in the province, said Shelley Barkley, a field scout with Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation. There have been reports of cutworms in winter wheat in the southeast corner of Alberta, as well as in a field of 2023 seeded forage in the Calgary area. Cutworms […] Read more
Former crop centre reboots as Western Crop Innovation
New organization aims to expand focus to new crops, ag innovation
Reading Time: 4 minutes [UPDATED: May 1, 2024] The Field Crop Development Centre at Lacombe, Alta., has a new name and identity that reflects a broadening focus. Now called Western Crop Innovation as of April 1, it will build on a long history of barley breeding and agronomy research and expand to include a wider array of crop research. […] Read more
College research should be better supported by federal funding, says CEO of Olds College
Better funding for college research will increase innovation, drive economic and improve job creation, says CEO of Olds College
Reading Time: < 1 minute College research activities should be better supported by the federal government, said Dr. Ben Cecil, President and Chief Executive Officer of Olds College of Agriculture and Technology. On April 16, Cecil spoke before the Federal Government’s Standing Committee on Scientific Research, asking for a re-evaluation of the distribution of federal government funding to better support […] Read more
Plasma shows promise in grain decontamination
The fourth state of matter (in its cold form) could be coming to a malt house or feedlot near you
Reading Time: 3 minutes [UPDATED: June 4, 2024] Alberta researchers are harnessing a high-tech concept to decontaminate grain. The researchers are using cold plasma, which in this case was created by electrical discharge at atmospheric pressure. One of the most common uses is in florescent lighting, which creates light with little heat. Cold plasma is the fourth state of matter, […] Read more
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