Reading Time: 3 minutes Concern is mounting as transportation and production issues point to a serious shortage of nitrogen supplies this spring. “If it was April, I would be panicking,” said Brian Kenyon, director of sales and marketing with Yara Canada. However, even though nitrogen shipments to Western Canada are down by an estimated 750,000 to one million tonnes […] Read more
Production shortfalls and transportation woes could result in nitrogen shortage
Experts say there’s still time to close the supply gap, but farmers should be talking to their suppliers about booking their orders
Accusations fly as battle over wild horse cull heats up
Backers of cull say the rising number of wild horses is damaging sensitive rangeland, but critics say it is inhumane and there are better alternatives
Reading Time: 4 minutes This year’s cull of wild horses has become ugly. Critics have launched an intense campaign, and its most well-known member — renowned singer Jann Arden — is alleging a rancher given the permit to capture the wild horses is a beneficiary of political favouritism. But permit holder Jason Bradley says he’s been personally threatened and […] Read more
Science-based organization fights anti-wheat hysteria
‘Wheat belly’ and gluten-free diets are all the rage, and a new bestseller recommends cutting carbs to ward off dementia, Alzheimer’s and depression
Reading Time: 2 minutes What do you say to someone who has read the bestseller Wheat Belly and believes wheat is the new evil? Stick to the facts, says Christine Lowry, a dietitian and policy analyst with the Healthy Grains Institute — a year-old organization set up “to dispel myths around whole grains.” “We’re really making sure that we’re […] Read more
How to answer those tough agricultural questions from your urban neighbours
Farm advocate Cami Ryan says start by talking to family and friends, speak about your values as well as the facts, and tell a story
Reading Time: 3 minutes Ticked off by GM-free Cheerios and A&W trumpeting the beef in its burgers is hormone free? Then you’ll hate the Chipotle Scarecrow. The scarecrow is the hero in a Tim Burton-style animated video depicting a bleak smoke-spewing factory where caged cows are extruded into a “beef-ish” product and robots inject chickens with a green liquid […] Read more
The market forecast? Grim and grimmer
Reading Time: 2 minutes It’s not happy news, but here is the market forecast delivered to FarmTech attendees by Jonathon Driedger, senior analyst with FarmLink Marketing Solutions. Canola The rise in American soybean prices has pushed up canola in recent years, but it’s now becoming an anchor as U.S. farmers are expected to plant more soybeans and less corn […] Read more
As storm clouds gather, farmers urged to batten down the hatches
Experts say current grain prices are normal, knowing your cost of production critical, and hope is not a marketing strategy
Reading Time: 5 minutes It was standing room only at every FarmTech market outlook session, and the faces told the tale: anxious-looking producers leaning forward, hanging on every word, searching for rays of hope as the storm clouds roll in. But the message was blunt — there will be no quick bounce-back from the steep fall in grain and […] Read more
Dead cattle found near Killam, SPCA investigation underway
Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals reminds cattle owners to provide supplemental feed and water
Reading Time: 2 minutes Dave Prichard says its the worst thing he’s seen in a lifetime of farming — 17 dead cattle on his summer pasture. “It was not a very nice scene,” said Prichard, who has his own polled Herefords and registered red Angus on his ranch near Killam, about 70 kilometres southeast of Camrose. The cattle belonged […] Read more
Alberta pork producers on high alert after PEDv reaches Ontario
Alberta Pork rolls out action plan, calls on producers to plug any gaps in their biosecurity procedures
Reading Time: 4 minutes Many of Alberta’s pork producers were gathered at the Banff Pork Seminar when news broke that Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus (PEDv) had been found on a farm in Ontario. But there was also good news — Alberta Pork has a battle plan in place and the province’s 350 commercial producers have a couple of things […] Read more
Increased grain production in Viking area prompts elevator expansion
Decision to expand based on two-year market analysis of crop availability
Reading Time: 2 minutes Cargill is undertaking a major expansion of its Viking elevator. Storage will nearly double — from 13,640 tonnes to 23,400 tonnes — and the railspot capacity will be increased to 100 cars from the current 52, said Ryan Dechief, general manager of the facility. “Compared to Pioneer or Viterra, we have one of the smaller […] Read more
Officials warn of threat of invasive mussels in irrigation reservoirs
Last year, seven boats with Zebra or Quagga mussels were discovered in the province, setting off alarm bells about the threat to the irrigation system
Reading Time: 2 minutes It was a close call and prompted provincial officials to warn boaters to take care and not inadvertently bring invasive mussels into the province. Seven boats with Zebra or Quagga mussels were discovered in the province last year, and officials said they would cause havoc if ever introduced into the province’s irrigation reservoirs. “We have […] Read more
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