Reading Time: 3 minutes Persistence is the key ingredient if you want to get your farm product into grocery stores, say Lisa and Troy Greenstein. “I’m like a dog with a bone — if I get an idea in my head, I don’t let it drop until we get there,” said Lisa. “Two and a half years ago, I […] Read more
Daysland lamb producer reveals her secret for success
Lisa and Troy Greenstein were thinking about hobby farming when they left city life behind, but it’s become much more
Vaccine being developed to combat ‘insidious’ and widespread Johne’s disease
University of Calgary has an ingenious plan — create a version of a bacteria that would allow cows to develop immunity
Reading Time: 2 minutes Johne’s disease has no cure and causes production problems on three of every four Alberta dairy farms. But researchers at the University of Calgary’s faculty of veterinary medicine say they’re making steady progress on a vaccine. “Since there is no cure for it, all you can do is try to prevent your herd from getting […] Read more
Felfie entrants getting the word out about agriculture
Reading Time: 2 minutes They are the faces of Alberta farming — 14 of them anyway. The felfie craze has died down a bit since Alberta Farmer invited producers to send in their farmer selfies a month and a half ago. But the effort to show the world that there are real, everyday people behind every food item on […] Read more
Double whammy for oat growers as railways focus on West Coast backlog
Virtually all of the Prairie oat harvest goes to the U.S., but growers say shipping south isn’t even on the radar of the railways
Reading Time: 3 minutes The clogged rail system is affecting every grain producer on the Prairies, but oats growers are feeling additional pain. Market analyst Randy Strychar has called the situation a “train wreck,” noting some companies aren’t putting out bids until February 2015. “It’s not out of line to say that we’re probably one of the worst-hit crops,” […] Read more
Push comes to shove — railways ordered to double grain movement
The federal government is promising a legislated fix to ensure railway performance
Reading Time: 4 minutes The railways have their marching orders — double grain shipments in four weeks or face daily fines of up to $100,000. But what happens next? Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz says new federal legislation is coming, and farmers and grain companies are hoping it will do what the Fair Freight Service Act of 2012 didn’t — […] Read more
Wild horse capture over, but opponents vow to fight on
No decisions made about contraception program to reduce horse numbers or cull in 2015
Reading Time: 3 minutes The wild horse cull has ended, but not the controversy. Just 15 horses were captured — a small fraction of the 196 allowed under permits issued by the province. This year’s short season was likely a factor, said a government spokesperson. Legislation allows the capture season to run from Nov. 1 to March 1, but […] Read more
Many factors to consider with cattle price insurance coverage
There’s a learning curve for the Cattle Price Insurance Program
Reading Time: 3 minutes You’re finally making money. Do you part with some of it to insure the bottom line? The Cattle Price Insurance Program (CPIP) was launched by Agriculture Financial Services Corporation four years ago. The program offers prices insurance on finished cattle in the feedlot or feeder cattle, as well as for calves sold in the fall. […] Read more
Tight supplies and rising prices give cattle producers a reason to smile
Low herd numbers are expected to buoy cattle prices for three to four years, but COOL is taking a bite from the bottom line
Reading Time: 2 minutes Cattle prices are the best they’ve been on a per-head basis in the last 10 years — although how good depends on how you look at it. “The market right now is fantastic,” said Herb Lock of Farm$ense Marketing. “Cow-calf producers right now are in their second world, floating around in the sky compared to […] 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
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
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