Reading Time: 2 minutes The Alberta Barley Commission (ABC) and the Alberta Wheat Commission (AWC) have teamed up and will soon be working out of the same office in Calgary. AWC’s new general manager Doug Cornell said the arrangement will save grower checkoff dollars because the two commissions will be able to share infrastructure and office costs. They will […] Read more
Barley and wheat commissions share same office
Webinars targeted at those in local food industry
Reading Time: 2 minutes Work a day job but still want to access information that can help you out on the farm? Tired of driving for hours to get to seminars that are only an hour or two long? “Explore Local,” an Alberta Agriculture initiative, has created a series of free webinars that help producers involved in the local […] Read more
Maximize the nitrogen benefit from your pulse crops
Agronomy research scientist Sheri Strydhorst has some tips for getting the biggest nitrogen bang from pulse crops
Reading Time: 2 minutes Having legumes in your rotation not only adds nitrogen, but also improves soil water availability, interrupts pest life cycles, and increases soil organic matter, phosphorus, potassium and sulphur. But you’ve got to treat them right, Alberta Agriculture agronomy research scientist Sheri Strydhorst said at a recent event at the University of Alberta’s long-term research Breton […] Read moreAlta. researchers closing in on prions’ weak points
A decade after BSE rocked the Canadian cattle industry, two University of Alberta scientists and their Swiss colleagues have taken a major step towards finding a way to block prion infection which leads to BSE and scrapie. “My lab contributed how the antibodies interact with the various parts of the prion molecule,” said biochemistry professor […] Read more
Researchers eye new varieties to boost the savings from swath grazing
Late-planted barley can lower feed costs, but researchers are looking for varieties that can be seeded late but still produce high yields
Reading Time: 2 minutes Feed, particularly winter feeding, has a big impact on the bottom line, and that’s why cattle producers should consider swath grazing, says Vern Baron. The research scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada at Lacombe has been studying swath grazing since the 1990s and says the economic benefits are obvious. “We reduced costs by not harvesting, […] Read moreResearchers put the hype for canola products to the test in field trials
There’s not much data on how many canola products perform in western Canadian conditions, but the Ultimate Canola Challenge is addressing that
Reading Time: 2 minutes How can you tell a good crop production product from snake oil? That’s going to be an even more important question now that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency no longer evaluates the efficacy of supplements and fertilizers, said Murray Hartman, an oilseed specialist at Alberta Agriculture’s Lacombe Crop Development Centre. “This sort of opens the […] Read moreFungicide timing is everything
Reading Time: 2 minutes Knowing a bit about barley anatomy will help you get the best results from your fungicide applications and seed treatments. Although the flag leaf is a big contributor to wheat yields, it’s quite small in many barley varieties. The biggest yield contributors for barley are the penultimate leaf, the leaf before it, the head and […] Read more
Faster E. coli detection for packing plants
Reading Time: 2 minutes It’s the size of a postage stamp, but this little piece of technology could enable meat-packing plant workers to test samples for E. coli right on site. A University of Alberta project team is optimistic its PCR (polymerase chain reaction) technology could be used in packing plants. The technology was initially focused on medical applications, […] Read more
Man Van battles prostate cancer by offering quick on-site testing at farm events
Men over age 40 are at a high risk for prostate cancer but most rural residents aren’t being tested
Reading Time: 2 minutes One in seven Alberta men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime. If detected early, the prognosis is good. But if you’re a rural resident — and especially a farmer — the odds of an early diagnosis are not good. “Lots of fellows in rural communities don’t see a physician and we can […] Read morePlan your pea crop to achieve maximum benefits
Reading Time: 2 minutes If you want to grow peas for their nitrogen benefits then plan ahead and pick the right field. Having a strategy and getting in the ground early can make all the difference, said Therese Tompkins, a coach with Agri-trend and Mark Olson, provincial pulse specialist with Alberta Agriculture. They spoke about growing peas on a […] Read more